Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is incredible, with deep characters, a fascinating narrative, and an amazing soundtrack. It takes everything that made the original so special and amplifies it.

89%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

stability, grinding

93% User Score Based on 1,228 reviews

Critic Score 85%Based on 21 reviews

Platforms

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About

A dice-driven RPG, in a human and heartfelt sci-fi world. You are an escaped android, with a malfunctioning body, a price on your head and no memory of your past. Get a ship, find a crew, and take on contracts while you navigate across the Starward Belt.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector screenshot

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,249 reviews

story325 positive mentions

stability12 negative mentions

Citizen Sleeper 2 expands on the original's mechanics and storytelling, offering a more complex and engaging experience.
The writing is exceptional, with well-developed characters and a compelling narrative that explores themes of identity, community, and survival.
The new contract system adds tension and strategy to gameplay, making each decision feel impactful.

The game can feel overly punishing with the new stress and dice-breaking mechanics, leading to frustrating moments of failure.
Some players may find the story less personal and more linear compared to the first game, with fewer meaningful choices and consequences.
The crew system, while interesting, can lead to situations where crew members feel underutilized or redundant, diminishing their impact on the story.

story
1,039 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
66%
3%
The story of "Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector" is widely praised for its engaging narrative, character depth, and emotional resonance, often described as a continuation of the compelling storytelling from the first game. While some players note that the sequel's story feels more linear and less personal, it still captivates with its themes of community, survival, and the human experience in a dystopian setting. The new contract system adds tension and urgency to the gameplay, enhancing the overall narrative experience, though some critiques mention a lack of impactful choices compared to the original.
- “The writing is detailed and absorbing, the characters are distinct, flawed and endearing, the plot has you on the edge of your seat and the world is just so goddamn cool.”
- “It has a great well-written story, amazing characters that grow on you quickly, and deeply emotional moments that will make you shed tears.”
- “The story is deep and engaging, the writing is as sharp as ever, the characters and their design is endearing.”
- “The original had numerous branching endings and choices, but this game seemed to have a simpler story structure.”
- “The biggest issue to me is the inconsequential story with the main plot having the most engagement but I realized what I missed most from the first game was all the in-depth backstories for most of the characters and even locations making me want to do multiple runs for 100% whereas in 2 you get some returning characters but that's really it for lore payoff and even that is minimal sometimes feeling like a chunk of their stories were just cut.”
- “The story felt bland, somewhat repetitive and the dialog felt needlessly drawn out.”
gameplay
711 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
71%
3%
The gameplay in "Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector" has been significantly expanded with new mechanics such as stress management, dice durability, and a contract system, enhancing the resource management and decision-making aspects of the game. While many players appreciate the added complexity and tension these mechanics bring, some find them frustrating and punishing, particularly the dice breaking mechanic. Overall, the game maintains a strong narrative focus, with engaging storytelling and character development, though some players feel it sacrifices some of the original's charm and simplicity for a more gamified experience.
- “This is, at its heart, a choose-your-own-adventure game where you are an android on the run, trying to build a crew and make a life for yourself in an extremely well thought out sci-fi world with cool risk-based choice mechanics.”
- “The addition of new mechanics (crew, travel, dice breaking, glitches, etc.) makes the game feel larger and more interactive, but it definitely still feels like a Citizen Sleeper game.”
- “The new contracts mechanic is really cool and adds some real drama as you can actually fail them pretty fast.”
- “The newly introduced stress/dice health mechanic is just awful.”
- “I especially disliked that you could not repair dice that were only partially broken; it seems like a pointless limitation with little actual gameplay purpose, other than randomly forcing you into suboptimal situations at low-to-medium stress levels.”
- “The second game more or less gets rid of that when exploring the map in favor of a contract system which just really doubles down on the timers giving you 5 cycles/days to do whatever you need to finish the job which would have been fine if it weren't for the addition of a stress mechanic making you not want to use the garbage dice for anything thus eating into your precious time and if you do use the bad die you have a chance of just breaking them all or making the following cycles even worse for efficiency which just boils the whole thing down to praying for good RNG rather than actual time management.”
music
201 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
38%
1%
The music in "Citizen Sleeper 2" has been widely praised for its atmospheric and immersive qualities, effectively enhancing the game's emotional depth and storytelling. Composed by Amos Roddy, the soundtrack is described as haunting, moody, and evocative, successfully setting the tone without being disruptive. While some reviewers noted that it closely resembles the first game's soundtrack, many still found it to be a beautiful continuation that complements the game's art and narrative.
- “The music is so good, truly what brings the vibe all together.”
- “The music is stellar—moody, atmospheric, and effortlessly immersive.”
- “Another beautiful soundtrack and more great character art to go with it.”
- “The character art is gorgeous and finely detailed, decorated with rich colors and evocative expressions, but the soundtrack this time doesn't quite reach the emotional highs of the first game.”
- “The first one had a better soundtrack.”
- “Although the music in the first game was certainly more prominent, the ethereal undertone delivered by the soundtrack in CS2 helps you remember your place in this new story.”
emotional
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its well-crafted story and character development, which evoke strong feelings, often leading players to tears. While some characters may feel archetypal and the mid-game slower, the overall narrative focuses on themes of found family and personal connections, culminating in a deeply moving experience. Despite some critiques regarding emotional depth compared to the first game, many players still find it to be a heartfelt journey that resonates long after completion.
- “It has a great well-written story, amazing characters that grow on you quickly, and deeply emotional moments that will make you shed tears.”
- “The story was simultaneously heart-wrenching and heart-warming.”
- “An amazingly heart-wrenchingly good story about connections with others, trust, sense of self, struggling against a seemingly hopeless future and the hope and beauty that springs from all this.”
graphics
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
