Beaten: May 17 2022
Time: 4.5 hrs
Platform: Xbox Series X
I'm tempted to call this a miniature sci-fi Disco Elysium, and honestly if that sounds like it's up your alley I think you should drop everything and play this right now. If you haven't dropped your phone on the floor to buy this game yet, let me continue:
It's so much more than a mini Disco Elysium on a space ship, even if it would so obviously not exist without that game. However, where DE is still mostly a cRPG mechanically, Citizen Sleeper feels almost like a board game. You get a number of dice per turn and you can spend them in any of the adventure game/visual novel-like points of contact for varying degrees of success. It honestly feels right out of the XCOM board game I used to play in high school, just with loads more writing (and much more forgiving difficulty, that board game was HARD).
Narratively it does what a lot of its ilk do, lobbing criticisms at our real life through vignettes and short stories while you essentially search for a way out of your situation. The moment to moment writing is great, gorgeous and descriptive and fun as hell.
My only real issue with the game is that I never felt it take a point of view I hadn't seen before. The games I feel it invites comparison to, the Disco Elysiums and Norcos of the world, all have this sharp blade of emotional criticism they will slide between your ribs without you noticing, until they pull it out and surprise! it's notched at the top. Sleeper by comparison keeps its blade sharp, but never drives it in, with things almost feeling like they went too well.
Maybe that's the consequence of the difficulty curve and the mechanics. It never felt like failing a check was something I wanted to see the outcome of, never like I had to use a low die roll on a task and accept the consequences (mostly because of the hacking system, which makes use of low rolls). It's interesting and fun as a game, but it all feels more dreary than emotional.
That's not to say I didn't feel anything playing it, there were loads of vignettes that were rather meaningful to me, and the ending I got was great!! Satisfying in all the coolest ways. But I didn't cry like in Norco, and I didn't feel like the game had called me out on the way I carry myself like Disco.
It's just a really good and fun game/novel, and there's nothing wrong with that, or even anything wrong with this game. I just wish I could call it a favorite instead of "really great".
but yeah still play it obviously
Time: 4.5 hrs
Platform: Xbox Series X
I'm tempted to call this a miniature sci-fi Disco Elysium, and honestly if that sounds like it's up your alley I think you should drop everything and play this right now. If you haven't dropped your phone on the floor to buy this game yet, let me continue:
It's so much more than a mini Disco Elysium on a space ship, even if it would so obviously not exist without that game. However, where DE is still mostly a cRPG mechanically, Citizen Sleeper feels almost like a board game. You get a number of dice per turn and you can spend them in any of the adventure game/visual novel-like points of contact for varying degrees of success. It honestly feels right out of the XCOM board game I used to play in high school, just with loads more writing (and much more forgiving difficulty, that board game was HARD).
Narratively it does what a lot of its ilk do, lobbing criticisms at our real life through vignettes and short stories while you essentially search for a way out of your situation. The moment to moment writing is great, gorgeous and descriptive and fun as hell.
My only real issue with the game is that I never felt it take a point of view I hadn't seen before. The games I feel it invites comparison to, the Disco Elysiums and Norcos of the world, all have this sharp blade of emotional criticism they will slide between your ribs without you noticing, until they pull it out and surprise! it's notched at the top. Sleeper by comparison keeps its blade sharp, but never drives it in, with things almost feeling like they went too well.
Maybe that's the consequence of the difficulty curve and the mechanics. It never felt like failing a check was something I wanted to see the outcome of, never like I had to use a low die roll on a task and accept the consequences (mostly because of the hacking system, which makes use of low rolls). It's interesting and fun as a game, but it all feels more dreary than emotional.
That's not to say I didn't feel anything playing it, there were loads of vignettes that were rather meaningful to me, and the ending I got was great!! Satisfying in all the coolest ways. But I didn't cry like in Norco, and I didn't feel like the game had called me out on the way I carry myself like Disco.
It's just a really good and fun game/novel, and there's nothing wrong with that, or even anything wrong with this game. I just wish I could call it a favorite instead of "really great".
but yeah still play it obviously