More frustrating is the unexpected outcome of some player choices, such as propelling a plot point forward cutting off food supply from an easy source for a few cycles, or a sudden time constraint meaning the player has to drop one plot thread over another. Players expecting something a little more dynamic may find its visuals jarring, as the player will be spending a lot of the time staring at the space station itself or looking at lovingly created character art. The day cycle system that the game uses adds an extra level of time constraint here too, bringing with it a sense of Pathologic but feeling nowhere near as punishing.Ĭitizen Sleeper does have some limitations, though. The player is an outcast on the verge of breaking down, and must maintain their robot body as well as eat to stave off starvation, bringing survival mechanics into play.
It has a similar feel to Out There, with a few hints of Disco Elysium when a player's choice kicks off a wider internal monologue.Ĭitizen Sleeper does well to create a palpable sense of tension, too. Citizen Sleeper is a game controlled by random dice rolls, and at peak performance the player gets five of these rolls per day to use towards tasks on Erlin's Eye, such as making money through helping with shipbuilding or completing tasks for the game's varied collection of characters. It's not just the visuals that are straightforward yet effective, either, as the gameplay also falls into this camp. There's an emotional core to Citizen Sleeper that breaks through the surface of its minimalist aesthetic choices. It's a game about the inhumanity of humans and the humanity of a supposed robot, whether through a friendship with a father and his adopted daughter or the corruption of a Blade Runner-esque bounty hunter looking to turn the player in.
This isn't just a game of essays and ideology dumps, though, as thankfully Citizen Sleeper explores all of these themes through well-crafted story and character moments.
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