Citizens of Earth

Citizens of Earth is rooted in the past but still forward-thinking

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In "Citizens of Earth," you are the Vice President of the World, tasked with saving it from strange enemies with the help of 40 recruitable citizens, ranging from baristas to schoolkids. This retro-style RPG offers a unique blend of humor, exploration, and tactical combat. Engage in turn-based battles, manage your party's skills, and uncover the secrets of this quirky world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 159 reviews

story16 positive mentions

grinding18 negative mentions

The game features charming graphics and a unique art style that pays homage to Earthbound.
The humor and writing are strong, providing a fun and engaging experience throughout the game.
The ability to recruit a diverse cast of 40 characters, each with unique abilities, adds depth and variety to gameplay.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, which can disrupt the gameplay experience.
Backtracking and confusing quest indicators can make navigation tedious and frustrating.
Combat can become repetitive, especially with a high encounter rate and long battles that slow down the pacing.

story
74 mentions
22 % positive mentions
74 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by a mix of humor and charm, featuring quirky dialogue and a light-hearted tone, though many players find the main plot to be predictable and lacking depth. While the narrative includes some interesting twists and a plethora of side quests, it often feels disjointed and meandering, leading to confusion about objectives and direction. Overall, the story is enjoyable for its comedic elements and character interactions, but it may not satisfy those seeking a more substantial or cohesive narrative experience.
- “Please note that despite everything I'm about to say, I found the game undeniably charming. The art style is excellent, the story is funny, and the characters are lovable.”
- “The story unveils itself slowly, in a haphazard manner, but you eventually learn just about everything that has happened, and it is funny along the way.”
- “Along with the humorous story and wide cast of possible party members, there are a ton of quests and hidden things to keep you busy as you unravel the mystery of who or what caused the crisis threatening the planet.”
- “Also, the plot goes nowhere and ends on a really lame note with essentially nothing of real consequence happening.”
- “There's a funny moment or two, but for the most part the story felt like a bunch of 'go here, do this' quests in order to keep you moving around the world.”
- “Found the story rather bland as well, nothing beyond your typical 'mysterious-evil-slowly-destroying-the-land' with a couple curveballs thrown in.”
humor
53 mentions
98 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it charming and light-hearted, filled with quirky dialogue, puns, and satirical takes on politics. While some moments land well and evoke laughter, others fall flat, leading to a perception that the humor can be inconsistent. Overall, the game is appreciated for its fun and silly tone, though it may not resonate with everyone.
- “Everything from the premise to the incidental one-liners will have you laughing out loud.”
- “The humor is satirical, and aimed at the politically correct sometimes, at the vapid candidates that run for office other times.”
- “It has a quirky story that is full of hilarious dialogue and fun puns like 'upad', 'moonbucks' and 'fedups'.”
- “I have absolutely no idea how I played such a bland and unfunny game for this long.”
gameplay
47 mentions
23 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this JRPG is a blend of classic turn-based mechanics reminiscent of Earthbound, enhanced by unique features like a diverse cast of 40 recruitable citizens that influence gameplay and exploration. While many players appreciate the humor and innovative twists on familiar systems, some criticize the game for its bloated mechanics and occasional bugs, which detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game offers a fun and engaging experience with a light-hearted tone and a variety of quests and secrets to discover.
- “The gameplay is simple to learn but extremely versatile.”
- “The combat mechanics add clever new twists to familiar systems.”
- “It's funny, it's cute, the gameplay is good.”
- “This is a nice JRPG style of game that is in the vein of DeathSpank with some nice quality of life items and some really awful bloated gameplay mechanics.”
- “While this game is fun, there are quite a few issues, mainly with the gameplay and mechanics that make it seem like it wasn't tested very extensively.”
- “Don't even get me started about the gear and equipment system which is obviously implemented to increase gameplay time, not enhance gameplay.”
graphics
36 mentions
36 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming hand-drawn art style and colorful visuals, which contribute to its quirky and appealing aesthetic. However, players have reported significant issues with optimization, including long load times, frequent graphical glitches, and instability, particularly in certain areas. Despite these drawbacks, the overall artistic design and character animations are considered enjoyable and fitting for the game's tone.
- “The graphics are so good, love the art style.”
- “Fantastic artwork.”
- “The art style is cute and the creatures you face have puns in their names.”
- “There are constant art style clashes between enemy designs.”
- “My only negative... the game is somewhat glitchy and unstable on my old Windows 7 laptop. I had a lot of crashes and graphical issues until I turned off shaders; then they were still present but a lot less frequent.”
