Citizen Sleeper 2 takes the indie sci-fi series to dark new places

Cyberpunk-character-floats-in-derelict-spaceship-while-using-computer

(Image credit: Jump Over The Age)

Critically acclaimed sci-fi indie RPG Citizen Sleeper is getting a sequel, according to a new reveal trailer.

Unveiled as part of E3 2023, Citizen Sleeper 2 Starward Vector is set to follow on from the first game, promising more dystopian sci-fi struggles in a corporate-controlled hypercapitalist hellscape.

In the original Citizen Sleeper, you took on the role of a corporate android who, having escaped their owners, was dead set on forging a new life for themselves. Unfortunately, corporate androids in the world of Citizen Sleeper are manufactured to be dependent on a drug manufactured only by the company itself, adding a layer of twisted power dynamics to the ensemble.

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Developers Jump Over The Age look to be moving on from this trope in the new trailer, which shows our android protagonist free from the yoke of chemical dependency, but beholden to a more conventional form of control: debt.

Rather than having you scrape together a living on a half-wrecked space station, Starward Vector has you take control of a spaceship, doing your best to keep the crew fed and the ship in good nick.

As with the original Citizen Sleeper, it looks like you'll have to brave a treacherous gig economy to make ends meet, taking on jobs as they come while avoiding the very worst of your debts and obligations. This new premise will give developers a chance to explore more of Citizen Sleeper's darkly compelling setting, offering us a chance to see the wider galaxy.

Citizen Sleeper is one of the best RPGs of the last few years, as well as one of the best indie games to come to Xbox Game Pass in recent memory. Though not the full-on cinematic spectacle of Baldur's Gate 3, Citizen Sleeper is a CRPG through and through and is well worth a look if you're keen to see what all the fuss is about.

An editor and freelance journalist, Cat Bussell has been writing about video games for more than four years and, frankly, she’s developed a taste for it. As seen on TechRadar, Technopedia, The Gamer, Wargamer, and SUPERJUMP, Cat’s reviews, features, and guides are lovingly curated for your reading pleasure.

A Cambridge graduate, recovering bartender, and Cloud Strife enjoyer, Cat’s foremost mission is to bring you the best coverage she can, whether that’s through helpful guides, even-handed reviews, or thought-provoking features. She’s interviewed indie darlings, triple-A greats, and legendary voice actors, all to help you get closer to the action. When she’s not writing, Cat can be found sticking her neck into a fresh RPG or running yet another Dungeons & Dragons game.