UNLOCKING THE FUTURE WITH NINTENDO: THE RISE OF CITIZEN SLEEPER 2

Very few indie games have sparked as much anticipation among indie enthusiasts as the Citizen Sleeper series has. As we approached The PC Gaming Show 2024, the asteroid fields of gaming began buzzing with anticipation for yet another trailer reveal. We were not disappointed. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, the glorious sequel to Gareth Damian Martin’s Citizen Sleeper, promises to take the player deeper into the murky waters of the Starward Belt, where life is short, danger lurks behind every corner, and freedom from corporate oppression is a mighty goal to strive for.

A NEW DAWN IN SPACE EXPLORATION

The Starward Belt is full of stories, an asteroid here, a task there, every job either moving you one step closer to survival, or one step closer to traversing all the lives you know but can’t leave behind. In a way, Citizen Sleeper 2 builds upon this history of games that blur human consciousness within machine forms while simultaneously expanding that scope into an equally industrialised horizon for the player to explore. And while it certainly builds on the game’s original narrative – a world where every asteroid has a story to tell, where every job is another step closer to survival, or another link to the past that we’re desperately trying to leave behind.

GAMING ON THE GO WITH NINTENDO SWITCH

And, with gaming now a pervasive presence that now hangs over our lives, rather than being relegated to the living room late on a weekend afternoon, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector will, of course, be released early in 2025, in time for its sequel, by which point the Nintendo Switch will have entered its second iteration and is guaranteed to be racking up record sales as it takes the handheld market by storm – again. Because wherever you are, the Starward Belt is always a button-push away.

AN INDIE SEQUEMOMENT_KEY: CITIZEN SLEEPER 2

Its predecessor – Citizen Sleeper – was a quirky indie hit, and the new game has big boots to fill. But everything we’ve seen of Citizen Sleeper 2 suggests it will live up to the hype, expanding on its predecessor’s game mechanics, storylines and dice-rolling mini-games in ways that will likely delight fans and hopefully win over many more new ones. Citizen Sleeffer 2 is only out tomorrow – but we know we’ll be buying a copy.

NINTENDO SWITCH: THE GATEWAY TO NEW WORLDS

And while Citizen Sleeper 2 appears on PC, Xbox and PS5, its availability on the Nintendo Switch also speaks to the console as a vehicle for a diverse gaming canon, bringing these indie hits to a wider audience via Nintendo’s commitment to hosting both blockbusters and smaller games.

WHY KEEP AN EYE ON CITIZEN SLEEPER 2?

Apart from being set in an appealing sci-fi milieu and having a well-crafted story, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector signals a peak of indie gaming aspiration. The game’s second-half of 2025 release window is a long way out: that’s why it’s news. But we can start hyping it up with eager anticipation. We can also look forward to the prospect of a step-change in what indies can accomplish on mainstream consoles such as the Nintendo Switch.

EVOLVING THE GAME: THE NINTENDO EFFECT

It’s hard to not see the mutuality between Citizen Sleeper 2 and a platform like the Nintendo Switch – ones built by big and small entities, respectively. A company like Nintendo has long promotes a varied repertoire of games that continues to give indie developers a platform for their inroads. It’s a mutually benefitting bargain, both widening the overall landscape of gaming with a variety of experiences, and ensuring that players still have opportunities to play games that break the norms, push unknown boundaries, and defy genre conventions.

ABOUT NINTENDO

As one of the most recognisable and influential gaming companies in the world, Nintendo has always been an innovator, and its journey through changing technologies and evolving trends represents a continuous and fascinating history of delivering new types of gaming experiences to its audience. From the Game Boy to the Nintendo Switch, along with the phenomenal success of a number of signature franchises, Nintendo stands as the quintessential example of how a company can use gaming to engage and entertain generations of players with a diverse assortment of game types, with the Nintendo Switch serving as a prime example of how serious games can engage players for months or even years at a time. Thanks to the upcoming release of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector on the Nintendo Switch, and in the spirit of offering a diversity of games by diverse developers to an eager audience, Nintendo is again making its Switches about every kind of game under the sun, proving there’s never been a better time to be a gamer of any experience level.