- “There are a few texture and graphical bugs currently, but nothing game halting.”
music
30 mentions
40 % positive mentions
37 % neutral mentions
23 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it quirky and charming, while others describe it as forgettable or annoying, often comparing it unfavorably to classic titles like Earthbound. While there are a few standout tracks, particularly in battle, many users feel that the overall soundtrack lacks variety and can become repetitive. Additionally, some players noted issues with music cutting out unexpectedly, contributing to a sense of disappointment in this aspect of the game.
- “The art and music in the game are excellent for setting a lighthearted tone.”
- “The humor and dialogue are great, and the soundtrack is fantastic.”
- “Cool unique mechanics, goofy and entertaining story and graphics, tons of secrets/quests, and a great soundtrack too.”
- “The music cuts out at random and doesn't come back until you leave the area.”
- “This soundtrack is bad 90% of the time with a few genuine bangers here and there.”
- “None of the music is grating, it's just very forgettable.”
grinding
23 mentions
4 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
78 % negative mentions
Overall, the reviews indicate that grinding in the game is generally optional and not overly burdensome, though some players find it tedious, especially due to backtracking and repetitive enemy encounters. While some enjoy the grinding aspect for character development, others feel it can become frustrating and time-consuming, particularly in later chapters where difficulty spikes and enemy numbers increase. Fast travel options help alleviate some of the tedium, but navigating the map can still be cumbersome without them.
- “Not too grindy.”
- “As you get the ability to recruit more characters, a lot of them require finding certain items/trinkets which requires a lot of backtracking. Moving around the map can be tedious at the best of times, and if you don't have the characters that can fast travel, it becomes even more tedious.”
- “You are forced to fight approximately 1,000,000 enemies at certain times in the game: the map is swarming with 20 groups of enemies, and you have to fight every single one. The battles are tedious as they get.”
- “Several characters enable fast travel and shortcuts that help, but at the end of the day, getting from one end of the world to another was still more tedious than it needed to be.”
stability
9 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including numerous glitches and bugs that detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the developers' responsiveness in addressing these problems through live streams and community engagement, the persistent technical flaws remain a notable concern.
- “However, there are a number of glaring issues for me with regards to glitches and some problematic areas.”
- “The biggest glitch I encountered, at least on the Steam version, is that the game can be a bit buggy.”
- “It's buggy, which is forgivable, but it's also poorly designed, which is not.”
replayability
7 mentions
43 % positive mentions
14 % neutral mentions
43 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it enjoyable and worth revisiting due to character development and difficulty options, others feel it lacks substantial replay value. The presence of a New Game Plus mode and varied party builds can enhance replayability for dedicated fans, but comparisons with other titles suggest it may not offer as much content.
- “Lighthearted, funny, challenging, and replayable; a good gateway into the world of RPGs.”
- “Lots of fun, good humor, and a good bit of replayability.”
- “The game is not too short, and since you can turn the difficulty and the presence of a new game plus, there is a lot of replayability for the big fans.”
- “Sadly, one downside is a sort of lacking replay value in my opinion.”
- “Replay value: 3. The only reason I can see to replay this game is to develop characters in different parties for different stat boosts.”
- “Sptsot has a tiny amount of content and replayability compared to coe.”
optimization
5 mentions
40 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, including frequent crashes and severe frame drops in specific areas, particularly around the coffee aliens. While others report a generally stable 60fps, they note occasional hiccups in larger areas and excessive loading screens, detracting from the overall experience.
- “Performance is a stable 60fps.”
- “Performance-wise, runs relatively smoothly, with a couple hiccups coming in larger areas late in the game, mostly when opening the map/menu.”
- “I want to finish this game; I love the art style, the voice acting is nice, and the humor is great, but it is so poorly optimized that I feel it wants to crash the moment I enter the area of the coffee aliens. It's painful to watch on my computer because the screen goes black every 20 frames, and that problem only happens in that area. The loading screens are excessive; why are there so many?”
- “It's sad that I won't finish a promising game because of its poor optimization.”
- “While on the topic of game performance issues, the game crashed on me numerous times throughout my time with it.”
character development
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
100 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight that the character design and animations significantly enhance the game's appeal, making it stand out even against larger budget titles. The adventurous soundtrack further complements the overall experience, contributing to a well-rounded character development that resonates with players.