Citizen Sleeper 2 REview

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector Review – Science Fiction To Die For

A long journey to a small, unknown planet...

Admittedly, I was rather late to Citizen Sleeper—the first game—as I’m not usually one to gravitate towards, whether we’re talking real life or digital, thoughtful, dice-based tabletop role-playing games. When I finally came to experience its world, which relative to its wider universe was quite contained, as well as its characters and their desperate tales, which wove deftly through your own, I fell in love with it on both a narrative and systemic level. 

Seemingly not eager to rest on their laurels, the game’s solo creator, Gareth Damian Martin, who is developing as Jump Over the Age, has delivered a new chapter in this sci-fi saga that I’d describe as “same, but different”. The bones of Gareth’s original experience remain largely in tact, however the integration of other systems—new to Citizen Sleeper, but familiar for those deep in the TTRPG trenches—creates a palpable sense of dread and an air of unpredictability that the first game didn’t necessarily have. 

Citizen Sleeper 2 Review

As with the first game, you’re thrust into the cycle-to-cycle life of a ‘sleeper,’ a human consciousness digitised within a synthetic-frame and forced into indentured servitude until failure. Like before, you dream of freedom from the grind, as well as the corporation who made you and the syndicate who aim to overwrite your code, and venture into the Starward Belt to enlist a crew, take on high-risk, brutal contracts, and bring down the whole, crooked system. 

Citizen Sleeper’s several, overlapping mechanics obviously equate to a special tabletop game, however I feel it’s Martin’s adeptness at penning moving, eloquent stories that speak to all manner of experience that underpins the whole damn thing. Clearly, I became invested in my sleeper’s struggle, however as I took on stray-after-stray to build a real, ragtag crew I found their smaller narratives, which skirted the periphery of my own, to shine brightest of all. Of course, with multiple endings and paths to walk, I am especially eager to re-roll a new sleeper and do it all again. 

For the uninitiated, Citizen Sleeper follows several of the basic tenets of tabletop role-playing, most importantly is that all outcomes are determined by the roll of a die. You spend and receive dice each cycle, the game world’s term for a day, with higher-numbered dice seeming to better serve riskier rolls. It becomes a meticulous balance of managing stressors like hunger, taking on odd jobs to fleetingly fill your pockets of chits, and pursuing the goal. With Laine, the horrible leader of the syndicate pursuing you, trailing you system-to-system, this adds another layer of anxiety in a game that already piles on the stress and robs you of the belief that everything will be okay. 

Citizen Sleeper 2 Review

One of the mechanics new to Starward Vector revolves around this stress placed on characters, who are so often thrust into impossible situations. In terms of how it impacts the gameplay, it feels like an intended trade-off for your sleeper circumventing their need for a stabiliser drug this time around, only its impact feels wider-spread here. Failing dangerous scenarios can add to your stress level which can cause tick-damage to your dice and, ultimately, break them. They can be restored using components, though they’re regularly glitched and have a much lower chance at rolling the goods. The same stresses, which are compounded once supplies exhaust and starvation sets in, begin to hurt your crew as well. 

RELATED:  The Coolest Aussie Games We Saw At The South Australian Game Exhibition

So often I’d find myself in situations that would spiral out of my control, whether through my own ill-considered choices or through chance. We’d often miss the opportune window or blow an operation entirely, and the consequences of these failures would be felt. I do love that, on the easier settings at least, Martin doesn’t resort to ‘game over’ states when things go catastrophically bad, they instead present a forever-changed world that will go on to experience the reverberations of your cock-up. I did feel as though the stress system, especially mid-contract, is so tailored to your failure that it became hard to know if survival hinged on anything other than mere chance. In terms of building stakes this works wonders, however it did create an experience that could feel a tad unfair when the chips were down. 

Citizen Sleeper 2 Review

If Starward Vector is a game about risk and reward, I felt that the risk came about in every waking second of the moment-to-moment, while the reward came after through its narrative pay-off—good or bad. 

Contracts, which are little side jobs you can do with your crew to raise your capital or perhaps progress a minor plot, require careful and considered preparation. There’s a time sensitivity that doesn’t permeate the core experience, and every decision’s importance is compounded by the fact there’s no reprieve to rest, or cook. These little instances of flash fiction delivered the most hardcore experiences within Starward Vector, and I loved the balancing act and tug-of-war that emerges between your team’s goal and perseverance. 

Citizen Sleeper 2 Review

Citizen Sleeper might not be possible without Gareth’s data mind, so to speak, however so much of its identity is owed to Guillaume Singelin’s artwork. By plying his distinct style against this sci-fi backdrop, the renowned cartoonist gives each hub and character their unique appeal. It’s unmoving and largely inanimate, though there’s a sense of place in this Starward Belt that exists due to the art. Similarly, this far flung celestial setting wouldn’t pass the vibe check without its pulsing electronic soundscape, once again composed by Amos Roddy. An exceptional amount of the audiovisual language of Citizen Sleeper is owed to these two. 

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is a sublime, sumptuously-written role-playing game that delivers on its established themes over and again, presenting them through a band of misfit space oddities you can’t help but root for. I also love that Martin refused to deliver more of the same, the new concepts woven through this sequel only serve to elevate its prowess as a “tabletop” powerhouse. Let’s hope the inexorable march of time doesn’t forget Starward Vector, because there is a contender here. 

Citizen Sleeper 2 REview
Conclusion
Like Citizen Sleeper before it, Starward Vector feels like a tremendous coming together in so many senses. The marriage between the original’s core concepts and the new mechanics feels natural, while the motley crue you take to the stars with, their stories included, are an exceptional cast of characters whose place in my sleeper’s own journey I’ll never forget.
Positives
A clever evolution of Citizen Sleeper's core tenets
Tremendously realised cast and story
Stress really does ratchet up the perceived tension
Splendid audiovisual presentation
Negatives
Being the run killers they are, broken dice and stress can feel a bit unpredictable and unfair
9