REVIEW: Citizen Sleeper is a unique narrative adventure

Powered by the talented team of developers called Jump Over The Age and published under the seal Fellow Traveler, citizen sleeper is an adventure game with a clear narrative aspect, since the decisions you make are practically the only gameplay element present in the game.

No memories, but with a desire to live

The game takes place in Eye, a ring-shaped space station that floats freely in space; from the outside, it even seems peaceful, but the reality is different when entering it, since its residents and the many visitors who inhabit it are in constant social boiling. This is due to the fact that there are few resources on board the Eye, and there is not enough to go around. In addition, what little there is is controlled by shady criminal elements and large companies from the surface of the planet.

You arrive at the station without knowing very well who you are, thanks to the perrengue that passed in the hands of the corporation Essen-Arp, that by bringing you back to life after an event you don't remember, ended up putting you in an artificial body, in the form of a Sleeper. Sleepers they are artificial beings very close to humans that need constant supplies in order to survive. 

The big “advantage” of being one of them is that you have the potential to live much longer than a biological body would allow. Such vital supplies are, of course, controlled by the Essen-Arp, who use that power to keep poor beings under their corporate finger, treating them like true slaves.

Citizen Sleeper delivers a captivating sci-fi story

citizen sleeper is an adventure game and in it the narrative plays a central role, since beyond the few and limited elements of interaction in the form of what we can call dice – you know, those of bet – the only significant interaction with the game are your decisions about the course of history. So much so that to reach one of its many “endings”, you'll need to talk to a lot of people and work a lot.

The data I talked about is given to you at the start of each game cycle. the time in citizen sleeper it takes the form of turns, and with each one of them that is spent with an action, your vital energy is draining away. If you run out of energy, you die, which leads to the end of the game. With hard work and exploration, it is possible to get more energy, and as you discover more places in the Eye, you begin to be aware of several possibilities to get rid of the influence of Essen-Arp. But with everything comes a cost, and life on the station is far from cheap.

There are many and the most varied possibilities at Eye

The interactions within Eye are carried out through a kind of dice challenge, similar to that of a tabletop RPG. The more energy you have at the start of a cycle, the more data you receive, and these are random. Depending on your luck, you will have an easier time dealing with these situations, since they are dictated by percentages, and if you fail, they cost your health dearly, taking away your life points.

As you explore the station, you'll discover ways to improve your character's basic attributes. Some of them, when increased, give special abilities that influence different elements of the game. There is a way, for example, to change your dice at the beginning of a day, in case they are not to your liking, investing points in one of these branches of the character. Others, as in the case of intellect, already give a bonus to all manual labor activities.

With that in mind, developers were incredibly creative in giving the player the most varied ways to find a way to survive in the game. It is entirely possible to reach the end of it without any kind of conflict between a Sleeper and the rest of the population of the Eye, and in another game sequence, the one I followed in my first playthrough, I was even able to accomplish something that at first goes completely against the guidelines of citizen sleeper.

Recommended experience with little prior knowledge

A lot of this game is dependent on the surprise of the discovery, so I have to be discreet in the way I describe the game situations and the possibilities and ramifications present in it, so that I don't end up giving any spoiler. citizen sleeper, being a game with a narrative character, greatly values ​​your immersion within it. 

Luckily, it's extremely well-crafted, with an amazing script, and its mechanics are simple enough to make it easily playable by just about any type of player. As it is a game with many possible branches, it is recommended to play it more than once, so that you can see all the possible endings of the story, which are many and of all kinds.

It is also worth mentioning that there has been the inclusion of some free expansion packs since the initial release of citizen sleeper last year. Since then, the game has received three new story content, which can be accessed at certain points in the main narrative. 

All these expansions are excellent and worth exploring. Each brings a new element to the overall story, and each brings its own range of choices and consequences, much like the base game version.  

Conclusion  

citizen sleeper is a real achievement in terms of game design which shows that explicit violence is not necessary for a game to be engaging and fun. Thanks to its brilliant unfolding story and huge range of possibilities, it ends up becoming a unique experience, worthy of the attention of any and all players interested in enjoying something that goes beyond being a mere form of fun, but a game experience that stays with you long after you clear it.    

The game is available on Game Pass all with Xbox One, Xbox Series S / X and PC, and also for purchase in the digital market of these systems and in the Mac, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 e 5. 

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Text proofread by Dacio Castelo Branco in 22 / 05 / 2023