47%
5%
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their stunning art style and character design, which effectively complement the immersive world and narrative. While some reviewers noted a sense of hollowness compared to the first game, the visuals remain generally well-executed, with beautiful 3D models and environments that enhance the overall experience. However, there are criticisms regarding the animation quality and stability on certain platforms, which detracts from the otherwise stellar visual presentation.
- “The art style is breathtaking as always, with the direction of all aspects having you thinking whether you've just fallen into some sort of comic book from the future.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous, the characters, while not always deep, are beautiful, and the ending nearly brought me to tears.”
- “And once again, Amos Roddy's score and Guillaume Singelin's artwork shine through, with stunning character portraits and environments accompanied by another fantastic soundtrack.”
- “Also could put more graphics to accommodate all that text; it worked in the first game, but now it feels hollow, especially with the ability to let AI create a good chunk of the content for you.”
- “The game is very unstable on hybrid graphics Linux setups, so essentially laptops running Linux, with frequent and unpredictable freezing.”
- “- none of this is explained in the 'help,' and there are no graphics in the 'help,' just dry text.”
atmosphere
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
36%
7%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive qualities, combining stunning art, ambient music, and a gripping narrative that evokes a sense of a beautiful yet melancholic future. Players appreciate the clever mission design and the tension it creates, alongside the game's ability to make them feel present in its zero-gravity environment. Overall, the atmosphere is described as a standout feature, enhancing the storytelling and character development throughout the gameplay experience.
- “The art is amazing (just like the prequel), the background music creates a gripping atmosphere that I don't even notice the tracks are looping.”
- “This game has atmosphere in spades and the impeccable writing, music, and art nails the feeling of a beautiful, sad, and very human far future among the stars.”
- “The music is stellar—moody, atmospheric, and effortlessly immersive.”
- “So, in the end, the main theme of this game is 'bigger and better' and while it certainly does 'bigger', I really miss the kind of stories the first game told and the atmosphere it had.”
- “The gameplay is thus a very different experience, as is the atmosphere.”
- “The true strength of the game though is the story, atmosphere and characters, all of which is aided by the gameplay context.”
replayability
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
76%
10%
Overall, "Citizen Sleeper 2" offers a narrative-rich experience with some replayability, though it is somewhat limited due to a lack of meaningful choices and diverging paths. While players can explore alternate choices and enjoy the writing, many feel that the game could benefit from more unique runs and side quests to enhance replay value. Despite these limitations, the game is still recommended for its engaging story and character development.
- “I enjoyed the game thoroughly; I've only played through it once, but it definitely has some great replay value in it.”
- “Your decisions (and luck) will influence the broader narratives in these story segments, which offers tons of replay value, I'd imagine.”
- “Love that we now have a lot more space and time to explore in a single run, but it still retains a decent amount of replay value.”
- “However, some of the core issues from the original game haven't been addressed - lack of meaningful choices, roleplaying, and replayability.”
- “I don't see a lot of replay value outside of replaying it for alternate choices, but it has good writing.”
- “Despite some branching choices, most of the content stays the same unless you purposely fail certain interactions; replay value is limited.”
character development
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
21%
7%
Character development in the game is praised for its strong writing and compelling relationships, particularly with the returning characters, though some reviewers express a desire for more depth among the new roster. The character designs by Guillaume Singelin are highlighted as exceptional, enhancing the overall experience, but there are concerns that the integration of writing with gameplay mechanics has not progressed as much as hoped. Overall, while the character design and writing remain top-tier, the development feels somewhat stagnant.
- “The very strong character writing is still here, the music is amazing, and it has some of my favorite character designs, but ultimately it did not push the series further and felt like more quality writing with a few notable steps backwards when it came to integrating the writing with the core conceit of the game.”
- “Guillaume's character designs are amazing as always; I loved how we got three portraits for Serafin (my favorite!).”
- “The writing is great, the systems with the added crew missions are tense and fun, and the relationships are compelling, and the character designs are amazing.”
- “While I would have killed for more character development among the new roster, the joy of seeing the older faces from the past game matched that twofold.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is notably affected by the introduction of new mechanics such as dice breaking and glitches, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences, especially for new players. While these elements add depth and interactivity, they also contribute to a sense of unpredictability and potential for a "death spiral" if luck is not on the player's side. Overall, the sequel is perceived as buggy and derivative, lacking significant innovation from its predecessor.
- “I enjoyed the first game, but this is very much a derivative sequel without innovation, and a buggy one at that.”
- “The combination of dice breaking plus glitches can lead to a death spiral if you get very unlucky or if you don't know what you're doing (on first playthrough).”
- “With CS2, the pace is much more lax, but there are new mechanics (dice breaking, glitches) that slowly limit your ability as you progress through the story, which makes you realize that eventually you will have to finish the game, or it'll become more and more difficult to progress.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and lacking in engagement, particularly due to the repetitive nature of filling up a clock over multiple rolls, which diminishes the sense of control and excitement. The absence of meaningful tension in contracts further contributes to the overall feeling of monotony, making the grinding experience feel pointless at times. While the stress system adds some difficulty, it does not alleviate the overall tedium associated with the gameplay.
- “When there's no tension to contracts, they feel just kind of tedious.”
- “Most of the time you must fill up a clock over multiple rolls, making the outcome a bit too trivial to control and tedious to get to, on occasion.”
- “Where I was struggling, grinding to find an edge and eek out one more storyline in CS 1 - now I don't see the point.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews do not directly address monetization, focusing instead on gameplay mechanics like the new stress system. However, the mention of feeling overpowered in the first game suggests that players appreciate balanced challenges, which could imply a desire for fair monetization practices that do not disrupt game balance.