I Was A Teenage Exocolonist is a beautiful sci-fi slice-of-life RPG. And as the name suggests will focus on trying to build a life for the colony of Vertumna. You’ll spend a lot of your young life focusing on building the colony but it wouldn’t be life without a little romance.
There are 10 romanceable characters in I Was A Teenage Exocolonist for you to fall in love with. These are Marz, Anemone, Tangent, Tammy, Dys, Cal, Sym, Vace, Nomi-Nomi, and Rex. Some are childhood friends that you’ll be growing up with and others are later that you’ll meet in your life.
All these romance options are possible to romance no matter the player character’s gender. And your relationship status can range from friends, friends with benefits, something a bit more casual, marriage partners or enter into a thruple if that’s your thing. Each person has specific likes, dislikes and romantic situation preferences. Some may want you all to themselves and others are cool if you’re still checking out your options.
If you’re down to get your romance on with all the people in Vertumna then check out our romance guide for I Was A Teenage Exocolonist.
• Anemone | • Rex (Basorexia) |
• Cal (Recalcitrance) | • Sym (Symbiosis) |
• Dys (Dysthymia) | • Tammy (Apartame) |
• Marz (Marzipan) | • Tang (Tangent) |
• Nomi-Nomi (Nomination) | • Vace ( Olivaceous) |
Anemone (Nem)

Birthday: 1st Month of Dust Season | Location: Garrison |
Appearence: Year 0 | Species: Human Female |
Likes: Xeno Egg | Dislikes: Crystal Cluster |
Relationship: Monogamous (Exclusive) |
Anemone is a spunky, happy-go-lucky and energetic female who loves sports. She’s incredibly loyal to her friends and the colony. She can be found hanging out anywhere near sportsball. Befriend her to bulk up your bravery and toughness stats.
If you want to quickly rake up relationship points with her, give her Red Xeno Egg. As well as take her out on physical activities such as playing sportsball, defence training or lookout duty. All of which can be found in the Garrison. If you don’t romance her, she’ll pair off with Vace.
To start your romance you’ll need to break her up from Vace. Convince her that he’s bad for her with 30 Empathy or Persuasion. Otherwise, if you see him calling her names / propositioning you / being cruel to others, you can also use those as evidence to convince Anemone.

Break up Anemone and Vace
Nem edition of this, you will need at least 90 Relationship with her to convince her to leave Vace. You need to be in year 7 before she comes up to you with the scene where she vents about her relationship with Vace.
Use this situation to either confess to her and/or tell her that he’s a scumbag.
There are three pieces of evidence you can present without needing 30 Persuasion or Reasoning. Otherwise, you need to be close friends with Vace to convince her with evidence.
Endings & Break Ups
- Anemone does not want kids and will leave you during the prolific children ending.
- She will leave you during the Array ending (because of your association with her abusive ex)
- During the virus ending your relationship gets tense and stale.
- Has implied sexual content in her hangout scenes. She can mother up to two of your children if you do want to have children but are not a prolific parent.
Cal (Recalcitrance)

Birthday: 3rd Month of Dust Season | Location: Geoponics |
Appearence: Year 0 | Species: Human Male |
Likes: Bobber Fruit, Cake | Dislikes: – |
Relationship: Monogamous (Exclusive) |
Cal is a sweet and caring male who is both physically and mentally strong. He’s in touch with his emotions and believes in the unification of other beings instead of violence. He loves animals, making it no surprise that he is a massive aid in increasing your animals’ stats by spending time with him.
His favourite gifts to him are Cake and Blue Bobberfruits. Make sure your activities include him doing something in nature. Such as shovelling dirt, working on the farm and researching Xenobotany, all of which can be found in Geoponics. If you don’t romance him, he’ll pair up with Anemone.
You will need to have at least 80 relationship points with Cal to confess your feeling to him during the scene he asks you about Tammy. His relationship will begin around year 7 or 8.

Endings & Break Ups
- Cal wants children. He will break up with you in the epilogue if you choose no children.
- He will break up with you during the Array or Virus ending.
Dys (Dysthymia)

Birthday: 3rd Month of Wet Season | Location: Expeditions |
Appearence: Year 0 | Species: Human Male |
Likes: Medicinal Root, Secret Device | Dislikes: Cake |
Relationship: Monogamous / Polyamorous with Sym |
Dys is a quiet and distant boy in the colony, detached from social norms and is predominately unaccepted within the community. This results in him sneaking out from beyond the walls despite his sister’s concerns.
He happens to be one of the most difficult individuals to befriend since he is almost always outside the colony, so breaking the rules is going to be a necessity to show him that you’re as rebellious as he is. Considering you’ll find him during Expedition activities, affiliating with him increases mostly bravery.
He likes Strange Devices and/or Medical Roots as well as activities that take him outside of the colony. Take him exploring, surveying the plains and foraging in the valley. All of which are Expedition activities.

