#citizensleeper

That ending, the offer they made, was the most heartbreaking, understanding “no” I’ve ever given in an RPG

What a game! I would not have predicted at the beginning of this year that one of my favourite games, probably ever, would be interactive science fiction with dice rolls. From the moment Citizen Sleeper starts the writing grabs you. It is warm but doesn't pull its punches, is challenging but not brutally so and I've felt like I had real agency in the story which I think is the greatest trick any RPG/ narrative driven game can pull off. I am invested in all the threads I'm pursuing at the moment and don't feel punished by any that I'm choosing not to be a part of. I have also loved the way that as the story has unfolded and in some cases some unfortunate things have happened, I was able to find solace in doing something that made me feel better in character afterwards. And there's a cat! I've made friends, sorta, with a cat! Ohh and the music! It's amazing too! :)

There are 2 DLCs available now and a third one coming in the new year which will see me return to this mixed up station floating in the blackness of space.

Also, I have been looking for a community of folks to hang out with on Tumblr and was delighted to find my sleepers (is that what fans of this game call ourselves?) on Tumblr.

This game has the intrigue of a good sci fi mystery. Wrapped up in a body I willingly sold to a corporation I've run off and am in desperate need of repairs for my mechanical being. Not only that, I've begun to reckon with the weight of what living as this new type of being, rarely seen free, in this big universe.

Of course I fend for myself, ponder too long with too many adjectives and adverbs, never ask good questions, and if I act too much in my own self interest I will be punished.

Citizen Sleeper was a mediocre experience that turned terrible within a matter of moments. I was intrigued at first and the art and music had promised. The randomly rolled dice felt good and managing to get max rolls every day was easy very quickly.

What didn't feel good was the walls of texts. The writer uses too many descriptor words to describe the feeling they want you to have. They leave no room for imagination and they use no art to really convey it. This overcompensates a glaring lack of art assets to a degree that makes it hard to play. I have no wonder here and that's not fun. Here’s an example of why I stopped. This game railroads you so hard. The writer clearly has a specific way to play and it is entirely at odds with how they wrote the earlier parts of the game. 

*spoilers*  I had helped out a mercenary repair her ship and find the man who stole her ship computer. Once I had tracked him down I was given the option to go it alone, by this point in the game I had been held at gunpoint twice and both times was punished for fighting for my life. So I waited for backup.

What happened fucking sucked. My merc friend shows up and we find another being like me! This is cool, but now the enemy is shooting right at us. One thing leads to another and he ends up revealing he stole the ship to save the being, but it already looks dead. He makes a move at us and he's shot dead. I run away confused... alright!

I come back two days later, they're buried and my payday is up. Let me be clear. I've known this woman for a month and have made good friends with her. She's now saved my life and talked me through this traumatic moment and paid me.

The writer at this point takes full narrative control from the choices I've made that have only made sense to say "The money feels dirty and I am so fucking ashamed, i'm so gross, BLAH BLAH BLAH" and to add insult to this shit pile. I get an achievement that says "THE BAD END"

*Spoiler*

I turned the game off immediately. If the writer wanted to tell a certain story they should have written a comic book. The artist(s) deserve more to show more of this work.

Citizen Sleeper is out today

Citizen Sleeper, the new game from Jump Over The Age and Fellow Traveller, is out today.