Diving into Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, I found myself repeatedly drawn to the imagery of a ‘whale fall.’ In nature, when a whale dies, it descends to the ocean floor, nourishing an entire ecosystem of deep-sea life. In much the same way, the world within Citizen Sleeper is living in the aftermath of a major event. The dominant Solheim corporation has crumbled, and in its shadow, a new existence has emerged. People are now scavengers, digging through the remains of this fallen giant. The story of the Sleeper is just one among many, surviving from the remnants of this behemoth.
When the first Citizen Sleeper ended, I assumed a sequel wasn’t necessary. The game felt whole and complete. What else was there to explore? Quite a lot, it turns out! I was immediately drawn back into this beautiful yet unforgiving transhumanist universe, and by the time the credits rolled, I was genuinely dismayed to leave. Citizen Sleeper 2 builds on the first game, delivering a thought-provoking, unpredictable sci-fi adventure.
In this sequel, you step into the shoes of a new Sleeper—an entity composed of a human mind and an assemblage of metal, synthetic flesh, and wiring. You awaken with your long-term memories intact, though your short-term ones are adrift. After a burst of chaotic events, you’re on the run again. While you’ve managed to break free from your creators’ grasp, a former ally turned formidable adversary is now on your trail. Apparently, space gangsters take issue when you claim ownership over your own body.
Now, you must navigate life as a fugitive, eking out a living through gig jobs and chance. The narrative unfolds through rich text, with your Sleeper describing the experiences that surround you. Your surroundings are reflected visually by exterior views you can interact with through location markers on a map. The game’s RPG mechanics hinge on a dice economy—each day, known as a cycle, begins with rolling five dice. You assign these dice to actions, advancing time until you achieve your objectives. Higher dice rolls equate to greater success. To maintain energy levels and earn money, gig work is crucial.
In the first game, the entire tale transpired on a singular space station, allowing you to settle into the routines and locations, forming bonds with familiar faces. That sense of security is absent here. In Citizen Sleeper 2, you’re compelled to keep moving between various locations within The Belt, a network of stations and satellites. Lingering in one spot will only ensure you’re discovered.
That nomadic lifestyle brings a palpable tension to the game—an urgent, delicious tension. This entry significantly amplifies the pressures of evading capture and surviving. Unlike in CS1, where comfort could be found relatively quickly, this sequel challenges you to stay on your toes. From the moment a shipmate wakes you with bad news on Day Two, you realize that your Sleeper—and you, by extension—can never catch a break.
One of the standout features of Citizen Sleeper 2 is its innovative new systems, particularly Contracts. These are high-stakes missions, requiring you to recruit a capable crew, assign their skills and dice effectively, and complete a task under tight deadlines. Failure can lead to elevated stress, potentially sidelining your crew or stripping your Sleeper of usable dice—outcomes you’d rather avoid.
The dance of managing dice, handling stress counters, and navigating crisis events forms an exhilarating puzzle. Each decision can teeter on a knife’s edge—success can feel like a gamble, but the adrenaline of risk-taking is energizing. It’s a tension that makes this game an enthralling experience, prompting me to take risks I wouldn’t have considered in the previous installment.
Choosing the right crew is crucial for overcoming challenges that lie ahead. You, as the Sleeper, possess a defined class with certain upgradable abilities, but one skill remains forever closed. Thus, teamwork becomes essential to offset your limitations. You might initially see companions as convenient dice pools, but they gradually reveal themselves as fellow survivors with their own narratives. Some may become permanent allies, bringing both their skills and humanity aboard your ship.
The game’s familiar faces resonate deeply, despite playing as a different Sleeper. These characters, now hardened by time and circumstance, serve as poignant reminders of the enduring impact of corporate capitalism’s harsh realities.
The narrative strength of Citizen Sleeper 2 lies in its writing—the heart and soul of its world-building. Gareth Damian Martin’s evocative prose breathes authenticity into the environments and its inhabitants. I found myself capturing many in-game quotes, preserving them like cherished passages from a book.
When the stakes are high, the outcomes are always intriguing, often more compelling than when events go smoothly. Through RPG-like decisions, everything changes, from drilling into asteroids to attempting mutinies, building colonies, or conversing with fading AIs—the story is consistently entertaining and unpredictable.
An exceptional illustration of this narrative depth is the character Serafin. Early in the game, you encounter him, a figure from your forgotten past. It’s a profoundly felt moment, reflecting the loss and attempts at rebuilding connections—a microcosm of the larger theme of constant change and renewal within the game.
Citizen Sleeper 2 embodies themes of transhumanism and societal structures, woven into personal stories of perseverance. There are no fantastical elements like wizards or grandiose battles here—just relatable tales of ordinary people striving to survive. This grounded approach to storytelling feels refreshingly authentic compared to other sci-fi offerings, creating a vivid world brimming with eclectic characters such as engineers and cargo haulers. While other games boast flashy exteriors, Citizen Sleeper 2 offers gritty, substantive narratives that hold a mirror to reality—a truly remarkable beginning for 2025.
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is scheduled for release on PC, Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5 on January 31. This review was crafted based on a PC code supplied by the publisher.
