Citizen Sleeper

A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage.

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Roleplaying in the ruins of interplanetary capitalism. Live the life of an escaped worker, washed-up on a lawless station at the edge of an interstellar society. Inspired by the flexibility and freedom of TTRPGs, explore the station, choose your friends, escape your past and change your future.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,316 reviews

story1,200 positive mentions

grinding76 negative mentions

The story is compelling and emotionally engaging, with well-developed characters that players can connect with.
The gameplay mechanics, particularly the dice system, add a strategic layer that enhances the overall experience.
The art style and soundtrack create a beautiful and immersive atmosphere that complements the narrative.

The game can become repetitive and easy in the late game, losing some of the initial tension and challenge.
Some players may find the dialogue choices to be limited and lacking in meaningful impact on the overall story.
The lack of voice acting and extensive text may deter those who prefer more action-oriented gameplay.

story
2,984 mentions
40 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The story of "Citizen Sleeper" is widely praised for its compelling narrative and rich character development, immersing players in a cyberpunk world filled with emotional depth and existential themes. While the gameplay mechanics are simple and sometimes repetitive, they effectively support the storytelling, allowing players to navigate various character arcs and make meaningful choices that impact the narrative. However, some reviewers noted that the story can feel linear at times, with limited player agency, and that certain character interactions end abruptly after completing their quests, which may detract from the overall experience.
- “The story is nothing short of captivating, with an incredible soundtrack that perfectly sets the mood at every turn.”
- “This game proves that a strong story, beautiful visuals, and a well-matched soundtrack can create an unforgettable experience.”
- “Fantastic characters that get you to actually care about them, and just such a well-written story.”
- “In most cases, a good quest storyline is ruined by the writers' intention to teach the gamer a lesson, usually in the worst way possible, that is: by limiting player agency.”
- “You just end up clicking through things because your dialogue options have no impact on the story.”
- “The gameplay is mostly there to serve the story and choices by introducing some randomness and a sense of urgency and growth.”
gameplay
1,492 mentions
35 % positive mentions
61 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Citizen Sleeper" is characterized by a simple yet engaging dice-based mechanic that emphasizes resource management and decision-making within a narrative-driven framework. While the mechanics initially create a sense of urgency and challenge, they tend to become repetitive and less impactful as the game progresses, often feeling secondary to the rich storytelling and character development. Overall, the game successfully blends light gameplay elements with a compelling narrative, making it appealing for fans of interactive stories, though some may find the gameplay lacking in depth and challenge.
- “The gameplay is simple but lends itself to a surprising amount of depth.”
- “The gameplay loop is very simple and it's quite enjoyable.”
- “The mechanics are simple, you get a daily pool of dice to spend performing an ever growing pool of tasks in exchange for resources.”
- “The gameplay heavily relies on managing your daily 'dice throws' and nothing more; there's little to no visual feedback for your actions. You should consider this a 'gamebook' on steroids.”
- “The gameplay is shallow, which becomes apparent towards the end; it was more about just ticking the boxes off than actually strategizing my next move.”
- “The gameplay progression is poorly thought out; the camera is janky, the quests are not descriptive, and if you forget a detail, you have to look for it online. The structure of the game doesn't make me want to play other storylines other than the main one I wanted to pursue.”
music
704 mentions
63 % positive mentions
36 % neutral mentions
1 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its ability to enhance the overall atmosphere and emotional depth of the experience. Composed by Amos Roddy, the soundtrack is described as haunting, immersive, and perfectly suited to the game's narrative, often evoking feelings of melancholy and hope. Players appreciate how the music complements the storytelling, creating a captivating backdrop that draws them deeper into the game's world.
- “The story is nothing short of captivating, with an incredible soundtrack that perfectly sets the mood at every turn.”
- “This game proves that a strong story, beautiful visuals, and a well-matched soundtrack can create an unforgettable experience.”
- “The music is ethereal and pulls on the heartstrings.”
- “The music is generally a calm background that goes well with the work.”
- “The soundtrack is very ambient and boring.”
- “The music could do with a makeover.”
graphics
405 mentions
53 % positive mentions
