Citizen Sleeper - tcgs goty 2022

[Don Wiskerando]

Has anyone else been playing this on Gamepass?

 

I am not a fan of the visual novel genre but something about this has really grabbed me and I'm obsessed with it.

 

Storywise I don't want to say to much because I think the narrative is superb and deserves to be discovered.  You are a clone, alone on an unfamiliar space station and have to make your way earning currency to survive and from there the story can branch.

 

Mechanically, it's like a turn based story book.  You have storylines to progress which you do by spending action points.  The action points are replenished by starting a new day. Some of the stories have timers associated with them which means you only have a limited number of days to complete them.  With each day that passes, your condition deteriorates and you have to manage that because the worse your condition, the fewer action points you get the following day.

 

I'm not sure I'm describing it very well but the hook is in the tension between managing your day to day survival against the need to progress the story.

 

The setting is well fleshed out, the music is lovely.  I've actually paid for the game despite already having access through Gamepass. It's that good.

 

Play it.

 

 

[Zael]

Yeah finished it this week. Absolutely loved it, and agree with all of what you've said. The timers are brilliant but the writing is the stand out. There wasn't a single dud character. Haven't played such a well written game since Disco Elysium.

[Don Wiskerando]

36 minutes ago, Zael said:

Yeah finished it this week. Absolutely loved it, and agree with all of what you've said. The timers are brilliant but the writing is the stand out. There wasn't a single dud character. Haven't played such a well written game since Disco Elysium.

<startling admission>I haven't played Disco Elysium.

[Zael]

21 minutes ago, Don Wiskerando said:

<startling admission>I haven't played Disco Elysium.

 

If you like well written games it's the pinnacle imo. 

[Alan Stock]

I've been enjoying this a lot as well (got it on Switch which it's perfect for). Although the graphics are very sparse, they create a great atmosphere together with the music and sound ambience. The action point mechanic works really well, where you have to make tough decisions about where to spend your points each turn and what risks to take. The use of timers in the game is neat too, there's always some sort of timer going on, whether its something positive or negative, so there's always something to look forward to or dread in the story.

 

In terms of gameplay I would compare it to something like Sunless Sea at a high level, where you balance resources vs time, and the story is told through economical text, letting you fill in the pictures in your head. It is very compelling once you expand more locations and options, and the story ticks along nicely with lots of characters, world building and mysteries to be solved. Its got a 'just one more turn' and is great for pick-up-and-play because its all turn based.

 

Definitely recommend to sci-fi fans, visual novel fans, and folk who like turn based resource juggling type stuff.

[therearerules]

Not yet, but it's up next (or at least, it's on the GP list) thanks!

[MarkN]

Will definitely give it a go. I'd seen it on the new arrivals, but knew nothing of it. I'm generally not one for story in games, because it's usually pretty awful, so I'm genuinely intrigued when something gets plaudits, and happy to be proved wrong (I loved Edith Finch, for example, which I absolutely did not expect at all).

 

Installing it now.

[ChewMagma]

Not finished yet but I'm really enjoying it. I liked In Other Waters as well by the same developer. Great science fiction writing.

[Arn X Treme]

I played it for a bit when it came out on GP but ultimately gave up because either I'm being very dense or it's bugged because no matter what I did I couldn't get the doctor I needed to progress to spawn. 

 

But I agree what the little I played the story was tight and it looked and sounded great. 

[Ferine]

8 minutes ago, Arn X Treme said:

I played it for a bit when it came out on GP but ultimately gave up because either I'm being very dense or it's bugged because no matter what I did I couldn't get the doctor I needed to progress to spawn. 

You likely just needed to explore some more. By spending time/dice at various map nodes you'll unlock additional surrounding points of interest.

 

Basically any time there's a circular gauge on the interaction screen filling it will cause something to happen. Typically new locations open up when you hit certain thresholds, so like 25%, 50%, etc. The game could perhaps call this out a bit better as the only real notification is nodes appearing on the map.

[Alan Stock]

For anyone that's playing this, I'm near the end and its worth pointing out that there are some points where it looks like you can win and end the game. But if you choose the right options you can fufill the win requirement and in the dialogue choices decide to pass on the win condition, carry on playing and uncover more of the other stories you've unlocked, it just depends how you want to end it. I'm not sure what happens after you finish the game, whether you get an option to return to before the end-state to try out other routes. 

[ChewMagma]

You do yeah, you can continue from the last save before the credits rolled.

[Gringo]

Finished this tonight. Really good game. I don’t have a whole lot more to add that hasn’t already been said. Engaging game mechanic, lovely atmospheric music and a great story. Not overly long but substantial enough to really get invested in the characters.

[Jolly]

I'm tempted to give this a go but massively put off by the Disco Elysium comparisons as I really didn't didn't get on with that at all. Is it just that they're structurally similar or do they share a similar tone? 

[Zael]

They're not at all alike imo. I think the comparisons stem simply from the fact that they're both well written games. 

[ChewMagma]

Mechanically they are both non-combat science fiction RPGs with skill checks to advance quest lines. Narratively and tonally they are very different, so it depends really on why exactly you didn't enjoy Disco Elysium.

