Tag: game

Something Different: I was a Teenage Exocolonist (Game Review)

Kat Impossible2 Comments

Something different Or That time I got completely addicted to: I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

I’ve mentioned I was a Teenage Exocolonist in my November 2022 wrap-up post and I think it’s fair to say that I’m obsessed. When I first started playing the game, I sat there for 15 hours straight, not being able to tear myself away from the screen. You know I don’t do game reviews often, but I just couldn’t pass up the chance to talk about this one. But first things first!

*I have not been asked to talk about this game by the developers! I am sharing these views of my own accord.*

I was a Teenage Exocolonist is a single-player RPG simulation game by Northway Games and Finji. I played it on my laptop, but I think there are options for the PS5 and Nintendo Switch as well. Originally an indie game, the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive and I’d just love to add my voice to those. The game is currently 20% off on Steam, but you can find all that relevant technical data here.

What exactly is the game about? Well here’s how the developers put it:

Spend your teenage years on an alien planet in this narrative RPG with card-based battles. Explore, grow up, and fall in love. The choices you make and skills you master over ten years will determine the course of your life and the survival of your colony.

The absolutely adorable and beautiful design aside, I am always easily swayed by games where your choices matter and lead to different outcomes. What is so special about I was a Teenage Excolonist though is that you play it through once, encounter incredible losses and then … you get to do it all over again! As many times as you like! It’s a game that is designed to be replayed as you character remembers their past life/lives and can alter events based on that knowledge. I just wanted to save everyone and explore all possible endings, I got sucked in hard!

Why Do I Like It So Much?

  • SO MANY OPTIONS! Do you want to romance all the characters? Be in a poly relationship or are you not interested in romantic gestures at all? Choose your own pronouns? Do you want to be a bully or give back to the community? Do you want to commune with aliens or become part of a military complex? End famine or create a life-ending virus? Everything is possible! You might just have to do it a couple times over to get the outcome you want.
  • The developers created a beautiful world with intricate storytelling. They wanted to have inclusive storytelling, but also knew that not all subject matter was suitable for every player. Before you even start, you have the option to look at a list of content warnings, which I thought was very considerate thing to add to the home screen.
  • Every single character has a backstory, their own personality, desires, dreams and fears. You may think that they’re only side characters in your world, but they have a mind of their own and their choices make sense for who they are meant to be.
  • The mini-games to level up your skills are simple yet fun. Each memory is more or less transformed into a card, which you can then use to level up and do certain jobs in a card game. It’s not the hardest thing in the world to master the mini-games, but when your stress level is too high, you might curse them. If the novelty ever wears off, you can turn off the card challenges though.
  • The auto-saves are super solid and while you should “bookmark” certain milestones, I’ve used the auto-saves quite often to remedy a bad decision.
  • While the look of the game is definitely more cute and pretty than steamy, I still have to praise it. For me, it had the perfect visuals.
  • You really go through a whole bunch of emotions. Grief, loss, happiness, relief, joy, anxiety, anger, jealousy, … you name it, it’s packed somewhere into the game. I always tended to pick the kinder options, because even in a game, I find it hard to be mean to people, but you can even be as rebellious or compliant as you like.

Downsides?

  • As I said, it’s a game you start over again and again and again … with that come certain repetitions. You have the option to skip dialogue you have encountered before, but some tasks remain tedious and necessary regardless. I sometimes wish I could also keep some of my character’s abilities, but that is just me being greedy.
  • While you have the option to customize a lot about your own character, such as name, gender etc., you can’t really choose your appearance. I got used to it and definitely didn’t mind it in the end, but I would have loved to create my own look, hair or clothing choices.
  • You can’t change everything. I don’t want to spoil anything, but despite some people claiming you can save everyone, there are a couple character deaths that you simply cannot prevent, no matter how hard you try. They are necessary for other character’s story arcs, so there’s that. I was sad, but I also got it from a storytelling point of view.

In the last week, I’ve played this game for more than 50 hours and I can see myself putting in even more time. It just has such a special feel to it, that I keep wanting to come back. I know I could have gone more in depth on some parts, but where’s the fun in knowing all that could happen?

credit: Finji/Northway Games

Previous game reviews:

Have you played I was a Teenage Exocolonist? Can you see yourself giving it a try? Let’s chat!

Something Different: Mask of the Rose (Game)

Kat Impossible5 Comments

You know how rare this feature is, because I’ve only done it ONCE before! However, everyone seemed to enjoy my rambly thoughts on Duskwood (which should be releasing its final chapter soon-ish – I cannot wait!), so I figured I’d give this another shot.

*I have not been asked to talk about this game by the developers! I am sharing these views of my own accord.*

Mask of the Rose: a Fallen London romance is a visual novel about romance, mystery and redefining society after a fundamental change. It will release to console platforms as well as PC, Mac and Linux later this year, however, you can try your hand at a free demo via Steam at the moment.

Originally, the project went to kickstarter for funding, which I’ve sadly missed out on. I’ve enjoyed previous backed projects a lot, so I could have easily seen myself support this game, but nonetheless, I somehow came across the demo and gave it a shot.

A marvelous romance with a hint of murder. Lose your heart to a stolen city in this game of amorous intrigue! Seek love, for yourself or your friends. Help a murdered man find justice. And watch out for the bats.

