Recent reviews by dolores

ouuug

finally played the main campaign this ♥♥♥♥ was boring as hell

this game is so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ good id let localthunk lead me around on a leash

It would be cheap to sum up this game as a Disco Elysium-like, but I don't think that it does much to separate itself from that label. Citizen Sleeper takes a lot of cues from Disco Elysium, but lacks the je ne sais quoi that fills the world of Disco Elysium.

I honestly like the dice system: I'm a big fan of resource management, and choosing where to put your bad rolls is fun. Having verifiable "safe" choices for it sort of kills that feeling. If I roll a one, it doesn't mean I'm going to have lose somewhere, it just means that I'm going to have to spend it getting exactly 1 or 2 energy from the ramen shop. I like the variety of skills and perks that come with them, but I hate that I have to choose between three prebuilt ones. I like some of the choices, but I hate that every ending boils down roll dice to make someone happy. What if I wanted to be a Yatagan agent? What if I wanted to do a soft coup against Castor?

That is the issue with Citizen Sleeper. I was handed a character who was a blank slate, but then forced into paths that I didn't think made sense. I completed the game, I liked some of the characters, but it just fell short of what it felt like it wanted. Even with the free DLC, it feels like another story tacked onto the setting rather than an expansion of the themes already present.

Really enjoyable. I think if you were determined you could get all the achievements in 15 hours, but that's really not all there is to do. There are still numerous weapon and item upgrades I've yet to get. So if you're looking for bang for your buck, I think this is a pretty great deal.

Now, as for the actual content? I love this game very dearly. The characters are enjoyable, maybe not always perfectly memorable, but I think the designs will stick out in your mind, especially if you have the time to play through the whole story in the span of a week or so. I really enjoy the main character Concord, and others like Rana and even some in the last village, who get little screentime, are very nice. The artstyle is cute and constructs this atmosphere of games from your childhood. Of course, the themes are anything but. There's a surprising and enjoyable turn for the serious in the back half of the game, and I think it handles its themes well. The final boss fight used a mechanic that stretches back to the second area, and I think that link between sections really pushes it further into memorable territory.

Overall, a wonderful experience. Buy it, really.

the way this game develops and introduces new concepts throughout the whole story and the way that story evolves and is told is incredible. definitely my goty.

i cant get all the achievements man i tried

Making a game is hard. It really is. I can appreciate that a lot of time and effort went into this piece.

It's unfortunate that it's not particularly good. The animations are lackluster, the only enemy character has no weight to his movements or actions, the sound design just simply isn't good, and the game, overall, isn't enjoyable to play for more than about an hour.

However, it's not bad. There are some generally good atmospheric moments, and I had fun with the game, whether I was supposed to or not. For it's low price, it's worth it.

I've made a video with more gameplay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvMZXsZQg-Q&t=188s