How Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector Builds on an Indie Game Pass Hit
Hi! I’m Gareth Damian Martin, also known as Jump Over the Age, creator of Citizen Sleeper. It’s been over a year since we launched on Game Pass and I have been so happy to see the positive response, and the sheer number of players that have given the game a try. I hope you’ve enjoyed the game and its three DLC episodes too!
But if you haven’t given our unique RPG a try, I’m happy to share that Citizen Sleeper will be staying on Game Pass, giving you plenty of opportunity to experience it for the foreseeable future. But that isn’t all; thanks to the massively positive response to Citizen Sleeper, the game is also getting a sequel – Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, and it’s coming to Xbox consoles.
And, just like the original, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector will be a day one Game Pass release, meaning subscribers will be able to play on Xbox Series consoles and PC from launch.
When we announced the sequel earlier in the year, we introduced a new sleeper, a new ally named Serafin, and a new antagonist in the form of sadistic gang leader Laine. In our animated reveal, our new sleeper attempts to reboot their system in order to break their reliance on Stabilizer, the drug that their artificial body is programmed to require. Laine interrupts the process, however, leaving our sleeper with a malfunctioning body, on the run, and reliant on a ramshackle ship, stolen with the help of Serafin.
This sets up Starward Vector’s fresh take on the dice-based, RPG gameplay of Citizen Sleeper. Keeping the same freeform gameplay and richly drawn world, the sequel deepens the formula through its biggest addition, your own spaceship. This ship doesn’t just allow you to travel around our new location, the Starward Belt; it also means you can take on contracts: High-risk, high-reward jobs, like scrapping a derelict freighter or repairing a stranded ship. To take on this work, necessary to keep your ship running, you’ll need to build a crew, and make the most of their abilities to maximize each job.
But as with the original game, the narrative and characters are at the heart of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, so you can expect contracts to have unexpected twists and difficult choices, for crew to bring trouble to your door, and to find compelling slice-of-life stories wherever you choose to take your ship.
Finally, I want to share a little more about one of the first locations you’ll visit, Hexport. This bustling port is one of the game’s hubs: Stations from which you’ll take on contracts and gather crew, each with its own unique locations, characters and stories.
Built on the back of three vast, hexagonal solar panels that were left behind when the Solheim corporation collapsed and fled the system, the station has taken advantage of the massive flow of power from this old tech. This helps drive both the Hexport Exchange – a trade hall filled with data-brokers and hackers – and Factory Row, an industrial sector packed with small factories turning out ship parts and habitat modules. It’s a great place to get hold of scrap contracts or find crew members, especially at the Bends bar, a popular spacer haunt.
You’ll see a lot more of Hexport soon, but for now I want to thank everyone for playing and supporting Citizen Sleeper and its DLC. I’m so happy to be returning to this universe for the sequel, and that never would have happened without everyone who has championed the game.
If you want to keep up to date, head over to https://citizensleeper.com/Helion-Dispatches to sign up for our newsletter, where you’ll also find the Helion Dispatches, an ongoing episodic narrative series that I’m writing which bridges the gap between Citizen Sleeper and Citizen Sleeper 2.
Citizen Sleeper
Fellow Traveller