[Jolly]

Sounds good. It was specifically the world, character and atmosphere of Disco Elysium that just didn't gel with me so I'll give this a whirl. Thanks both. 

[Nosejam]

Finished this earlier today and thought it was absolutely fantastic. Some of the best writing I’ve seen in a game together with an intriguing plot, good characters and a nice subtle soundtrack. 
 

Surprised there’s not more chat about it in here, seems like the kind of game that would usually be very popular here.

[Hawklord]

Played through this the other night knowing nothing about it. Thoroughly enjoyed. Reminded me of a choose your own adventure. I think I managed to get 6 different endings (had the credits roll a few times) but still kept playing. Really well written and not something I would normally play. Cheers Game Pass

[Jamie John]

I've played this for an hour or so and haven't been entirely bowled over by it yet. I appreciate the writing and the tough decisions, but it's quite stressful in the sense that I don't feel like I can possibly keep up with everything at once. I'm going to keep playing, but I feel like I can only spend half an hour on it at a time before I start to get restless; it's not got its hooks into me yet.

[Sarlaccfood]

1 hour ago, Jamie John said:

I've played this for an hour or so and haven't been entirely bowled over by it yet. I appreciate the writing and the tough decisions, but it's quite stressful in the sense that I don't feel like I can possibly keep up with everything at once. I'm going to keep playing, but I feel like I can only spend half an hour on it at a time before I start to get restless; it's not got its hooks into me yet.

The stress does ease up after an hour or two.
 

You deffo need to be in the mood for it though. What time of day are you playing? I was only playing late at night and it worked really well as a chill atmospheric game. 
 

 

Just finished it last night myself, really loved the atmosphere and writing, was a bit annoyed by a couple of things but overall really enjoyed it. 

[jonamok]

This should be on my must play list, but I’m a bit put off by the dev’s previous game ‘In Other Waters’. While widely-praised, I’m finding it mechanically tedious as fuck and very story-lite after a couple of aimless hours juggling the interface and moving between a few dots on a radar map.

 

Is this a bit more involved? Visually, mechanically and narratively?

[Jamie John]

7 hours ago, Sarlaccfood said:

 

You deffo need to be in the mood for it though. What time of day are you playing? I was only playing late at night and it worked really well as a chill atmospheric game. 

 

I've been playing it the evenings. I'll give it another go later on. It definitely seems like a Friday night with scotch in hand sort of game.

[ChewMagma]

9 hours ago, jonamok said:

This should be on my must play list, but I’m a bit put off by the dev’s previous game ‘In Other Waters’. While widely-praised, I’m finding it mechanically tedious as fuck and very story-lite after a couple of aimless hours juggling the interface and moving between a few dots on a radar map.

 

Is this a bit more involved? Visually, mechanically and narratively?

 

Yes to all three, it is a huge step up.

[Cyhwuhx]

Have this waiting in the wings on Steam Deck. Currently finishing up Eiyuden Chronicle Rising first, will dive into this over the weekend I think.

[Jamie John]

On 01/07/2022 at 06:17, Jamie John said:

I've been playing it the evenings. I'll give it another go later on. It definitely seems like a Friday night with scotch in hand sort of game.

 

I'm glad I stuck with this as I'm really enjoying it now and am finding it very compelling. I thought it was pretty slow to start with and I found it difficult to want to play for more than half an hour at a time. Now, however, it's properly got its hooks into me and I'll happily click away for as long as I can get away with; it nails that 'Just one more day!' feeling.

 

I've a feeling I'm coming towards the end: 

Spoiler

Ethan has told me that Yannick is on his way to take me out, and I either need to find my way off the rim, take the tracker out (which is what I'm aiming for via Feng, although he keeps on putting me off) or arrange for Ethan to protect me.

 

[BabelRich]

9 hours ago, Jamie John said:

 

I've a feeling I'm coming towards the end: 

  Hide contents

Ethan has told me that Yannick is on his way to take me out, and I either need to find my way off the rim, take the tracker out (which is what I'm aiming for via Feng, although he keeps on putting me off) or arrange for Ethan to protect me.

 

Nope, still plenty left.

[Garwoofoo]

This was a great recommendation. A really interesting game.

[b00dles]

Yeah I enjoyed this too, although I'm not sure if I somehow fluked some of it as I did it all first run through and never really had any occasions when clocks ran out, or I couldn't do any of them.

 

Great writing and some lovely Sci fi ideas and concepts though. 

[Jamie John]

Can anyone give me some late game advice?

 

Spoiler

I've done everything I can and have no active drives left. However, I can't seem to get Lem and Mina's quest to progress. The last time I saw Lem was after the bogus work raffle and there was some talk about getting the three of us a ticket, even if it meant stealing one; however, the Sidereal space ship has already left the dock and there isn't anything new to interact with, neither in the overworld nor the 'eye'. I seem to remember Lem's icon reactivating on the day that the Sidereal left, so possibly I left it too late. Is there any way I can finish off their quest, or am I buggered?

 

I've seen the credits twice so far (from finishing Bliss's quest, and from finishing the Greenway quest), but decided to remain on the Eye each time so that I could mop up any loose ends. Now, however, there's nothing to mop up! Am I done?