“Do androids dream of electric sheep?” – Philip K. Dick
Developer: Yellow Brick Games
Released: 31st January 2025
Price: $24.99
Platforms: Windows PC, Mac OSX, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch
Available on: Steam, Xbox Store, PS Store, Nintendo Store
Engine: Unity
Pros
- Exceptional writing quality: each character feels unique, relatable and realistic, while all the interactions through the locations you visit are described in minute detail.
- The gameplay system has been refined and mechanically overhauled compared to the first chapter, providing an even better, deeper experience.
- Despite its narrative focus, the elements of management and strategy in completing your tasks are significant; they add variety but are never overbearing.
- Well-paced content that alternates tense, high-risk sections with narration and more relaxed role-playing segments.
Cons
- It becomes too easy to survive in the Belt, especially later on, when you can use certain interaction loops and pipelines to get virtually unlimited resources with no risk involved.
- Companions are of limited usefulness during high-risk sections, don’t evolve their abilities, and are little more than tools without additional quirks gameplay-wise.
- There’s an annoying amount of deus-ex-machinas on failed interactions and skill checks during the main quest: luck seems to be on your side a bit more than it realistically should.
Bugs & Issues
- Map tracking for specific side quests doesn’t work correctly.
Machine Specs
- i9 13980HX
- 64GB RAM DDR5
- RTX 4090
- NvME SSD
- 3840×2160
Content & Replay Value
It took me around 20 hours to complete Citizen Sleeper 2 on the Standard difficulty setting (the hardest one has Permadeath, no thanks), taking extra time to complete all side quests and optional content I could find. Despite some branching choices, most of the content stays the same unless you purposely fail certain interactions; replay value is limited.
Is It Worth Buying?
Yes. The price of 24,99$ is fair for this amount of content and quality, even if the replay value isn’t much. If you like narrative-driven RPGs with a bleak, dystopian setting, and an original gameplay system, this one is a good pick.
Verdict
An almost straight improvement compared to the first Citizen Sleeper, except for the survival aspect, which is instead more tame and forgiving. Still, a solid entry in the narrative RPG genre.

Citizen Sleeper 2 – In-Depth Analysis
Premise, Setting & Writing
From the first moment, it’s clear you’re chased by relentless enemies, in the inhospitable, bleak pile of ramshackle stations and struggling denizens that is The Belt. You may be distant from the Core Systems, torn by endless corporate wars, but you’re far from safe. Even more so for your being a Sleeper, an unnamed construct developed with servitude in mind, albeit one of the rare few that broke the drug-laced shackles of your masters. For that affront, you must die.
Citizen Sleeper 2 is a tale of struggle against all odds, of survival and razor-edge compromises; in this aspect, the writing shines the most, also by emphasizing how things we may deem little are symbols of great hope in a place like The Belt. You’ll meet people willing to aid you, both companions that will venture with you and side characters; both are well-written, plausible and coherent in their responses, changing attitudes based on your actions and the events unfolding.
The narrative for each location is highly descriptive, sometimes a bit too much so, but that contributes majorly in giving you the right impression and knowledge of whatever place you’ll visit. Each place has its variety, not so much visually, but most of all contextually—space stations may look all the same, but it’s the people there and how they behave to make all the difference. There are a lot of mysteries in the Belt, all for you to uncover… if you can.
Despite all that, you’ll have the feeling a greater force, in a place that couldn’t be farther from any God, is protecting you in the most dire circumstances, a savior or an occurrence always ready to snatch you from oblivion’s grasp… unless you screw up really, really hard, but that’s on you.

Exploration & Survival
You’ll soon acquire a ship, The Rig; not big enough to make it through the stars, but good enough to ferry you and your eventual crew around The Belt. You’ll have to manage fuel, and supplies and even maintain it at times, all of which, of course, doesn’t come for free. You’ll have to find the Cryo, the local currency, to pay for it all, or obtain it in other ways, often through risky scavenging, shady deals and dangerous business. The scarcity is more felt at the beginning, where it shines most as a true struggle for survival, but becomes less demanding as you progress, despite it making little sense since your circumstances only get more dire.
You’ll visit stations of all shapes and sizes: to get the lay of the land, you’ll have to use your Dice, a representation of your physical state and will to continue. Each passing day, you get six of them, rolled randomly, and you can use them in various interactions, such as exploring, doing odd jobs, repairing something, and a lot more. Depending on your character abilities, these dice may get a bonus or a malus, so better stick to the tasks that you’re more proficient at, and try to avoid what isn’t up your alley; there’s always a risk, and a negative outcome can deplete your energy quicker, making you starve in a world where food is a valued commodity, damage your dice, and even fail quests entirely or bar you from some interactions permanently, in the worst cases.
Skill System & Character Progression
Your skills depend on your starting class, with one of the five different specializations being forever barred to you, making you completely inept at certain interactions. All the others can be upgraded with Skill Points, acquired by completing main and side quests. Each class also has a unique ability, only usable during Contracts, that can boost skill check outcomes for either you or your companions, remove Stress, which breaks your dice and leaves you with less chances to succeed, or other positive effects. These abilities also influence skill checks in dialogues, which instead of dice, use your raw skills as a baseline to dictate the outcome.
Quests & Contracts
Normal quests often involve speaking to someone, doing favors, transporting goods, and arranging deals. Some may be on a timer, some may not. The world doesn’t revolve around you and events beyond your control are always around the corner. There may be moments where you can take your leisure and keep accruing Cryo and resources, but those are few and far in between. For most of the game, you’ll always have to be on the move, making efficient use of your time and your dice.
Contracts work differently. Some are found in the world, others given by your companions. Each of them is a high-risk situation where you’re tasked with interacting with something particularly dangerous, with limited supplies, accumulating stress, and often a time limit or another circumstance that can fail the contract entirely, in some cases also spelling your doom. These are the parts when strategy, efficiency and yes, even luck are most prominent. Choose what companions to assist you well, so that they can compensate for the abilities you lack. Choose when to wait another day to get better dice, or risk it all with low rolls to get the best outcome before time runs out. The risk-reward factor is very much present, and rarely will you have the time to get everything in one go: something usually needs to be left behind.

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