I was unaware of the 2009 Fallen London game and the fanbase it already had, but the little demo I got to play through has me very intrigued about the original game and I can see myself checking it out as well. Basically, London has fallen into a crater in the midst of Earth. No one knows the bounds of the cavern, no one knows a way back up, everyone is trapped – and there’s a lot of bats! It’s such a fascinating world and here you are, collecting love stories from its inhabitants. 

Why Do I Like It So Much?

  • I’m generally a fan of story-based games and don’t mind if there’s a lot of text involved, but Mask of the Rose really combined some amazing visuals with the story and I was head over heels. I’ve learned a while ago that I’m quite superficial and don’t like to check out games that don’t appeal to me on an aesthetic level, but this one intrigued me from the get go.
  • In only 1-2 chapters, you meet so many interesting characters. They definitely got me hooked with the demo, because they managed to have me sitting here wanting more – immediately!
  • As a complete newbie to this world, I obviously had no frame of reference, but I enjoyed the mix activities. On the one hand, you get to play detective (always fun!), but you’re also a matchmaker for yourself and others. It might sound silly, but I adore uncovering other peoples relationships and bringing people together. Also, you don’t have to find a romantic match for yourself, if that’s not something you’re interested in!
  • While I obviously didn’t have any background information on the characters, I quickly realized that Mr Pages is a fan favorite in terms of the Neaths new Masters, so I’m happy for all those people that he’s in the game. Still, I never felt lost or like I was lacking information. Instead, I felt myself getting eased into the story in a natural way.
  • While options are fairly limited at the moment, I enjoyed the customization options for my own character!

Downsides?

  • Since I only got a glimpse at the game for now, I can’t tell if there’s any bugs or storyline issues on the long run. The only downside that I can think of is that we have to wait until October/November 2022 for the actual release.
  • I cannot comment on the price point of the full game. However, Fallen London is a free browser game.

I know this wasn’t a very in depth review, but I just wanted to communicate my excitement for the actual game to release. I’m such a sucker for games like it and I didn’t want to give away too much from the demo, since it’s obviously just a glimpse at what’s to come. If you’re interested in a playthrough, there are several that can be found on YouTube!

Please do let me know if you end up checking out the game as well! What did you think of the post? Let’s chat!

Something Different: Duskwood (Game)

Kat Impossible11 Comments

I don’t think that I’ve ever, in all the years I’ve had this blog, talked about a game on here. And yet, I’ve been quite fascinated by this one and somehow felt compelled to share it with all of you!

*I have not been asked to talk about this game by the developers! I am sharing these views of my own accord.*

Duskwood is a free crime and detective game available for Android and iOS. It’s been developed by an indie company (Everbyte) from Germany and I’ve had so much fun with it so far. I’m playing it in German, but it’s also available in English, Portuguese and Russian.

Basically, it’s an interactive thriller, where you have to solve a mystery through chat-based conversation, online research and some good old-fashioned match-three-interludes to “hack” the missing person’s files.

It’s been 72 hours since Hannah disappeared without a trace. Out of nowhere, her friends suddenly receive a message from the missing person’s phone. The mysterious message only contains a number… your number!

Duskwood is a small, sleepy village surrounded by dense forest. Rarely do strangers get lost in this remote area and when they do, they have always described the area as strange or even scary. The inhabitants of Duskwood have never been worried by this. But since 72 hours, many things have changed and even among them there are more and more concerns… Join a clique from Duskwood and help them find their friend Hannah. The old frightening legends of the forest seem to come alive – will you be able to find Hannah before its too late?

(all game blurbs taken from the official website)

Why Do I Like It So Much?

  • Duskwood is one of the best chat-based games I have ever played. While you obviously can’t just write whatever and have to choose from some given dialogue options, I rarely found myself forced to interact in a way that was contrary to what I wanted. All characters seem very well fleshed out and have their own style. You immediately know who you are talking to.
  • The way you choose to interact with the characters matter! It’s possible to befriend people, but also flirt with them (the amount of people who want to romance a mysterious hacker is … huge! Like there’s really just so, so many), but most importantly you should probably try to gain people’s trust and be prepared for them to talk to each other without you too.
  • I personally found the season pass, which is required to unlock certain video-calls and voice messages or other media (which you don’t need for the game, but which add to the atmosphere immensely), very cheap. So far, it’s a one-time payment, but it might change in the future into a monthly fee or something. Still, it’s not necessary to spend money if you don’t want to – the game is free!
  • It’s SO thrilling! I get nervous talking on the phone with regular people and now, getting those video-calls from strangers and seeing creepy wood cabins really get my adrenaline pumping. There’s always something new and unexpected that happens, even if you thought you started to figure things out.

Downsides?

  • This game is still in development and while I am 100% obsessed with it, there are only four episodes out so far and it takes almost two months for a new one to arrive. Patience is paramount!
  • Another point that requires some patience is the match-three-game-part. In order to progress with the story, you have to “hack” a cloud via playing some mini-grames. Most of them are easy enough, especially in the beginning, but certain levels are massively irritating and frustrating. However, this, again, just requires some patience until your lives fill back up again.

This is probably a ridiculous comparison, but to me, Duskwood is like the Dark (Netflix show) of games. It’s dark and creepy and complex and entertaining (although no time travel or parallel worlds … yet). I know some people don’t love the mini-games, but I don’t really mind them. The wait in between episodes is really the hardest part, but other than that I can’t think of anything to complain about. In fact, I am SUPER pumped for episode 5 (click here to track the developer’s progress for the new episode).

If you end up playing this game, definitely let me know! I need more friends to talk about the characters and story with!!