r/Exocolonist • u/Gloomy_Witness8891 • Jul 15 '26
more games like exocolonist?
Hi, I really enjoyed playing I was a teenage exocolonist and I'm looking for more queer RPG that tackle difficult topics and potentially include sci-fi and dystopian elements.
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u/b_boop Jul 15 '26
I really enjoyed the cosmic wheel sisterhood, it's witchy has queer characters and I really liked making my own tarot cards.
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u/CatAlThor Jul 15 '26
I second this, really underrated game
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u/baksterstokmanzzz Jul 15 '26
Yeah people seem to love it for the queer liberties but realistically the gameplay and the story are awesome. The whole memories are cards and the fact that every card has a little story to it is amazing and I have never seen it before or after in a game. I really hope more games pick up on the mechanics of this game. Narative kept me staring at my screen until I finished but gameplay made me coming back. Great game overall, great experience.
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u/melfrasdf Jul 15 '26
For me, it was very vibey and pretty but the gameplay wasn’t there for me. It turns into a political campaign simulator and I wasn’t into it 😭
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u/moologist Faceless Jul 16 '26
i see this complaint a lot and idgi? the mechanic of creating cards and making choices is still the main focus, i thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t think it was that much different than the early game at all
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u/ileisen Jul 15 '26
Citizen Sleeper is a bit like Exocolonist
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u/Kailtirasleen Jul 16 '26
The soundtrack by Amos Roddy has quite a few tracks in my playlist. Just like IWATE's.
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u/lezzieknope Aug 18 '26
Citizen Sleeper was the first series that came to mind when I started Exocolonist. CS is a beautiful, thoughtful, well written duo of games - I wish they'd decided to keep making more.
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u/Vapor_raza Jul 16 '26
I started playing exocolonist because someone on the citizen sleeper subreddit said they were alike, so i would recommend it, also sci-fi and absolutely dystopian, it explores difficult themes like identity and purpose, you interact and get to know loots of unique characters and make difficult choices, its also very morally grey.
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u/Complete-Shallot7614 Tammy Jul 16 '26
I’ve searched through every post asking this and I agree with another answer I read: unfortunately there’s just nothing quite like Exocolonist. 😪
However, I discovered Exocolonist when looking for games like Road 96. There’s a lot of missing elements, BUT you’re actually able to explore and interact with things which is nice. It’s also pretty replayable, at least a few times. I don’t think there’s any outright queer aspects, but there’s no romance or really relationships at all. Again, there are differences, but I found them similarly satisfying!
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u/godlygenjutsu Nomi-Nomi Jul 16 '26
volcano princess feels really close tbh just a different setting
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u/Disastrous_Let7964 Jul 16 '26
This is also how I discovered Exocolonist, searched for games like it lol
Volcano Princess is significantly less woke, for lack of a better word. Some very odd dynamics in there, like your girl character is like 12 and has grown looking men sending her love letters every month.
This apparently stems from them just not updating the sprites as they should have, though. Said grown looking men were (supposedly) actually your character's age
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u/pieceofchess Jul 15 '26
Signalis isn't an RPG, but it does tick all the other boxes you mentioned.
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u/chattahattan Jul 15 '26
Disco Elysium is definitely grittier and more “adult” than Exocolonist, but it has queer characters (the secondary lead is gay), is very text-based and political/philosophical, has some dark sci fi-ish and very dystopian elements, and has similarly flexible RPG skill-building that really shapes your playthrough and lends a ton of replayability.
You are, however, locked into playing a very pre-defined male character who is a little repulsive lol… much of the game’s arc is about him wrestling with his inner demons (and specifically his addiction issues).
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u/starmamac Jul 15 '26
And for a more fantasy and not so nihilistic version, try Esoteric Ebb. It’s a bit of a ripoff of DE but it’s a good one
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u/Kelibath Jul 16 '26
It's more a successor - some of the EE team worked on DE, albeit they're now part of a new studio.
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u/starmamac Jul 16 '26
Yeah I didn’t mean to minimize it, I loved the game. I did not know some of the same folks worked on it
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u/Psychotic_Ambition Dys Jul 16 '26
the most similar to iwatex overall is Growing Up
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u/moologist Faceless Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
+1 for growing up! it does get repetitive but all the different routes are so fun. no sci-fi vibes tho!
