MY BROKEN BODY

CITIZEN SLEEPER 2 isn't the perfect sequel – but perfection's overrated

- By Harvey Randall

I don’t think about my body much, if I can help it. The idea that my mind is just a rider in something that can wear, tear and break down isn’t a comforting thought. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector reminds me of this fact twofold: It’s a game about the slow degradation of the body, sure, but it’s also a sequel: an attempt to show growth, to do more. But in trying to grow, it’s become fractured, bumpy, and nicked in places – even if it’s still lovely in its own way.

While Gareth Damian Martin’s first game hinged around building and finding community in a strange place, Citizen Sleeper 2 turns the gaze inward to the self. The body and how it might change – naturally or because of others – is the threat.

You're a Sleeper: an android copy of a living, breathing person invented to circumvent anti-AI regulations. You escaped your corporate masters and stumbled right into the yoke of a criminal one, a right bastard named Laine, and the game begins as you scramble away from his clutches – with a botched reboot wiping most of your memory.

Cue a series of Firefly-esque contracts, packaged into an adventure-of-the-week style format. You balance a bunch of other secondary resources – cyro (space dollars), fuel, supplies – while trying not to let your body crumple apart.