44 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their unique and beautiful art style, which effectively complements the narrative and atmosphere. While the visuals are often described as minimalist, they are praised for their ability to create an immersive experience, with detailed character designs and a cohesive cyberpunk aesthetic. Overall, the combination of stunning artwork, engaging soundtracks, and thoughtful world-building enhances the storytelling, making it a visually captivating experience despite its simplicity.
- “Paired with stunning, detailed artwork, it ensures you're always immersed, with plenty to keep your eyes engaged as you progress through the narrative.”
- “This game proves that a strong story, beautiful visuals, and a well-matched soundtrack can create an unforgettable experience.”
- “The graphics are stunning and have a distinct style that fits the vibe of the game perfectly.”
- “The graphics are sparse, yet they make you feel the atmosphere, giving you the experience of being there and actually moving through the space station.”
- “The lack of anything graphical (the game is entirely text-based) makes this worse, and results in a sleep-inducing gameplay in the end.”
- “It's clear a graphic designer wasn't involved in the development of this game.”
emotional
344 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of "Citizen Sleeper" is widely praised for its deeply engaging narrative and character development, often eliciting strong feelings from players, including tears. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to create meaningful connections with its characters and the impactful choices that lead to various emotional outcomes, making it a standout experience in the sci-fi genre. The combination of beautiful writing, evocative music, and heartfelt storytelling contributes to a powerful emotional journey that resonates long after gameplay.
- “Citizen Sleeper delivers a touching story that I never felt dragged on.”
- “The writing is excellent, the characters heart-wrenching, and the atmosphere intoxicating.”
- “A heartfelt, deeply introspective and philosophical story taking you from the darkest point in the sleeper's story to the light at the end.”
atmosphere
249 mentions
70 % positive mentions
29 % neutral mentions
1 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and evocative qualities, enhanced by a captivating soundtrack and rich world-building. Players appreciate the combination of simple graphics and deep storytelling that creates a sense of exploration and emotional connection, particularly within its sci-fi and cyberpunk settings. Overall, the atmosphere is described as calming, melancholic, and engaging, making it a standout feature that draws players into the experience.
- “Amazing atmosphere, intriguing characters, an amazing world with depth beyond the player, and overall a joy to play and experience.”
- “The atmosphere is rich with characters, story and locations.”
- “The atmosphere, music, art, and story have really drawn me into the world of Citizen Sleeper.”
- “The only criticism I can level at Citizen Sleeper's atmosphere is that it often feels intensely lonely.”
- “This game has its flaws with repetitiveness and a clunky UI, but it is still worth a look in the visual novel genre due to its atmosphere and story.”
- “Set in a dystopian capitalistic ring-world, it creates an atmosphere of pure dread and agony, all while still remaining enjoyable to play.”
replayability
121 mentions
13 % positive mentions
76 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players noting multiple endings and branching storylines that encourage revisiting the game, while others criticize the limited impact of choices and the convergence of gameplay styles by the end. Many reviews highlight that while the initial playthrough is engaging, subsequent runs may feel repetitive due to the lack of significant differences in outcomes or character experiences. Overall, the consensus suggests that while there is some replay value, it is often overshadowed by a short playtime and minimal variation in gameplay across multiple playthroughs.
- “The game has several endings where you choose to leave the eye or stay on it, but while there is a documented mechanic where choosing to leave will then give you an option to go back and make the other choice, the reverse doesn't exist.”
- “It also has branching stories that add replay value to the game; I completed the game twice with rather different journeys on each playthrough, which is actually more than what I can experience from many RPGs with bigger budgets than this game.”
- “There are multiple paths to take which makes gameplay interesting and gives it some replayability, if not only for the achievements.”
- “Very low replayability; the classes are unrestricted and don't gate anything in a meaningful or interesting way.”
- “A tough one to recommend; the game is a short linear interactive novel that will touch your heart and soul but has 0 replayability.”
- “The game doesn't really have much replay value as you can experience all it has to offer in a single playthrough, and the short playtime might put some people off.”
character development
76 mentions
55 % positive mentions
