I Was a Teenage Exocolonist: 29 Endings

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is a story-driven space adventure about growing up, making difficult choices and living with their consequences. Developed by Northway Games, it combines a life simulator, a card-based challenge system and a time-loop structure that makes every new playthrough matter.

A decade of choices on Vertumna

You play as Sol, one of the first children born aboard a colony ship travelling to the alien planet Vertumna. The game follows Sol from age 10 to 20, with everyday experiences gradually shaping both the character and the available story.

Arguments, friendships, first kisses and traumatic events are all represented as cards. When Sol faces a school assignment, a dangerous animal or another test, success comes from assembling a poker-like hand using memories collected throughout childhood. There are no dice rolls or swords to rely on: your past becomes the toolkit.

The card system also gives the game its strongest idea. Sol is defined by what has happened, but memories can be removed as the deck develops. Small early experiences such as giggling or crawling may be discarded to make space for more powerful or painful memories. In practical terms, the game turns growing up and forgetting into something tangible.

A 2023 interview with designer Sarah Northway described the need for an in-game representation of identity. The deck fulfils that role much like a skill tree or character sheet, while feeling more personal because the player builds it and repeatedly changes it.

Specialisation shapes Sol’s life

Each season begins with a decision about how Sol will spend their time. Options include working in a xenobiology laboratory, spending time with fellow colonists, exploring the edges of the map or attending school. Choosing one activity means missing the others for that period, encouraging a degree of specialisation.

Card challenges and story events award points, which can be assigned to attributes such as Rebellion and Empathy. Developing those traits opens new dialogue, activities, relationships and romantic possibilities. Neglecting a stat can mean missing entire characters or storylines, making even apparently minor decisions meaningful.

The cast of I Was a Teenage Exocolonist stands shoulder to shoulder and looks at the camera

Comforting, confronting and never quite predictable

The game is regularly recommended in cosy-game communities, although its subject matter is not always gentle. Its soft artwork, calm music and unhurried colony routine create a comforting atmosphere, while the story also explores trauma, grief and loss without avoiding their emotional weight.

That contrast is central to the experience. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist can feel peaceful during ordinary days and devastating when a choice produces an irreversible consequence. The result is a game that fits comfortably alongside other gaming stories and arcade news, even though its structure is far removed from a traditional coin-op.

New Game Plus turns knowledge into a tool

Completing one life unlocks a New Game Plus run in which Sol carries knowledge from the previous timeline. That information can reveal shortcuts in relationships or trigger strange visions that warn of dangers encountered before.

The structure recalls The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, but the scale is different: Exocolonist revisits a full decade rather than three days, and its progress is managed through cards instead of an ocarina. The appeal comes from testing what changes when you understand the consequences earlier.

A card game with a hand made of cards in yellow, blue, and red from the video game I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. The highlighted card is labelled “talent show champion.”

A first run can take around 12 to 15 hours, but the design strongly rewards returning to make different decisions. Some players report spending 80, 90 or even 100 hours exploring alternative paths. The loop is less about repeating identical content and more about using hard-won knowledge to reach outcomes that once seemed impossible.

Twenty-nine endings, including Rex

There are 29 possible endings. Sol might finish by leading the colony’s government, piloting a research vessel or tending a vegetable garden, among many other outcomes. Each conclusion feels connected to the accumulated decisions of that particular life rather than selected from a simple menu.

One of the most unusual romance options is Rex, a popular character who is also a dog-boy. Beneath the novelty, Rex is written with genuine insecurities and emotional depth. Reaching that relationship is only one possibility among dozens, but it captures the game’s willingness to make its character stories surprising without treating them as disposable jokes.

Where to play it

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. It is a thoughtful choice for players who enjoy replayable narrative games, card mechanics and consequences that carry across multiple lives. If you are exploring different ways to bring interactive entertainment into a games room, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide can help with the hardware side of the hobby.