Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector review: sci-fi sequel ups the stress

digitaltrends.com:

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector Score Details Pros

• Same winning tabletop hook
• More layered survival gameplay
• Hopeful storytelling

• Learning curve can be steep
• Some underexplained systems

My first escape attempt was a disaster.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, the sequel to 2022’s indie critical darling, kicks off in a high-stakes fashion that I wasn’t prepared for. Rather than hiding out on The Eye and quietly trying to survive, I’m immediately on the run. Terrified that I’ll be caught if I stay on any one planet too long, I begin to make hasty decisions that leave me in a deficit. My energy depletes, I don’t have the chits to maintain my ship, and each of my dice shatters one by one, limiting what I can accomplish in a day. I’m left hungry, stressed, and stranded. With each passing cycle, I sink into despair. How is anyone expected to survive in such an unforgiving world?

It’s only through that first failure that I could find the hope that powers developer Jump Over the Edge’s sci-fi sequel.Citizen Sleeper 2’s steep learning curve can be frustrating, leaving players to juggle an overwhelming number of cold survival systems that often feel at odds with its warmth. Learn to master those nuances, though, and you’ll unravel a compassionate story about reclaiming and rebuilding oneself — body and all — in the face of overwhelming cruelty.

Stress and survival

Like its predecessor, Citizen Sleeper 2 is a narrative RPG that draws its inspiration from tabletop games. It once again follows a runaway Sleeper, a human whose emulated consciousness is placed into a synthetic body by the shady Essen-Arp Corporation. They are indentured servants who have been robbed of all autonomy until they can pay off their debt. This time around, our Sleeper can’t just hide out on one space station; they have to hop around the galaxy to evade the villainous Laine, who gets closer with each passing