Indie · August 25, 2022
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (2022)
The Choices You Make, Make You. Growing up in humanity’s first extrasolar space colony means navigating a new world full of wonder, danger, and beauty. Explore the wilderness, study, fall in love, discover strange creatures, and deal with the consequences of your actions. Your choices will directly affect the lives of your friends and the fate of the colony. What kind of world will you help make? Will you survive to enjoy it? Why do you remember doing this before? Growing Up on an Alien Planet You have your whole life ahead of you. Will you spend it studying in school, or diving into the intriguing flora and fauna of this new world? Will you introduce space-age technology, or live in harmony with nature? Will you battle massive beasts, or nurture future generations? Realized in brilliant watercolor, the world of Vertumna is yours to explore. Your Pasts and Your Futures Matter Everything you learn and experience will make you and your colony stronger. You will thrive and you will make mistakes. These formative moments - your memories, decisions, and friendships - become collectible cards you carry with you. Each season brings new obstacles on Vertumna. The battle cards you earn from your experiences give you new options for overcoming these challenges, whether that is navigating relationships, learning new skills, exploring the planet, or staying alive. Every decision counts, during this life and the next. How Many Lives Will YOU Live? The cosmos is full of incredible mysteries, and your ability to remember your past lives is one of them. There are dozens of different endings to your story. How many lives will it take to save both your colony and the planet? Are you ready to wake up again? Features: Use memories of past lives to explore 800+ story events. Discover more than 250 battle cards as you grow up on an alien planet. Play your best hand in challenge encounters to ace your math test or escape from a wild snapbladder. Make friends, fight with your parents, go on dates, fall in love, and save the colony. 29 wildly different endings based on the choices you make each month. Pick from 25 colony jobs, like goofing off as a depot clerk, or surveying the valley. Grow into 15 skills, including bravery, toughness, organization, and empathy. Get to know 10 dateable characters, including dog-boys, aliens, hot politicians and stone cold killers.
Indie releases from 2022
24 Indie titles launched in 2022 — top 6 by review volume.
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Choices Matter · 323
- Life Sim · 312
- Deckbuilding · 309
- Visual Novel · 306
- RPG · 301
- Story Rich · 291
- Choose Your Own Adventure · 291
- Dating Sim · 290
- Singleplayer · 288
- Interactive Fiction · 284
- Sci-fi · 283
- Multiple Endings · 280
- Card Game · 275
- Simulation · 267
- Futuristic · 264
Peer Indie titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Position in Indie
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 3.9k Steam reviews | Top 61% in Indie |
| Positive rating | 97% positive | Genre average: 87% — this title sits in top 9% |
| Metacritic | 91/100 | Genre average 77 — top 5% of Indie titles |
| Engagement hours | 24 h average | Top 25% for session depth among Indie |
Reception Metrics
Steam community
97%Overwhelmingly Positive · 3.9k reviews
3.8k positive · 118 negative
Metacritic
91/100 critic aggregate
Curator recommendations
4.0k
Press Quotes
“I can’t think of any other game like it, and I can’t think of a game I’ve ever played that’s made me want to dive immediately into another playthrough right away as much as this one did.” 9.5/10 – Destructoid “Wonderfully engrossing and hiding so many worthwhile character moments and gorgeous secrets well worth uncovering.” 4.5/5 – The Gamer “I Was A Teenage Exocolonist might just be the greatest game I’ve played this year. It’s funny, heartfelt and completely devastating.…
Features & Capabilities
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Trading Cards
- Steam Cloud
Input & Comfort
- Full controller support
Other
- Single-player
- Family Sharing
Release & Availability
| Release date | Aug 25, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Northway Games |
| Publisher | Finji |
| Base price | $12.49 |
| DLC / Add-ons | 1 released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Estimated owners | 100k–1M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support · [email protected] |
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
24h
moderate (15–40 hours)
Median
23h
Typical completion time
Achievements
50
Steam unlocks available
Editions & Packages
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