✅ Main quests that go somewhere
✅ Actions that actually have consequence
✅ Builds that completely change how you approach the game
✅ Side content that feels relevant
✅ Non time wasting mechanics that always put you on the edge of your seat

Disco Elysium does it all everyone. I must be a Citizen the way I Sleeper in this tech demo.

It's a testament to how much I like Citizen Sleeper that I'm giving it four stars despite having the absolute worst copy-editing I've ever seen in a professionally-released video game. It is strewn with typos, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and a thoroughgoing lack of understanding of the typographical conventions of written English. It is embarrassing, particularly in a game whose focal point is its writing.

All that said... it's still a good game. It walks in the footsteps of similar "modular narrative" games like 80 Days and Sunless Skies in using a light resource-management system to drive the player to allocate their time between many different bite-sized threads of plot, creating an individual route through the game's story. This is one of my absolute favorite microgenres but a difficult one to get right, and I'm thrilled with any game that can pull it off competently.

Citizen Sleeper isn't as successful at this as its forebears, though. By the end of the game you have enough resources to do almost everything the game has on offer, and there turn out to be minimal ways that plots can differ from playthrough to playthrough. Starting a new save feels more onerous than exciting, knowing that so much of it will be clicking through the same dialog rather than forging new paths.

I often finish modular narrative games with a sense that the system on which its built still has untapped potential. The calculus of quests taking inputs and producing outputs while clocks tick down cycle after cycle is simple but expressive—it could give rise to such an intricate web of interlocking threads. Is it too much to hope for that, with the groundwork now laid down, another game could be created on top of it... this time with an editing pass?

So far I had 3 failed runs with the third being the best result (10 minutes left and about 10k out of 50k collected). But I’m having so much fun that it doesn’t really matter. This game is kind of a spiritual successor to It Comes In Waves. It’s in the same universe, follows the same formula of limited time and permadeath if you don’t reach your objective or get killed. This had me worried as I didn’t like that one as much as other Merlino Games. This one does it much better though. I feel it delivered and then some, especially with the price of €2,39 including launch discount.

What makes it better? The simple answer would be everything! Firstly, the game combines elements of ICIW AND No Sun to Worship. The latter when it comes to controls and stealth elements. But not only that, there are more actions and more weapon variety for instance. I love this part as NSTW is my favourite Merlino game. The ICIW part is done better because you have less long stretches of running through empty spaces. There are more interesting things to do. And it feels like there is more variety dealing with situations in different ways. So a run feels fresh, there is something new to learn every time, at least so far. Lastly there is more polish as a whole. The graphics look more appealing than ICIW. I just love this mix of PS1 combined with modern technology. There is actual music and I like what I’m hearing.

I’m not a fan of timers and UASLC won’t change my mind. I would lie if I didn’t say that I prefer playing the game without a timer. But I can see myself playing at least once a day for a while to come. I hope to finish at least one run successfully but it’s okay if that doesn’t happen as there are no achievements to make my OCD go crazy. The fact that I’m enjoying this while I’m not a fan of the structure, is a good accomplishment. The game is worth getting and it’s worth supporting the developer. Keep expectations in check though, as this is still a €3 game.