Jump Over - gamebastion.com

What is it?: A heartfelt sci-fi RPG where you manage resources, go on missions, and get to know your android body.
Expect to pay:
Developer: Jump Over the Age
Publisher: Fellow Traveller
Reviewed on: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, AMD Ryzen 7 5800 8-Core Processor, 16GB RAM, Force MP600 SSD.
Multiplayer?: No.
Link: fellowtraveller.games/citizen-sleeper-2-starward-vector

I try not to think about my body as a 'vessel' too much, if I can help it. The idea that my mind is just a rider in something that can wear, tear, and break down isn't a comforting thought—but it's an increasingly pressing one. Citizen Sleeper 2 reminds me of this fact twofold: It's a game about the slow degradation of the body, sure, but it's also a sequel. It's an attempt to show growth, to do more. But in trying to grow, it's become fuzzier around the edges. Fractured, bumpy, nicked in places, and lovely in its own way.

Citizen Sleeper 2 understands that you don't get to choose how your body grows. You can decide on some things if you're one of the lucky ones, sure, but eventually everything bends and falls apart. The solution for your character, an android 'Sleeper', is to start stapling bits of yourself back together with spare parts.

As a story, it understands that for Sleepers and humans alike, our bodies barely belong to us in the cosmic scheme of things—they belong to the universe that made them, subject to its weights and pressures. Which is a pain in the arse, really, because I'd like to not have back problems and my shoulders hurt.

While Gareth Damian Martin's first game hinged around building and finding community in a strange place, Citizen Sleeper 2 turns the gaze inward to the self. The body and how it might change—naturally or because of others—is the threat. But it pushes ambitiously outwards, as well, broadening its scope from one space station to an entire slice of asteroid belt, and its quality suffers a tad, much like my aching shoulders do.

In case you haven't played the first game,

Jump Over