Citizen Sleeper
Released: May 5, 2022
Game Length: 11 Hours
Grade: B+
Game Search
New Releases: I've been hearing a lot about two different games: Tchia & Dredge. Unfortunately, neither was able to hold my attention for long. Tchia appears to be a fun adventure game with various mini-games, music numbers with appropriate fingering on the ukulele, and using a boat or glider to travel between a couple of islands. You'll be able to hear multiple languages and traverse sites like Assassin's Creed and Zelda while hopping through creatures and objects using its new soul-linking system. Unfortunately, the family feature only adds a couple Moana animation clips occasionally into the story. You'll still have to endure through the chapters where a machete slices open a man's face, your friend cuts off a chicken's head, a worm creature eats a baby, and your character forms a girl-on-girl kissing relationship. Dredge doesn't shy away from the many horrors of the deep from infected fish, abominations, four "boss" fights, and a cast of suspicious-looking characters you meet on your journey. Sadly, the game becomes less scary and more shallow when you realize that the most anything will happen to you is lose some cargo. All the resources you ever need can be obtained right from home base as the fishing spots respawn after a good night's rest.
Setting
Narrative: Then came a mysterious game that pleasantly surprised me. On its surface, it is very little more than a visual novel. However, they provide you with some agency in what kind of perks you want to start with, what actions you want to take and when, some dice that introduce some risky endeavors, and the subtle differences in the choices you make in conversation with the crew. Without knowing whether or not you'll be able to survive through the encounters is a great way to impose a sense of danger and urgency. This type of immersion becomes evermore pressing if you decide to increase the difficulty. Your body will continue to deteriorate as you try to work with less for energy and repairs. There is usually at least one event always present that will have you race against the clock to complete as well.
Story: When it comes to the game visually, there isn't much to speak of. The station is always the same no matter what course of action you take. There is a few non-moving portrait frames of the characters that appear on the screen while you read the text. There are maybe thirty different objects you can obtain. Instead of focusing on what you can see, most of the game wraps itself into the multiple narrative choices you can make through the over 20 different scenarios available. You'll find yourself fighting against corrupted leaders, gangs, AI programs, bounty hunters, and station workers. There are over 20 characters with their own personalities, dreams, missions, language (sometimes strong), and hardships. What type of conversation you want and the information you receive highly depends on how you respond in conversation. This creates a unique experience tailored to the type of character you want for both "the sleeper" and whoever or whatever else you may encounter.
Endings: There are four "moments" where you have to decide if you wish to stay on the station. Since any active action must be taken before ending a cycle, these final decisions must be made before continuing the game. Thankfully, the game allows you to return to that moment after the credits roll. This is very nice when you really want to know how things would end but still want to progress naturally through the station's events. It is quite worth it to play all three final episodes that I had to wait months to see. You'll find out more about the "flux event" and how the station is treating a band of refugees. The good part: these additions to the game are completely free. Just be aware that they are considered endgame content and will require your full attention with a fair large number of required supplies.
Summary
Review: It would have been very easy for the developers to simply create a visual novel with the content in front of them. Instead, they decided to incorporate an experimental dice system and a small maintenance system to keep things interesting. While the number of ways the narrative can change and adapt to your decisions ultimately shortens the overall game length, there are safeguards in place so you can properly advance through all of the story. They do not force you to replay the game to experience all the endings either. With the final additions included to the base game, $20 isn't too bad of a price to ask for a wonderful story but you can always wait for a discount now that it is being adapted into a tabletop. If you like reading, I recommend giving this game a try.
5-18-2023