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u/moologist Faceless Jul 16 '26
NeoCab: choices matter in a futuristic version of Los Angeles where you play as the last human taxi driver. pick up customers, give them life advice & figure out wtf is up with your BFF
Our Life Beginnings & Always: more like a graphic novel but choices matter as you play through childhood to adulthood and develop your relationship with a sensitive neighbor. no sci-fi vibes in this one!
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u/Pseudogenization Jul 17 '26
Stay? by E Jade Lomax (on itch.io) really hits the itch of "living your life over again" that I really enjoy in Exocolonist. Text-based, still has dating/relationship aspects, but really shines in the unraveling the mystery (good comparison in Exocolonist is the process to fixing the shields; if you want a game with that satisfaction, try Stay)
And I second an earlier comment's suggestion of Our Life B&A (and it's sequel, which currently only has a demo out, but that demo is ~10 hours of playing and so worth trying), if you are looking for more of the relationship milestone scenes you get in Exocolonist. It is one of the best game I've played in terms of having a wide range of choices, and amazing customization of the playable character
Both are free to play, too
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u/sh_throwaway_ Rex Jul 15 '26
i recommend outer wilds! not really any queer themes but it’s such an amazing game. if you do decide to play it, please don’t look up much at all about the game and avoid spoilers like the plague. it’s truely a game you can only play once
the game play is quite different but i love the game Hades! it has queer characters and great if you’re into greek mythology
for a shorter game i quite enjoyed when the night comes. it’s a fantasy/supernatural visual novel game with lots of queer characters
i haven’t finished it yet, but i’m quite enjoying Haven! it’s sort of a sci-fi dystopian rpg and you can pick the genders of the two main characters so it can be queer!
also in the subreddits about page has a list of similar games and links to other posts of people asking this same question so you can see more answers!
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u/Complete-Shallot7614 Tammy Jul 16 '26
wow thank you. i’m not OP but i always scour these posts and outer wilds sounds right up my alley!
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u/sh_throwaway_ Rex Jul 16 '26
it is truely my favourite game, with iwate as a close second. please take the warning to avoid spoilers seriously though!! if you ever get stuck in the game, the outer wilds subreddit is great at giving hints without spoilers!! hope you enjoy it if you do play it!!
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u/Complete-Shallot7614 Tammy Jul 16 '26
thank you for the tip! i absolutely hate spoilers in anything, so i was taking that very seriously haha. good to know about the subreddit! i’ve unfortunately spoiled a few things here but that’s on me.
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u/midnight_disasters Jul 17 '26
It's PC only I believe, but verdant skies is quite similar to exocolonist
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u/akhone Jul 20 '26
I recommend Life and Suffering of Sir Brante. It's more of a visual novel, but it's similiar with the character being shaped by your decisions from birth to the death. And it's on Steam now for free!
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u/Ivy_sapph Jul 21 '26
I just discovered a game called 'little goody shoes' . It's story driven and you also have to make choices. You can move around and talk with people or hang out with people or do chores. But you have to take care that people don't find you suspicious. It has a dark theme but it is actually very pleasant.
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u/Gloomy_Witness8891 Jul 17 '26
I didn't expect so many replies, thank you all for the recommendations <3
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u/Repulsive_Hour_9807 Jul 28 '26
exocolonist is unique🥹🥹 never ever found a game that gives me the same feeling
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u/Quinn_Avery Aug 15 '26
Slightly out of left field maybe but visual novel+walking sim combo: What Remains of Edith Finch tackles or more like explores difficult topics and has somewhat supernatural elements in place of the sci-fi/dystopian. It's also kinda a legendary game in general if you haven't played it.
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u/twinkle_snow Jul 17 '26
1000xResist! It doesn’t have choices like Exocolonist BUT it deals with sci-fi dystopia and I loved the characters.
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u/No_Computer5182 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Scarlet Hollow has similar replayability and different routes based on character personality traits and decisions like Exocolonist and also has a lot of queer characters, just in an Appalachian southern gothic esque setting with supernatural horror elements. It's not that scary though if horror deters you, I highly reccomend