A gripping dystopian document thriller that tests your moral compass and decision-making skills
A gripping dystopian document thriller that tests your moral compass and decision-making skills
Pros
- An engaging story
- Players have to make moral decisions
- Compelling game play
- Lots of personality
Cons
- The game is rather repetitive
- It is very easy to cheat
Play Detective while Discovering Your True Morality
Papers, Please is a puzzle game set in an immigration office. This seems like a weird setting for a game and gamers may be concerned that the grim atmosphere does not lead to hours of fun. Read the review to discover how much fun Papers, Please really is.
Is there really anyone in this world that gets excited over paperwork? If you find the idea of being confronted with a big stack of paperwork boring and tedious, then you might be tempted to skip Papers, Please. Fortunately, the game does have a few redeeming features that makes it fun in a rather grey way.
The ‘action’ takes place in an immigration office and the locations are suitably drab and dull. Players are chained to their desks with no chance to explore the outside world or take a look around. The main task is to perform your duty to the best of your ability and make hard hitting decisions that in the real world may well keep you awake at night.
The game is set at the border of Arstotzka. Players begin by winning their low salary border inspection job in a lottery. The game instructions include a detailed overview of the country of residence as well as the house that they now live in with their given family. Every time players process a passport they receive five credits and they will try to process as many passports as possible each day to earn enough money to take care of everything their family needs.
However, you can’t simply process every passport that comes your way and Papers, Please presents tough choices as you are forced to decide who should be allowed into the country. You must make sure that all of the documents are present and up to date before giving that coveted approval stamp. If you believe they are trying to enter the country illegally, you must deny entry and send them packing.
Checking facts is the main puzzle solving aspect of the game. The conniving citizens will often try to fake information to sneak their way past you and it is up to you to get to the truth. The game also attempts to tug at the heart strings by giving characters who attempt to enter the country without the correct papers sob stories that make you feel sorry for them. At the end of each day you will collect your salary and decide what to spend it on. You will have a check list of everything your family needs and have to prioritise.
Papers, Please manages to realistically capture all the elements of being at work, with the challenge of managing a low budget and paying for rent and food. However, for many players games are a form of escapism and offer the chance to explore a new world and play the part of a hero or a villain. The realism in this game may well actually be its downfall, as few people will relish the opportunity to sit in a virtual office and push papers around after spending all day in a real office.
Papers, Please is definitely a unique game and the puzzles that gamers have to solve combined with the moral choices can make the game quite engaging. Although it can feel rather monotonous at times, the interesting take that the game offers makes it compelling enough to check tit out.
Pros
- An engaging story
- Players have to make moral decisions
- Compelling game play
- Lots of personality
Cons
- The game is rather repetitive
- It is very easy to cheat
Pros
- Different design and game play
- Makes you think about ethics
- Challenging
Cons
- Poor graphics
- Can be depressing
Become an immigration officer so that you can make sure people are getting into the country legally with Papers, Please.
This is a game where you are an officer who looks at the immigration papers of the people who want to get into the country. If they don't have the proper documents, then they can be arrested. It's a game that is easy to understand, but there are a few details that you have to remember while playing in order to get to the next level.
There is a steady stream of people who are trying to cross the border into a country that is similar to the Soviet Union. You have to follow all of the rules that relate to immigration, and they do change without warning. The rules also seem to change on a regular basis. When you get used to one set of rules in the game, you have to start doing your job by another set of instructions, which can make it difficult to catch some of the people who try to sneak across the border.
One of the downfalls of the game is that you don't make a lot of money. If you mess something up, then money is taken away from your account. If you mess up too many times, you run the risk of being fired from your job. Each person will show you some kind of paper when they get to the gate. You have to be alert to your surroundings and know what to look for on the papers. With each level, there are more people. Each person will try to pull something over on you in order to cross the border.
Pros
- Different design and game play
- Makes you think about ethics
- Challenging
Cons
- Poor graphics
- Can be depressing
