I slept on Citizen Sleeper when it initially launched in 2022, and it wasn’t till a few years after its launch that I lastly performed it. However although I got here to it a bit late, I immediately fell in love with it. Combining an enchanting and deeply imaginative sci-fi universe, unimaginable writing and storytelling, and compelling choice-driven gameplay that revolved round a novel cube rolls system, indie studio Leap Over the Age’s RPG immediately had its hooks in me. I could have initially slept on the primary recreation, however I made a decision I wasn’t going to make that very same mistake with its sequel.
I’m glad I did, as a result of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is incredible. It takes every part that was good about its predecessor and neatly builds on it, delivering what looks like an much more participating and fleshed out expertise. From the stellar writing and world-building to the dangerously addictive time administration, choice-driven, cube rolls gameplay loop, the sequel retains the entire first recreation’s greatest strengths. On the similar time, with sensible tweaks, enhancements, and additions, it additionally expands on every part from the development mechanics to participant alternative methods and extra. The tip result’s a stellar sci-fi RPG that manages to seize lightning in a bottle but once more.
“Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is incredible. It takes every part that was good about its predecessor and neatly builds on it, delivering what looks like an much more participating and fleshed out expertise.”
Citizen Sleeper 2 as soon as once more places gamers within the sneakers of a Sleeper – robots who’ve had human minds and consciousness uploaded into them – and one once more, you’ve fled from the clutches of the company that owns and enslaves you. This time, nonetheless, you’re joined by a crew, have a ship of your individual, and have completely different threats bearing down on you. Chased by your company masters, in addition to by a prison faction trying to management you, and having to cope with a failing and glitching physique, Citizen Sleeper 2 duties you with as soon as once more constructing a life for your self and discovering an escape. This time, nonetheless, the main target is simply as a lot on gathering a crew, enhancing your ship, and taking over completely different jobs scattered all through the Starward Belt.
On one hand, not being tied to a single location like the unique recreation was does really feel like a little bit of a loss. I liked exploring and slowly however absolutely rising aware of the Eye and its ever-expanding environs in Citizen Sleeper, and I’ll admit that I do really feel the dearth of an identical, single location that spans the whole recreation. Then once more, what Citizen Sleeper 2 good points in change comes with its personal advantages. Your ship, for example, continues to be very a lot a single location that you simply name residence. Slowly enhancing and increasing its capabilities and getting higher acquainted together with your crewmates stays fairly satisfying all through the sport.
Having fixed entry to a ship means you’re additionally transferring round lots in Citizen Sleeper 2. Scattered all through the Starward Belt are plenty of completely different contracts and quests that take you to completely different asteroids, stations, ruins, and extra. The better location selection lends the sport a better sense of scale, and likewise shakes up the acquainted core loop in attention-grabbing methods. At its core, Citizen Sleeper 2 nonetheless duties you with managing your cube and vitality as you make use of restricted actions each in-game day to advance quests, earn cash, discover, and simply plain survive, however every contract breaks up that cycle with its personal minicycles.
“Having fixed entry to a ship means you’re additionally transferring round lots in Citizen Sleeper 2. Scattered all through the Starward Belt are plenty of completely different contracts and quests that take you to completely different asteroids, stations, ruins, and extra. The better location selection lends the sport a better sense of scale, and likewise shakes up the acquainted core loop in attention-grabbing methods.”
Success in contracts is set by a wide range of components, from what your crew composition is and the way neatly (or not) you employ your cube, to how effectively stocked your ship is with provides and extra. Being locked right into a contract when you’ve accepted it does admittedly really feel a bit limiting, which type of goes in opposition to every part that Citizen Sleeper’s design is about, however on the entire, they reach injecting a lot better quest selection into the sport.
After all, a lot of the credit score there has to go to the writing. After the primary recreation, it ought to be no shock that that’s the space the place Citizen Sleeper 2 in all probability shines the brightest. Each character you meet within the various, splendidly realized solid makes a powerful mark, each scene and dialogue dialog is immaculately written, each dialogue alternative or resolution you’re requested to make feels deliberate. The sport weaves a fascinating story that’s exhausting to tear your self away from, and likewise makes use of its extra expansive setting to flesh out and reveal extra of the universe’s lore and backstory. Narratively, then, Citizen Sleeper 2 is a triumph but once more.
The moment-to-moment time and useful resource administration mechanics that kind the spine of the expertise additionally see some adjustments for the higher. As an example, the primary recreation’s Situation system has been changed with a brand new Stress system. In Citizen Sleeper 2, although you’re nonetheless managing your vitality by ensuring you’re consuming usually, in contrast to the primary recreation, you’re now not depending on stabilizers, which implies your physique isn’t in a always deteriorating situation. That mentioned, taking Stress harm on failed actions now impacts the well being of particular person cube, which, as soon as totally depleted, renders that cube unusable till you discover a technique to restore it.
The Stress system undoubtedly feels rather less strict than the Situation system when it comes to the way it punishes failure and the way a lot it restricts your actions, which works splendidly with the better sense of freedom that the remainder of the sport affords as effectively. These restrictions, in the meantime, now take different kinds, like glitches that your physique accumulates extra time, in flip glitching a few of your cube to dramatically enhance their failure charges. It’s a neatly applied system that manages to retain a way of threat and reward whereas guaranteeing that gamers don’t ever really feel too throttled.
“For followers of the primary recreation, for followers of RPGs, for followers of choice-driven gameplay, and for followers of the sci-fi style, Leap Over the Age’s sophomore outing is a simple recreation to suggest.”
Citizen Sleeper 2 additionally introduces ability checks, permitting gamers to decide on particular actions throughout sure scenes that work the identical as cube rolls and see the story being impacted by your decisions and branching in attention-grabbing methods. On the development facet of issues, in the meantime, the sport introduces a brand new Push system, which grants particular skills to every class, granting every of them completely different tactical benefits (relying on how you employ them, that’s). Like its predecessor, Citizen Sleeper 2 retains its development methods lean and centered, however each improve that you simply make feels significant and genuinely impactful.
Whether or not its the day-to-day gameplay cycle, the development mechanics and sophistication differentiations, and even how quests perform, the working theme in Citizen Sleeper 2 is one among sensible, iterative enhancements that take its predecessor’s successful components and hone it to near-perfection. That “yet one more day” hook that characterised the primary recreation so effectively continues to be very a lot current and accounted for within the sequel, to the purpose the place it could be a good stronger and extra addictive pressure than it was the primary time round. Mixed with its stellar writing, engrossing worldbuilding, and skilled storytelling, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector sticks the touchdown in each approach that counts. For followers of the primary recreation, for followers of RPGs, for followers of choice-driven gameplay, and for followers of the sci-fi style, Leap Over the Age’s sophomore outing is a simple recreation to suggest. Completely don’t sleep on Citizen Sleeper 2.
This recreation was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.
