Papers, Please

National security is a touchy subject, especially considering the lines some countries walk between privacy and protection. Most gamers have no idea what it may be like to uphold a nation's strict immigration policies, but I feel like I have an inkling having played indie developer Lucas Pope's eccentric and engrossing Papers, Please.

Players assume the role of a checkpoint guard assessing travelers' documents as they attempt to cross borders between socialist (and fictitious) European countries. Pay is determined by how many would-be travelers you process correctly. Approving too many people with false documentation, or denying too many people with proper papers, results in fines that are deducted from your meager salary. Accumulate a pile of citations and spend evenings choosing between paying for food, heat, or medicine. The added pressure of caring for your family adds significance to every inspection. I winced at the sound of the printer coughing out another citation, and beamed when awarded a plaque for sufficience.

Your daily job is made up of smaller victories and defeats. You meticulously cross-check information on passports, work visas, immunization records, ID cards, diplomatic immunity papers, and a host of other superfluous rigmarole. I carefully set up my desk each day; the rule book goes in the upper left, where I can flip between pages to make sure the issuing city listed on passports is genuine. The top three most-most wanted criminal mug shots go towards the right, so their faces line up with passport photos. Organization, efficiency, and focus are paramount for survival.

Settling into a steady rhythm of accurate document processing may sound boring as hell, but Papers, Please makes it stimulating. It's also a thought-provoking glimpse into the lives of those struggling against the oppressive governments of developing nations. The grim nation of Arstotzka is made up, but I found myself empathizing with real people today that face harsh immigration laws, terrorism, and corruption in their daily lives. It also offered me new perspective on TSA workers and other security personnel who might compromise their ethics by simply following orders to support a family. Papers, Please offers up intriguing philosophical situations while making it compelling to become an organized security guard. Developing a reliable system is important, but wrenches get thrown in the gears. Sometimes travelers forget to hand over a certain document, which can throw off your flow. Name discrepancies require a fingerprint check. Inconsistencies in weight or gender call for body scans, which can reveal bombs, drugs, or misdocumented genitalia. These transgressions are grounds for detainment, which can score you a share of the jailer's bonus. Spotting a crook and putting them away strokes the ego of my inner detective.

Terrorists occasionally attack the border guards in bloody acts of political unrest, which is where my favorite gameplay mechanic comes into play. Early on, acts of sabotage shut down the checkpoint, robbing you of the rest of the day's potential income. Later you're bestowed with the duty of firing tranquilizer darts at would-be assassins. The gun is locked behind a special box that only appears when the alarm sounds. I placed the gun locker's key in a special spot on my desk, so I knew where it was when it came time to drag it over, unlock the gun, and take aim. Gunning down insurgents comes with a decent cash bonus, which becomes necessary for recompensing lost wages from the lockdown. Hearing the alarm in the midst of your routine is shocking and exciting. I love the sense of duty and reward patrolling the nation's unpredictable border comes with.

The standard formula of clearing travelers is engaging, but more involved story lines pop up throughout the 30-day campaign. A shadowy organization offers huge bribes in exchange for letting one of their agents slip through. A Gestapo-esque inspector threatens to audit you. A pesky but lovable miscreant repeatedly attempts to pass with hilariously fake documentation. These characters present dilemmas testing both your morals and greed. These various threads lead to 20 different endings, some more rewarding and complete than others. One early ending included the death of my family and subsequent dismissal, but I still felt motivated to discover more. A timeline save system allows you to revisit and branch off from any day in the campaign, which makes experimentation fun and easy.

Papers, Please is a tough sell. It's a desk job on the surface, but lurking behind the tedium is a deep experience that rewards keen eyes and efficiency. The satisfaction that comes with surviving a shift with a few extra bucks is remarkable, and is made possible by the oppressive mood that developer Lucas Pope has crafted. I also walked away with a slightly different perspective on real-world international strife, which is well worth the grind. by Tim Turi and Game Informer.

Papers, Please is an indie game that plays in a way that you as the player don't do much at all in comparison to other games. You get not action set pieces, no big shoot-outs with the bad guys. Instead you are faced with certain small choices. Do you let the one guy in who's passport is just a bit past its expiration or do you reject him? Do you come over every applicant's forms like a hawk like a good worker and make zero mistakes, mistakes that will go on to bring you punishments from the higher ups, or do you just glance over the important info so that you can get through as many people as you can in the short days to boost your pay and help keep your family healthy?

These are the small choices that go to make this game a memorable experience after so much time away from it. The little moments where a clump of pixels that barely looks like a human's outline is shot down by guards only for you to return the next day with new rules and regulations on who to let in and who to not is what adds to the uneasy dread of the nation of Arstotzka.

This game revels in the hopeless feeling of the cold and oppressing Soviet states in Eastern Europe had. It even looks like a game from the time with the 8-bit look of the game that looks like it could be a commodore game from the mid 80's. Its a game from another time, a time that is gone and that some would like to forget about but is important. It's important to learn from the period but at the same time it is important to add something more to bring it forward to our time.

Go play this, play it for a night and see what a video game can be.

A thought-provoking indie game that immerses players in the role of an immigration officer in the fictional dystopian state of Arstotzka. What initially appears to be a simple task of processing documents quickly evolves into a poignant exploration of morality, ethics, and the human condition. The gameplay revolves around inspecting various forms of identification, passports, and papers to determine who can enter the country. Each interaction presents challenging dilemmas-balancing job security with compassion, navigating bureaucratic absurdities, and facing the consequences of your choices. As you progress through the game, the narrative deepens, revealing the struggles of the people seeking refuge and the oppressive regime you serve. The pixel art aesthetic complements the somber yet immersive atmosphere, while a haunting soundtrack enhances the tension of each day's duties. What makes "Papers, Please" truly stand out is its ability to force players to confront their own values and biases, creating an emotional weight that lingers long after the game is over. It is not just a game about checking papers, but a profound experience that challenges the player to consider the fine line between duty and humanity in a world fraught with moral ambiguity. It's an essential play for those seeking something that evokes both tension and introspection, making it a standout title in the indie game landscape.

Papers, Please is about a man living in an oppressive nation, while he struggles to take care of his family. His only option is to work in immigration control.

This game is interesting and rewarding when you make the right decisions. When you don't, you could meet an unpleasant demise.