Citizen Sleeper has a dense, sometimes even suffocating atmosphere: one full of textures (the Sleeper's synthetic skin, the ink-black color and consistency of space), sensations (the cold floor and the annoying flickering of the lights), colors (in the outlandish outfits of the characters), smells and tastes (the spiciness and rich flavour of Emphir's fungus), sounds (the mechanical whirring and the beeps)...
The world in which these sensations immerse the players is built around the typical cyberpunk premise in which a robot, neglected by the corporation that created them, is forced to live in the edges of an interplanetary society run by capitalism while being chased by bounty hunters. It's a story we've seen before in works such as Blade Runner (adaptation of the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick), but that at least I won't ever get tired of seeing. The writing itself is not bad (it reminds me too much of fanfictions for some reason), sufficient to make the player advance the story and want to experience its development.
Where this game really shines is in the artistic design department, with a beautiful environment design and an even prettier character design that will make you want to hang a poster of the characters high up in your unit where everyone can see it.
The soundtrack is full of ambient music that does its job at providing accompaniment to the story without it being too memorable itself, which is one of its low points for me. I kept expecting for the music to get a little bit more lively, with catchy, drum and bass cyberpunk songs, but maybe VA-11 HALL-A spoiled me too much. Oh well.
Even if the gameplay, addicting at first but stagnant once you get used to it towards the second part of the game, is simple, the writing of the story and the characters along with the atmosphere and the art design make this game a treat to the fans of the cyberpunk genre and a very immersive experience to spend a few days on: either playing or reflecting on the dichotomy between body and mind and the plethora of themes Citizen Sleeper deals with.
Your body isn't yours and it will always betray you
The world in which these sensations immerse the players is built around the typical cyberpunk premise in which a robot, neglected by the corporation that created them, is forced to live in the edges of an interplanetary society run by capitalism while being chased by bounty hunters. It's a story we've seen before in works such as Blade Runner (adaptation of the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick), but that at least I won't ever get tired of seeing. The writing itself is not bad (it reminds me too much of fanfictions for some reason), sufficient to make the player advance the story and want to experience its development.
Where this game really shines is in the artistic design department, with a beautiful environment design and an even prettier character design that will make you want to hang a poster of the characters high up in your unit where everyone can see it.
The soundtrack is full of ambient music that does its job at providing accompaniment to the story without it being too memorable itself, which is one of its low points for me. I kept expecting for the music to get a little bit more lively, with catchy, drum and bass cyberpunk songs, but maybe VA-11 HALL-A spoiled me too much. Oh well.
Even if the gameplay, addicting at first but stagnant once you get used to it towards the second part of the game, is simple, the writing of the story and the characters along with the atmosphere and the art design make this game a treat to the fans of the cyberpunk genre and a very immersive experience to spend a few days on: either playing or reflecting on the dichotomy between body and mind and the plethora of themes Citizen Sleeper deals with.
Your body isn't yours and it will always betray you
macmesa
4 months ago