41 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is a mixed bag, with many praising the depth and emotional resonance of the characters, while others feel that the gameplay mechanics limit meaningful growth and choices. The character designs are consistently highlighted as stunning and unique, contributing to a rich atmosphere, but some players express a desire for more immersive storytelling and personal drama. Overall, the game excels in character writing and design, creating a compelling narrative experience, though it may not fully satisfy those seeking extensive character evolution.
- “Gorgeous character designs and atmosphere, with deep character writing and insightful commentary on kindness and human connection in the face of struggle.”
- “The character development is really well done, as is the setting, and the sci-fi here is pretty fresh.”
- “The storytelling and character designs do enough to make the world feel like a place that's bigger than just what you see.”
- “Ultimately, that leaves Citizen Sleeper as a handful of disconnected vignettes exploring various slices of life around the space station but without giving your titular Citizen Sleeper any larger growth or character development of their own outside of being obscenely rich and well connected to factions that don’t talk to each other.”
- “For me, the combination of the rogue-like save game mechanic with the story progression not ending up with so few meaningful choices and no real character development makes this game uninspiring.”
- “However, I would like to see a greater exploration of characters and particularly some character development which can really challenge or shock us.”
grinding
76 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a significant drawback, particularly in the late game where it becomes tedious and repetitive. Many reviews highlight the slow navigation, excessive clicking, and resource management mechanics that contribute to a lack of engagement, especially after the initial hours of gameplay. While some appreciate the story and characters, the gameplay loop often feels like a drag, diminishing the overall experience.
- “Gameplay-wise, it's light on the RPG-stat aspects and very heavy on grinding.”
- “Despite getting through much of the main branch of the story in ~5 hours, so much of that is padded with juggling quests that need 4-8 turns (cycles) of wait time and grinding for dice rolls (actions) and the two constantly dwindling resources that impact how many dice rolls you get per cycle.”
- “The main problem with the game is that the actual gameplay is tedious and dull, particularly at its worst when you realize that you're just doing extra clicks because they made the gameplay such that you will have to do extra clicks for no reason.”
humor
22 mentions
95 % positive mentions
-9 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as inconsistent, with some players finding it less cynical and more cerebral compared to titles like Disco Elysium, which is noted for its wit and bleak humor. While moments of levity exist, they often coexist with intense emotional experiences, leading to a mix of laughter and melancholy. Overall, the humor is seen as lacking depth and originality, relying on explicit descriptions rather than strong characterizations to convey comedic elements.
- “Hilariously, they come with descriptive subtitles like 'cynical mercenary', as if the developer knew the writing was lacking and needed an explicit description to properly frame them instead of being able to rely on the strength of their characterizations.”
- “I'm laughing!”
- “This game's ability to move from funny to sad to meditative in the space of a few lines is truly impressive.”
- “Not funny.”
- “The jokes fell flat and lacked originality.”
- “I expected more clever humor, but it was mostly cringeworthy.”
optimization
14 mentions
21 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly on most hardware and maintains a stable frame rate, users noted a lack of customizable settings and some performance issues on Mac. The visuals are simple enough to ensure broad compatibility, but certain optimizations for keyboard users were overlooked, leading to a less-than-ideal experience for some players.
- “No performance or visual issues.”
- “Wonderful story game, with light mechanics that can be optimized pretty easily.”
- “It plays just nice and the game feels very optimized.”
- “One thing that was a bit strange though was the performance, since it has no real settings it went a bit unstable sometimes (6GB VRAM) which I couldn't understand or would have expected, but it never crashed or went below 70 FPS for more than a second, so it's nothing too big.”
- “Tough; you have to click 'leave.' It seems like this was designed primarily for a touch interface and some easy optimizations for keyboard users were omitted.”
- “However, as much as I want to love it, it has really poor performance on Mac at the moment.”
stability
6 mentions
17 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
83 % negative mentions
The game's stability is generally criticized for being buggy, with issues such as glitches requiring a save and restart, occasional visual problems, and items getting stuck. However, it runs well on the Steam Deck, and despite the bugs, players still enjoy the overall experience.
- “Runs great on the Steam Deck.”
- “Too buggy to not have a reset save feature.”
- “One tiny bug - if you click on a location when you've just clicked on another location, it glitches out and you have to save and quit, then reenter the game.”
- “Occasional visual glitches like icons and HUD markers disappearing for a second or becoming unavailable.”