Polyamory with Sym and Dys
You can proceed with his relationship normally or enter a polyamorous relationship with him between him and Sym. It can be a triangle where both of you love Sym but do not love each other. There is also a variation where Dys loves both of you, but he favours Sym more.
If you have done everything right, there should be an option that implies Sym and Dys are together. Pick the decision to tell Dys that he must come home, then pick “Because I’m in love with you, Spacehead!” if you want a polyamorous relationship where both of you are in love, but he prefers Sym more.
Endings & Break Ups
- Has no preference for children but if you’re a prolific parent, the child will become a healing presence for him.
- Will leave during Array or Virus ending. Romance also ends if you let him join the Gardener.
Marz (Marzipan)

Birthday: 1st Month of Wet Season | Location: Command |
Appearence: Year 0 | Species: Human Female |
Likes: Yellow Flower, Crystal Cluster | Dislikes: Xeno Egg, Mushwood Log, Medicinal Root |
Relationship: Open Relationship / Monogamous / Polyamorous with Rex |
Marz is the popular girl that’s going places. She’s an arrogant know-it-all at first, but growing closer to her reveals her hidden care and concern for others and the wider context of the game itself. She will mostly increase your persuasion level.
If you want to quickly rake up relationship points with her, give her Crystal Clusters and/or a Yellow Flower. As a girl around town, she’ll enjoy the activities to deliver supplies, work in the depot, and assist the governor. All of which can be found within the Command Centre.

Endings & Break Ups
- Anemone does not want kids and will leave you if your are a prolific parent.
- Will always break up with you after a while in all of the endings.
Nomi-Nomi (Nomination)

Birthday: 2nd Month of Dust Season | Location: Living Quarters |
Appearence: Year Helio Lands | Species: Human Non-Binary |
Likes: Crystal Cluster, Strange Device | Dislikes: Medicinal Root |
Relationship: Monogamous / Polyamorous with Rex |
Nomi-Nomi identifies as they/them and is a very good friend of Rex, arriving together in the colony at the same time. They are playful, high-energy and talkative, exhausting every bit of their vocabulary in a single conversation without much stopping. Creativity seems to be their key skill and favored interaction response.
They like Crystal Clusters and Strange Devices and enjoyes the activity study engineering, tutor children, repair robots. All these activities can be found in engineering or Expeditions is just as valid. If you don’t romance them, you can pair them up with Rex.
You need to flirt with them and ask Nomi out during the scene where you find out about their crush on Rex. They can change their mind about Rex and enter a relationship with you. Alternatively, the three of you can become a thruple if you’re already dating Rex.

Endings & Break Ups
- They become no parent on their own but do not mind your children.
- Will always stay with you.
Rex (Basorexia)

Birthday: 1st Month of Pollen Season | Location: Command |
Appearence: Year Helio Lands | Species: Human Male |
Likes: Mushwood Log, Cake | Dislikes: – |
Relationship: Open Relationship with Marz / Polyamorous with Nomi |
Rex is a free-spirited and energetic goofball. As half human, half dog, he is easily entertained and humored, always feeling energized whenever he has someone willing to offer him more than one hug. His affiliate skill does not seem to be exact since he can be found almost everywhere in the colony but mostly concerning organizing or perception interactions. Rex is pretty easy, if you’ve flirted before and unattached, he will make a move on you.
Gift him Mushwood Logs and select the majority of your activities to include relaxing in the lounge, delivering supplies and working on construction. All of which are available in the Command center. If you don’t romance him, you can pair him up with Nomi.

Endings & Break Ups
- Wants many children, has many children of his own independent of you. If you’re a prolific parent, you will have children together.
- Will always break up if you asked him to be exclusive, no matter the ending.
Sym (Symbiosis)

Birthday: 3rd Month of Pollen Season | Location: Plains, Valley of Vertigo, Wresting Ridges |
Appearence: Variable | Species: Gardener Male |
Likes: Anything | Dislikes: Nothing |
Relationship: Monogamous / Polyamorous with Dys |
Sym is the most stand-alone character to romance in the game as he can only be encountered outside the colony and during Expeditions.
Surprisingly, Sym is one of the easiest characters to date in I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. Like with many of the dateable characters, you must first max out his friendship level before you can date him. With Sym, this is surprisingly easy. All you need to do is be kind to him when speaking with him, and make sure to get him the memdrive he asks for from Hal in Engineering.

