Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector Image
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 41 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Be the first to review!

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: You are a Sleeper, a corporate-owned android hiding out in the Starward Belt at the edge of the Helion System. After a desperate attempt to free yourself from servitude by rewriting the very code that governs your system, you are on the run with a malfunctioning body, a price on your headYou are a Sleeper, a corporate-owned android hiding out in the Starward Belt at the edge of the Helion System. After a desperate attempt to free yourself from servitude by rewriting the very code that governs your system, you are on the run with a malfunctioning body, a price on your head and no memory of your past.

    You stole a ship and left the past behind. Keep it running, maintain it, even upgrade it, and maybe it will carry you away from all this. But you can't run it alone. You'll need a crew, and while the Belt is full of those looking for work, it's also full of trouble.
    Can you hold the ship together through this crisis? Can you build a refuge here, among the stars?
    Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 41
  2. Negative: 0 out of 41
  1. Jan 30, 2025
    100
    Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector tells a radical science fiction tale through an impeccably designed system and a moving narrative rife with themes that are acutely attuned to our times. This is bolstered by a crew of companions who are not only well-fleshed out but offer genuine support during crises - a predicament you’ll find yourself in frequently. The soothing atmospheric soundtrack doesn’t hurt, either.
  2. Jan 30, 2025
    95
    Citizen Sleeper 2 is phenomenal, evocative, and haunting. The minimal visuals are flawlessly supported by the writing. Gut-wrenching expressions and touchingly lonely scenes flow out of the masterful descriptions. The audio design had me rocketing from dawning dread to heart-pumping motivation. And in the end, I was forced into the hero’s dilemma in a way that cemented this game as one of the year’s best.
  3. Feb 4, 2025
    90
    Citizen Sleeper 2 is a timely story about hope in the face of collapse and how the inevitability of endings can’t negate nobility, sacrifice, or human connections. Although it doesn’t offer as much narrative freedom as suggested by its expansive maps, the strength and depth of its stories more than recommend a play. It’s dark in space, but the points of light we find and nourish can guide us.
  4. Jan 30, 2025
    80
    Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector does not stray too far from what made the first one a cult hit, but it doesn’t need to. It tells a rich and poignant story about the complex nature of control on one’s self when that self is a machine that can be rebooted and hacked, finding and enriching community in the face of overwhelming odds, and expressing personhood both to oneself and to others. It’s visual novel-like presentation is heavy on reading and dice rolling, so its not exactly pulse-pounding, but the retooled character classes and stats, new crew missions, and stress mechanics provide just enough feedback and create a sense of precarity throughout that it stays engaging.
  5. Mar 27, 2025
    80
    A worthy sequel that maintains a high level of story and art. Worth playing, even if, for some reason, you are not familiar with the first part.
  6. Starward Vector expands on the Citizen Sleeper formula not just with gameplay features, but how they connect to the narrative. You’ll experience higher highs and lower lows in ways that will surprise even aficionados of the original. When I finished Citizen Sleeper’s multiple endings, I felt a sense of ease, as if I’d seen all that the game had to offer. The opposite is true of Starward Vector. Your decisions, actions, successes and failures all feel as if they have stark outcomes on story beats going forward. If you want a great story, I urge you to play Starward Vector, even though your experience won’t be the same as mine.
  7. Dec 16, 2025
    58
    It is difficult to grade Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. There are moments where you feel you have control of how you want to play the game and what you want to do, but so too are there moments where you feel you are just following along on a predetermined story, where the choices don’t matter, and the free agency you have as the Sleeper is just an illusion.

See all 45 Critic Reviews