I'm not quite sure what to think about this game, there are a lot of good things to say about it so I suppose we can start there.

First and foremost, the artwork is fantastic, the same goes for the atmosphere and Citizen Sleeper really excels at the world building aspect. It's pretty steeped in that grimy, on the edge of nowhere sci-fi setting and does a good job in this regard.

The music also does a lot of heavy lifting, it's very atmospheric, sets the tone perfectly and pretty much every single track is an absolute banger.

However, there are a few things that annoyed me personally... I don't know if it has something to do with me doing a lot of writing over the years but a lot of the introductions to different characters felt rushed. There were points where I can't remember them introducing themselves and then the Sleeper knowing their names. Almost every interaction felt like they were jumping in with both feet first, it could just be that some characters got a lot more love than others and if that's the case then... it shows.

It's a real shame too that there are no branching paths to a lot of the minor stories, there's basically one big "main" story and that's it. The others don't really matter, like the one with the mercenary and her old friend or the bounty hunter. Like with the Telltale games, no matter what you pick, some of these character paths will not diverge in the slightest.

Also, the gameplay loop of doing jobs, earning chits and buying the things you need is too easily exploited. I only ever had an issue with keeping my condition up in the first hour or two, once I realized what paid out most and what I could work with I never had an issue and was topped-up pretty much the entire game.

Not to mention that being able to upgrade everything no matter what type of Sleeper you choose to start as... makes the choice feel hollow.

Now, I don't point these things out to rag on the game, because I enjoyed my time with it and I do recommend it.

However, I would love to see these things taken to heart for the next game. Improve the gameplay loop, make it a little more challenging and fun and either remove the choice of Sleeper or improve on the concept to make it matter. Give all the characters the same amount of love and attention as Lem and Mina, tighten up the writing a bit and give it a slower burn and add some more side-stuff and variables.

The reason why I am disappointed in the things that I mentioned towards the end is because I wanted to spend more time in the universe of Citizen Sleeper. I wish the experience was longer and more polished but I do not regret the time I spent in the game and I am really looking forward to the sequel.

Thanks for reading.