Citizen Sleeper Reviews
I’ll close the curtain on the behind-the-scenes look at games criticism and I won’t spoil any more of Citizen Sleeper, but this review in particular was a joy to write. More specifically, Citizen Sleeper is a joy to play. The Eye is crammed with wonderful stories, and it feels like it’s truly bustling with activity – far more than any Triple-A open world populated with soulless NPCs going about their same daily routines. The simple visuals allow your mind to fill in the gaps like a good book, and it’s a testament to Jump Over the Age’s storytelling that it manages to create such a rich world. I already know that I’ll pop back to the Eye for the rest of the year, maybe longer, just to experience stories I missed, to see how different decisions play out, but mostly just to spend more time there, soaking up the atmosphere in an obsolete body as I absentmindedly peoplewatch over a steaming pot of noodles.
Citizen Sleeper is a sensible and well-written science fiction work with very relevant discussions. It's a masterpiece that every player interested in a good story should experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
In the end, though, Citizen Sleeper is less a critique of capitalism itself, which in its defense has been done countless times in the cyberpunk genre, and more an opportunity to showcase how those under its thumb persevere and succeed despite it. Its hopeful and inspiring message is backed by a branching, heartfelt narrative, and a great gameplay loop, making it tough to put down. Add in its enriching visual style and my favorite musical score of 2022 so far, and Citizen Sleeper is a game I'll be thinking about for years to come.
What Citizen Sleeper achieves in a fairly short hour count, though, is a sci-fi story that sticks.
Citizen Sleeper is a breath of fresh air for a genre like science fiction, increasingly inclined to self-cite and enhance its aesthetics, leaving the content partially in the shadows. Its settings, although not directly observable, are alive, pulsating, and inside it is possible to intertwine with the stories of the inhabitants of Erlin's Eye.
Review in Italian | Read full review
It's not often that a game grabs me in quite the way Citizen Sleeper has. By stripping a video game adventure to its barest components and then manipulating those components to create just the right balance of hope and despair it successfully conveys the drama and danger of its small slice of sci-fi storytelling. Top-notch writing, impeccable narrative design and inviting tabletop mechanics accompanied by gorgeous art and music serve only to elevate it even more. Play this bloody game.
It's not often that a game grabs me in quite the way Citizen Sleeper has. By stripping a video game adventure to its barest components and then manipulating those components to create just the right balance of hope and despair it successfully conveys the drama and danger of its small slice of sci-fi storytelling. Top-notch writing, impeccable narrative design and inviting tabletop mechanics accompanied by gorgeous art and music serve only to elevate it even more. Play this bloody game.
Citizen Sleeper crafts a gorgeously written and thoughtfully conceptualized Cyberpunk world using RPG mechanics inspired by the best in tabletop gaming.
Citizen Sleeper has captured my imagination in a way that few video games do. Thoughts of characters met and what could have been have percolated through my mind since finishing a playthrough after roughly five hours, which I did with an urgency not typical of me. If you're looking for something different, something that feels both fresh and timely and often beautiful and sometimes horrifying with its implications, Citizen Sleeper is all of those things and more.
The plot is the shining star of this game as you interact with a plethora of characters all developed with incredible backstories and details. The characters have their own unique personalities and charms, all laid out by expert futuristic writing. It is so beautifully pulled together through many twisting tangents that this space pirate-like community is very reminiscent of the cult class tales of ‘Cowboy Bebop’. Each cycle brings new and exciting revelations in the story.
The new game from Jump Over the Age is, just like NORCO and Disco Elysium, one of the best-written games in recent years, being a must-play for those who appreciate well-polished text, just as those previously mentioned, mature, thought-provoking sci-fi plot and tabletop RPG mechanics.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
As regulars probably know well by now, I don't tend to be a fan of visual novels and even sometimes struggle with titles that are too heavily text-driven, but when they're done right its almost impossible not to take notice...
Citizen Sleeper intelligently and elegantly explores its cyberpunk themes and the growing potential of tabletop-inspired digital RPGs.
Absolutely overflowing with evocative characters, situations and stunning world building, Citizen Sleeper effortlessly punches its ticket as one of the best narrative adventures on PS5. Sure enough, the lo-fi presentation and plodding tabletop mechanics won't be for everyone, but for everyone else Citizen Sleeper is a beautifully written, often emotional cyberpunk adventure that will linger long in the mind long after completion.
Citizen Sleeper is a great mix of a narrative adventure and a tabletop game.
Review in Italian | Read full review
undefined.Citizen Sleeper allows for multiple playthroughs, and even when looking through screenshots during my review there are characters and locations I never once encountered within my first playthrough. Because of the heavy story-driven nature of Citizen Sleeper, your enjoyment will be contingent on your appreciation of the sci-fi genre as well as how much brain space is occupied by thoughts of Turing Tests. While that itself will denote that Citizen Sleeper isn't for everyone, for those that have even a slight interest in the genre, you don't want to sleep on this one.
Half literature, half RPG, Citizen Sleeper successfully unites its many facets to create inventive and thoughtful science fiction. Deep human issues are addressed in several sweet and melancholy subplots that weave together to form a life that is up to you to manage however you can. The paths do not lead to opposite roads, but it is up to whoever holds the controller to decide which trails to follow and which stories will have their attention and their dice rolls to build their uncertain daily life. Keep in mind that reading English well is essential for everything Citizen Sleeper has to offer.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Science fiction with themes of capitalism, identity, and oddly enough, mostly cozy characters in an environment that is not. Jump Over the Age's second title launches a unique experience with board game touches, focusing on relationships with other characters and a sense of belonging with a narrative so direct that it touches the heart in more than one of its multiple plots.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
With its well-executed TTRPG-inspired mechanic and an intricate narrative that fleshes out its universe, Citizen Sleeper brings a fresh outlook on the cyberpunk genre in video games.
An evocative life-sim RPG you won't want to wake up from.