Why I Was a Teenage Exocolonist Remains a Masterclass in Time Loop RPG Design
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Northway Games' I Was a Teenage Exocolonist combines time loop mechanics and deckbuilding in a sci-fi setting, offering players 29 distinct endings and deeply emotional choices.
Time loop mechanics have always offered a specific kind of freedom in gaming. Titles like Outer Wilds and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask let players explore the weight of their choices while dangling the safety net of a clean slate. Northway Games took that exact philosophy and applied it to a sci-fi coming of age story in I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, a standout RPG that blends gentle pacing with surprisingly heavy themes.
Originally highlighted in a deep dive by Rebecca Corgan over at Polygon, the game tasks players with guiding a character named Sol from the age of 10 to 20 on an alien planet called Vertumna. Instead of conventional skill checks or combat systems, the game translates your character's memories and formative life events into a playable deck of cards. Winning encounters, surviving local wildlife, and acing school projects all come down to building a poker style hand out of your own past.
It is a striking narrative mechanic that treats identity as something tangible, allowing players to actively delete early memories to make room for new experiences as they grow. That loop is central to the experience. Choosing a seasonal activity like working in a xenobiology lab or exploring the perimeter locks you out of alternative paths, encouraging specialization and rewarding multiple playthroughs.
While the soft art style and unhurried daily routines often land the title in cozy game recommendations, the narrative refuses to shy away from trauma, grief, and real loss. When you finish a run and start a New Game plus, Sol retains knowledge from past lives, spotting shortcuts and dodging old dangers much like Link with an ocarina, except stretched across a decade rather than three days. With 29 different endings ranging from running the colony government to tending a garden, and plenty of well written romance options including the fan favorite dog-boy Rex, the game turns repetition into a profound exploration of consequence.
You can dive into the full feature over at Polygon to see why players keep pouring dozens of hours into its layered sci-fi loops.
Tags: RPG, Indie Games, Sci-Fi, Narrative
Original article: Polygon