Citizen Sleeper 1 or 2... or maybe both

[Artemis80]

Ok, first time poster on these boards, hello to everyone!

I came across this game and its first installment during a recent sale event. I am curious though as to how both games compare to one another? There seems to be very little information regarding the story, which seems identical for both games (an android with memory loss awakens on a derelict station and starts a salvage company to... do whatever the story leads to... seems the common element of the both games).

I've tried watching a few reviews on YouTube, but they only reinforced the notion that both games seem to have an identical story or at least the story beginning. I failed to find a good comparison between the two which is what I would seek really to make an educated decision on purchase.

What would you say to a person who is completely new to this franchise regarding the two games? What does the second part do better (or worse) and what are the key differences between the two? Should I purchase and play the first part to enjoy the second one? Does the latter stand on its own two legs or is it just more of the same we got in part one?

Thank you in advance!

[Kelibath]

I'd say you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of either game, but would definitely suggest starting with 1... it contains the bulk of the lore regarding what a Sleeper is, how you came to be as you are, the general political and physical setup of the game universe, and so on. One of the reasons there's little about the story in these threads is because a decent portion of the experience of Citizen Sleeper is learning the in-game universe lore for yourself after waking up as something of a wiped-blank slate. There are similar moments of discovery at the start of CS2 as well, but it begins even more in media res and plunges you straight into things in a way that makes the original's slow expansion of your IC mind a little harder to achieve. I think it's a neutral or even interesting choice for a sequel, due to this, but makes the game harder to pick up for new players. As for game mechanics, it seems there's a growing consensus that the first game's mechanics do just a little better to model the intended sense of anxiety and tentative moments of optimism in a precarious life. But both have something different to offer, and actually very different main hubs and survival drives, despite some characters and larger universal narratives flowing through from one to the next. In the second game you have more control over your movements and the order in which you encounter "quests" as it were, in the first you are handheld for longer but the focus on one main central location keeps reinforcing an intentional growing sense of community.

[Cogsworth]

I'd go with 1 first and then 2. The stories do share a lot of commonalities but they are still absolutely unique stories that are both worth playing. 2 can stand on it's own legs but you will get just a little bit more out of it if you played 1 first.

Same thing goes for gameplay too really. There's a lot that's the same and a lot that's different. I wouldn't say either is better or worse than the other.

[TheFourteen]

I'd also suggest going with 1 over 2 for several reasons.

As mentioned, CS2 often assumes familiarity with the first game in its writing, not explaining concepts in detail, most importantly when it comes to the central concept of what you even are and how you came to be. There's also recurring characters from CS1 in CS2, so those parts of the story are certainly enhanced by having played CS1 first.

The second and in my eyes more important reason is the addition of an averse mechanic in CS2 that wasn't fully thought out: the stress and dice health mechanic. While the game informs you about this mechanic, it doesn't exactly tell you how severely it will impact your gameplay experience and effectively force you to ditch any bad results (i.e. anything below a 5). It also means that the character abilities that each class has become useless, as they themselves generate the stress that leads to the doomspiral that'll ruin your entire playthrough. It is woefully counterintuitive.

Finally, you can obviously pick up CS1 for less and only pick up CS2 in case you feel the urgent need for more CS. The story in CS2 still is good after all, but you have to go in knowing about the unexpected initial learning curve that might ruin your first playthrough experience.

[Edgewalker]

Originally posted by Artemis80:

Ok, first time poster on these boards, hello to everyone!

I came across this game and its first installment during a recent sale event. I am curious though as to how both games compare to one another? There seems to be very little information regarding the story, which seems identical for both games (an android with memory loss awakens on a derelict station and starts a salvage company to... do whatever the story leads to... seems the common element of the both games).

I've tried watching a few reviews on YouTube, but they only reinforced the notion that both games seem to have an identical story or at least the story beginning. I failed to find a good comparison between the two which is what I would seek really to make an educated decision on purchase.

What would you say to a person who is completely new to this franchise regarding the two games? What does the second part do better (or worse) and what are the key differences between the two? Should I purchase and play the first part to enjoy the second one? Does the latter stand on its own two legs or is it just more of the same we got in part one?

Thank you in advance!

Second is alright, I liked it, but first is way better