Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector Review – Tears in Rain

I didn’t get a chance to play Citizen Sleeper when it debuted in 2022, but I eventually gave it a go a few years later. Despite being late to the game, I was immediately captivated by it. This indie RPG from Jump Over the Age seamlessly blended a captivating and imaginative sci-fi setting, superb writing, gripping narrative, and innovative gameplay that incorporated an intriguing dice roll mechanism. The game had me hooked right away. Although I missed out on the first installment, I vowed not to make the same mistake with its sequel.

I’m thrilled I made the decision to play it, as Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is simply outstanding! It takes all the great aspects of its predecessor and skillfully evolves them, offering an even more immersive and well-rounded gaming experience. From the exceptional narrative and world creation to the compelling time management, decision-based gameplay that keeps you hooked, the sequel showcases all the major strengths of the original game. Yet, it doesn’t stop there – with clever adjustments, enhancements, and new features, it extends and enhances everything from the character progression mechanics to player choice systems and beyond. The final product is a fantastic sci-fi RPG that once again manages to capture the essence of lightning in a bottle.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is terrific. It takes the best aspects of its forerunner and intelligently expands upon them, resulting in a more immersive and fully realized adventure.

As a Sleeper in the latest installment of Citizen Sleeper 2, I find myself once again escaping my oppressive corporate overlords. But this time, I’m not alone – I’ve got a crew by my side and a ship to call my own. The challenges are stacking up though, with my old masters hot on my heels, a menacing criminal group eyeing me for control, and my aging and malfunctioning robotic body causing constant glitches. In Citizen Sleeper 2, I’m tasked with carving out a life for myself, finding freedom, and managing my crew, ship, and various jobs scattered across the Starward Belt. It’s a fight for survival, but with every challenge, I’m one step closer to achieving true independence.

While it’s true that having a single, expansive location like in the original game, such as the Eye in Citizen Sleeper, was enjoyable due to the gradual familiarity it offered, I must admit that I miss this aspect in the potential sequel. However, what Citizen Sleeper 2 seems to compensate for has its own advantages. For one, your ship remains a single location you can call home, allowing you to gradually enhance its abilities and build stronger relationships with your crewmates, which remains engaging throughout the gameplay experience.

In Citizen Sleeper 2, since you’re always connected to a ship, you’ll find yourself traveling frequently across various locations. Scattered throughout the Starward Belt are numerous contracts and missions that transport you to different asteroids, space stations, ruins, and so on. This wide array of locales gives the game an expansive feel, and it also introduces intriguing twists into the repetitive core loop. Essentially, while Citizen Sleeper 2 primarily requires managing your dice and energy as you utilize limited actions daily to progress missions, earn money, explore, and stay alive, each contract provides its own mini-cycles to disrupt this cycle.

In Citizen Sleeper 2, being able to regularly travel by ship allows for frequent movement between various locations. Sprinkled throughout the Starward Belt are multiple contracts and missions that lead you to diverse destinations such as asteroids, space stations, ruins, and beyond. This wide range of settings gives the game a more expansive feel and injects freshness into its core gameplay loop.

Success in contracts hinges on numerous elements, such as your team’s makeup, strategic dice usage, and the abundance of supplies on your ship. Accepting a contract does restrict you somewhat, which seems at odds with the open-ended design philosophy of Citizen Sleeper, but overall, they effectively introduce more diverse quest options into the game.

Absolutely, much credit is due to the exceptional writing in Citizen Sleeper 2. Following the initial game, it’s no wonder that the narrative is where this title likely stands out the most. Each character, drawn from a rich and believable cast, leaves a lasting impression. Every scene and dialogue exchange is skillfully crafted, while every choice or decision presented feels purposeful. The game masterfully spins an engaging story that’s difficult to turn away from, and it also leverages its broader setting to delve deeper into the universe’s history and lore. In terms of narrative, Citizen Sleeper 2 is a triumph once again.

As a dedicated fan, I’m thrilled about the enhancements to the time and resource management mechanics in the upcoming game, making the experience even more immersive. For example, the Condition system from the original game has been swapped out for a brand-new Stress system in Citizen Sleeper 2. While you’ll still need to keep an eye on your energy levels by maintaining regular meals, unlike before, you won’t require stabilizers anymore. This means your body is no longer in a continuous state of decline. However, taking Stress damage from failed actions now affects the health of individual dice, and once they’re completely depleted, those dice become unusable until you can find a way to fix them.

Compared to the Condition system, the Stress system appears somewhat lenient in its handling of errors and limitations on actions. This aligns perfectly with the game’s overall emphasis on freedom. Instead of traditional punishments, restrictions now manifest as body glitches that affect your dice, causing them to fail more frequently. It’s a well-designed system that maintains an element of risk and reward without making players feel overly constrained.

If you enjoyed the initial release, appreciate role-playing games, prefer interactive storytelling, and are a fan of science fiction, then the second installment from Jump Over the Age is certainly worth checking out.

In the sequel of Citizen Sleeper, players are given an additional feature called skill checks. These allow you to select specific actions within certain scenes, similar to dice rolls, where your decisions shape the story and create intriguing branching paths. As for advancements, a fresh mechanic known as Push system is introduced in this game, providing unique abilities tailored to each class, offering them tactical advantages that vary based on usage. Similar to its predecessor, Citizen Sleeper 2 maintains its progression systems streamlined and targeted, yet every upgrade you make feels substantial and noticeable.

In “Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector”, the developers have made significant improvements that refine and perfect the successful formula of its predecessor. The compelling “one more day” gameplay loop, which was a standout feature in the original, remains just as strong, if not stronger, in this sequel. With its captivating narrative, immersive world-building, and masterful storytelling, Citizen Sleeper 2 delivers in every essential aspect. For enthusiasts of the first game, RPGs, choice-driven games, or sci-fi fans, Jump Over the Age’s second offering is a highly recommended experience. Don’t miss out on Citizen Sleeper 2!

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

2025-01-30 23:11

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