Polyamory with Sym and Dys
Talk to Sym and convince him to tell Dys to come home. You need at least 80 Relationship Points with Sym for this. After you drag Dys home, you can begin a relationship with Sym.
Endings & Break Ups
- Can’t have children with you, but he likes children so he has no problem if you become a prolific parent.
Tammy (Aspartame)

Birthday: 3rd Month of Pollen Season | Location: Living Quarters |
Appearence: Year 0 | Species: Human Female |
Likes: Yellow Flower, Cake, Blobber Fruit, Medicial Root | Dislikes: Mushwood Log |
Relationship: Monogamous (Exclusive) |
Tammy is an absolute sweetie, being a great people person and provider of anyone and everyone, without a shred of judgment. She’s a responsible and caring individual especially with youngsters, and just wants to brighten up and cheer on others. Bonding with her will increase your empathy skill level – remember to hug her at every opportunity to increase that stat as often as possible and accept all the gifts she’ll give you while you’re at it.
If you want to quickly rake up relationship points with her, gift her a Yellow Flower and/or Cake. She also enjoys domestic activites such as tutoring kids, babysitting and helping in the kitchen. If you don’t romance her, she’ll pair up with Cal.

You’ll have to learn how to save Tammy by having enough (80) relationship points with Cal to tell him to back off from Tammy. Her romance will trigger late in the game, after she has her kid.
Endings & Break Ups
- Wants many children but is fine if you don’t have any.
- Will stay with you no matter what afterwards.
Tang (Tangent)

Birthday: 3rd Month of Wet Season | Location: Engineering |
Appearence: Year 0 | Species: Human Female |
Likes: Yellow Flower, Medicinal Root | Dislikes: – |
Relationship: Open Relationship / Monogamous (Exclusive) |
Tangent is an academic prodigy who needs barely any sleep at all to function with that brilliant mind of hers. As the older sister of Dys and eventual researcher of cures for the colony, she has a lot of concerns on her mind despite her blaze and indifferent attitude. Converse with her to increase stats mostly concerning reasoning and other mental skills.
If you want to make her happy, gift her Medical Roots or a Yellow Flower. And select the majority of your activities to include study life science, study engineering, study humanities and assist in medbay. All which can be found in Engineering.

Endings & Break Ups
- Does not want children at all.
- Will always break up with you in the epilogue no matter the outcome.
Vace (Olivaceous)

Birthday: 2nd Month of Wet Season | Location: Garrison |
Appearence: Year Helio Lands | Species: Human Male |
Likes: Strange Device, Cake | Dislikes: Yellow Flower, Xeno Egg, Bobber Fruit |
Relationship: Monogamous (Exclusive) |
Vace is a serious soldier with a sharp tongue and stoic attitude. He tends to let his feelings vocal at the worst of times but it indicates a strong sense of reasoning and his own sense of justice and means of survival. Just try not to make his ego any bigger. He can be seen often at the Garrison next to Anemone and understandably due to his role in the colony has an affiliation to physical skills.
Gift him Strange Devices and select the majority of your activities to include him defense training and guard duty, both available at the Garrison. If you don’t romance him, he’ll pair up with Anemone.

Break up Vace and Anemone
If you’re here for the evidence to break him and Nem up, the evidence about his cruelty to others comes from his fight with Rex in the scene before you confront him (Cruelty) while the other two are explained below.
You can get them to break up during the scene where you confront Vace about his behaviour. This requires having a high relationship with Vace, at least 9 hearts. Then, you need to tell him to break up with her.
You can choose “I’m in love with her” if you have flirted with Nem before. Then you need 40 Persuasion to convince him that he’s out of her league, or you can say you can treat her better and use that evidence to tell her to break up with him later on. (Calling Nem names)
Otherwise, you can tell him that he can do better with 30 Persuasion. Or, you can tell him that you like him with a nifty 20 Persuasion and no self-respect… because then he’d ask you to be his side-piece, which you can also use as evidence against him. (Propositioning)
Endings & Break Ups
- Wants many children, but you won’t have any together.
- You will always break up with him in the epilogue, even if he goes to therapy.
I Was A Teenage Exocolonist
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? Or will it be spent on introducing space-age technology, or live in harmony with nature? Will you battle massive beasts, or nurture future generations? Realized in brilliant watercolour, the world of Vertumna is yours to explore.
I Was A Teenage Exocolonist is out now on the PlayStation 4|5, Nintendo Switch, PC – Steam, Mac