? The sequel to Citizen Sleeper is out… and so is the protagonist. Less than two years after the launch of the first game, British game designer Gareth Damian Martin is back with the second installment of the franchise, Starward Vector. The first installment was popular among both audiences and critics, earning several award nominations and claiming the Social Impact Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards in 2023. It relies on a text-based narrative and dice rolling system, inspired by beloved tabletop games.

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A quick recap: You play as a Sleeper — a consciousness copied from a human and implanted in an artificial body. You are one of many mass-produced by megacorp Essen-Arp to work in conditions that humans can’t endure. To prevent rebellion and keep the workers in line, the corporation has designed the Sleepers to require regular doses of a stabilizer drug difficult to obtain elsewhere, without which they would die. But our protagonist manages to escape to an abandoned space station, trying its best to scrape by, taking odd jobs and tasks to obtain a dose of the drug.

The game mechanics: The gameplay revolves around a clever cycle system — each day gives you a handful of dice rolls based on your current HP. The better your dice rolls, the more likely you are to succeed in whatever you’re trying to do — much like the mechanics of Baldur’s Gate 3 and other tabletop-inspired games. As you progress, you can pick up skills to improve your chances or make certain tasks easier.

What’s new in part two: The Sleeper is still on the run, but now it’s got a spaceship. But the rig needs constant upkeep. You’ll need to recruit crewmembers, each of whom bring unique skills and backstories. But choose carefully. The second installment adds a stress bar alongside the previous condition bar, dice meter, and energy level and original HP bar, which is refilled with stabilizer doses. Unlike the other meters, a higher stress bar is bad news for your dice rolls, building up when you fail to complete tasks within their cycles.

It encourages you to push through weak rolls instead of reloading a save until things go your way. The dice rolls keep you on your toes, making the plot interesting by relying on luck to influence your decisions, creating a world where even failure is interesting, says Martin.

? Rating: 9/10 according to Unruly Folk, other critic reviews pending.

⌛ Hours of gameplay: TBD, but the first installment totaled 13 hours for one run.

? Replay value: 10/10 — different choices lead to different storylines and endings.

? Platforms: Steam and Epic Games for PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

? Price: Prices pending for Steam, Epic Games, Playstation, and Xbox at the time of publication, but we expect a maximum of USD 24.99 as per Nintendo.

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