My Thoughts On Citizen Sleeper
I just recently played Sleeper Citizen, developed by Gareth Damian Martin under their solo game development studio, Jump Over the Age. I won't talk much about the nitty gritty details of the story or gameplay, but rather just my experience. I am copying and editing this from a Discord group chat with my friends, so it is more akin to a stream of conciousness than anything else.
I started off as the sole survivor of a group of escaped company-owned robots, known as "sleepers". We were once human, but that no longer matters to anyone. After hours of reading and gameplay, I mattered to a struggling and surviving community on an unfinished space station, abandoned by that same company that had hopes for it a long time ago…
Ironically enough, the thing that reaaaalllly hooked me in was my first ending. Cause in this game, an ending doesn’t necessarily mean you are done. In fact, the game gives you multiple ways to escape the ship you’re on. Just as it gives you the option to stay put for whatever reason you might have.
The ending I reached first gave me the choice to join a collective of AIs and robots. Leave my body and cease to be. However I chose to stay and the reason was there was a person holding on to my hand, as I drifted off, still keeping me, the character, tethered to the physical realm. I still had things to do. I did not want to leave my connections, even if it meant never getting to reach a sort of peace. A peace that was akin to dying.
Of course, the game is critical of capitalism. You, the protagonist, gave up your body for whatever reason to become company property, and because of this, hunters are sent after you when you decide to run. This company makes the only serum that keeps your body from falling apart. You feel like you're racing against the clock at all times, as you lose the ability to function. The deadlines come closer.
Despite the cold and unforgiving environemnt, it is hopeful that there’s always someone to give a hand, and you extend your hand to others as well. You can get an achievement for living on a commune. Eventually you're able to sustain yourself with the food and upgrades you will definitely get, because the game isn’t trying to be unforgiving. You end up growing a mushroom that can be turned into the serum, thus removing your reliance on the company. It is the commune, the community, that helps you and takes you in after you help out of course. It may not pay off all the time, but eventually you will live.
You can get rid of some capitalist puppets (at most 2), but this game is more about the connections you make and the rhythm of life. I chose to stay on the station amidst threats from corporations and bureaucracy…. Entering a new era on the station with my found family. I think I picked a fitting ending for myself.
Some people find that the mid-late game is easy because of this rhythm. The story is admittedly simplistic, because you can pretty much befriend almost everyone, that may turn you off from the game. I caught on that this was a more optimistic outlook on class solidarity. Even the solutions presented in the game among dissidents felt like pushing through a solution that defied logic. You hack down the guy who’s trying to sell the space station. You essentially kill a puppet of the company. Although, the DLC story is a little more complicated. There are refugees from another company's planets, where everything started breaking down. One character just wants to run off with no connection to any system of power, anarchy. Another wants to stay on the station to defend some sort of home for themselves. But you can help out both, no matter which side you end up choosing. Or maybe you don’t help out both. They don’t judge either way.
The ending I got suggests that, the world is still obviously corporation controlled, but I will stand against whatever gets in my way. Maybe it’s a foolish kind of hope way that will ultimately lead to my demise. I dunno! The game ends there! There’s a second game coming out, maybe they’ll expand on these ideas more thoroughly. It’s not long at all, so I recommend giving it a whirl! Support indie developers and stories by queer people!
