Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

Developer: Jump Over The Age

Release Date: 31 January 2025

A dice-driven RPG, in a human and heartfelt sci-fi world. You are an escaped android, with a malfunctioning body, a price on your head and no memory of your past. Get a ship, find a crew, and take on contracts while you navigate across the Starward Belt.

The Citizen Sleeper 2 demo throws you straight into the narrative. We are a sleeper. We are disoriented and lost as we come to our senses in an unfamiliar situation. The eloquent introductory scenareo does a great job of filling you in if you have yet to play the original, while not lingering too long for those that are already acquainted with the fiction. The ever familiar UI and soundscape provide comfort to me as a player as I get to know a new individual in an entirely new scenareo. We are no longer confined to the Eye, and based on what I have played so far, I cannot wait to see the stories that are yet to be told throughout the rest of space.

Citizen Sleeper is a Narrative RPG in which we use dice rolls to determine and distribute our actions. As is the case in Citizen Sleeper, your character has stats to give an advantage to certain types of tasks over others based on your strengths. Building these up over time as you gain experience in the world is just one of the mechanics in play in this management style, choices matter story.

What strikes me about the sequal so far during my 2 hours with it is that while a lot of the tone is synonymous with the first, there is a subtle change that has huge implications in both the gameplay and the narrative experience. We have a crew. In the first game we met plenty of people, got to know them, relied on them, even grew to love some of them, but deep down, it was a wholly solitary experience. For me at least, it felt deliberate as we go through the personal struggle of acceptance of what/who we are. People can help us along the way but that journey has to be ours and ours alone. I went to sleep alone at night, and I made my decisions based on what was best for me as survival had to be my number one priority. The small shift of having a crew is going to ripple out not only into my decisions, but into my way of thinking, and that is an exciting proposition.

Another impactful mechanic added to 2 is the contract system, changing up the day to day gameplay. If you are not currently on a contract, you are probably going to want to stock up for the next one as these multi-day jobs take you away from any bustle, to focus solely on the hustle. This new system is sure to complement our nomadic lifestyle, but presents its own challenges in resource management, risk reward and possibly even crew relations. I can tell you that my first contract absolutely did not go as I intended.

The writing is just as engaging as the first and with the universe at our fingertips, the possibilities feel endless. And with the recent announcement of a January 31st release date, we don’t have long to wait.

Demo Length – 2 hours
At a glance
+ Meaningful changes from the first game.
+ A comfortable familiarity with the general structure and UI.
+ Choices matter, even during contracts.
+ Time pressure still feels weighty.
+ The addition of crew stress adds more plates to spin in an interesting way.
+ Writing and design remain stand out.
+/- Looking forward to seeing the rest of the structure of the game.