Expelled! will remind you of what it felt like to be a clueless teenager once more.

      Indulge me for a moment as I share my most cringe-worthy childhood story. Back during the days of AOL Instant Messenger, my friends and I found great amusement in teasing people online. Being young, we enjoyed making totally ridiculous comments to acquaintances from nearby towns. It was all in good fun until one person outsmarted us. A person I was joking with claimed they reported me to the police for harassment, and I was naïve enough to buy it. I began to frantically backpedal in an obvious manner, insisting that my account had been hacked. As I fabricated more lies, the situation escalated. Ultimately, my father had to visit the local police station to discuss a report that didn’t even exist. As you might expect, everything culminated in me receiving a solid grounding.

      What’s the lesson here? Kids are awful liars, which is the essence of Expelled!

      The newest game from Inkle, the creative minds behind A Highland Song, continues the story from 2021’s Overboard! That game was a clever narrative roguelike where players tried to evade consequences after committing murder on a cruise. It cleverly illustrated how difficult it can be to weave your way out of situations filled with loose ends. Expelled! expands that theme, adding in elements of childhood and Christian guilt. The outcome is a hilarious series of blunders that will transport you back to your awkward teenage years.

      Expelled! opens with a shocking event. A student at a Christian girls' school falls through a stained glass window and lands in the rose bushes below. While she survives the fall, the real outrage seems to be the destruction of a window made by God. Of course, pushing the school's star student out of a window is also considered a significant issue. Who’s responsible? All evidence appears to point to Verity, a student whose hockey stick was used to shatter the glass. That alone is enough to condemn her to a fate worse than death: expulsion.

      My task is to clear Verity's name for a crime she may or may not have committed. Who's to know? What makes Expelled! such a brilliant sequel to Overboard! is its emphasis on the unreliable narrator. I’m experiencing the story through the perspective of a kid determined to avoid repercussions, making it difficult to trust any details provided. Verity often lies herself into tight spots leading to dead ends, reminding me of that fateful AIM incident.

      I have the power to alter her destiny through a roguelike mechanic that allows me to navigate the day of the incident, attempting to escape trouble as best I can. Can I conceal the hockey stick? Can I establish an alibi? If all else fails, could I pin it on someone else? Expelled! offers players a multitude of options to explore as a timer counts down the hours until day’s end. I’ve completed several runs, each taking a completely different path based on my chosen dialogue. Some ended abruptly when I was caught at the crime scene, while others saw me ingeniously navigating the day without expulsion, only to uncover further layers to the mystery.

      Inkle has added a twist to the engaging Overboard! formula by embedding the Christian school backdrop into the gameplay. I'm not just working to prove my innocence, but I also have to maintain my image of innocence. A meter at the top of the screen tracks my standing as a good Christian girl, increasing as I lie, disrespect teachers, or respond with typical teenage sass. This creates palpable pressure, emphasizing the tension of trying to adhere to the rules imposed on me, even when those rules make me feel powerless. Whether Verity adheres to the teachings of God—or more accurately, the school’s headmistress—is in your hands.

      This unique twist transforms Expelled! into a compelling coming-of-age tale about a character striving to define her identity away from the constraints of authority and religious expectations. Does Verity genuinely want to be the obedient student who never questions authority? Or does she wish to be someone unafraid to assert herself? The central mystery serves as an engaging hook that kept me invested, but it’s the character’s journey that resonated with me as I continued to play.

      One more childhood memory springs to mind when I reflect on Expelled! As a child, I had to attend a weekly CCD class at my teacher's house after school. One day, I noticed a bag of Goldfish crackers and couldn't resist eating a few. The class was long, and I was famished, so I took the risk. I was caught, reprimanded, and made to write an essay about the wrongness of stealing. It became a pivotal moment for me. Isn’t this supposed to be a faith that promotes sharing and addressing hunger? It was one of the first times I distinctly felt myself breaking away from my Catholic upbringing and solidifying my beliefs. It made me feel more like my true self, and I hope that