Papers, Please

slightly uncomfortable about how good i am at this. those years working in fraud prevention really paid off.

I just want to feed my family. Glory to Arstotzka.

One of the most charming, yet frustratingly difficult speed-memory games I've ever played. Checking the passports of entrants to communist Arstotzka is as simple as it gets; until a wealth of different modifiers complicate your inspection process. Visas aren't valid from one country, workers need to have certain stamps but only from another country, and needing to let certain people through regardless of failed papers add a wealth of complexity to an otherwise simple gameplay loop.

political borders, one of its kind. (2019)

As a video game, Papers, Please has a ton of issues and some of the ideas presented were a little lost on me but the moments of clarity that shine through during certain moments in this game are among the most profound I've ever experienced. I might never live in a totalitarian state but boy do I suddenly have an idea of what that means.

Very compelling gameplay, despite it just being to compare different documents against each other. The choices you have to make are great too, they really feel important. Replayability is hampered however by the game no't telling you where to pick up each quest, you just have to know and the gameplay does get a bit tedious, so its annoying to have to wade through the gameplay just to get to the next story bit you want to see.

Fun for a bit.

This is a great game. I normally don't like pixel graphics but in this case it serves the overall experience. Unique, bizarre and ultimately satisfying.

interesting gameplay loop but horrible politics for such a politically-minded game. all sympathy goes to the border staff, almost none for the immigrants, who seem to be awfully prone to terrorism, those pesky foreigners. and imagine doing the whole soviet aesthetic thing for a game about border control in friggin 2013? glory to arstotzka, hardy har har. whatever.

HA! Good fun!

I played for thirty minutes expecting something else to happen. It didn't.

I get the idea, but found it boring after awhile.

A personal favourite.

A simple, yet interesting game. Very distinct visual style and general aesthetic that lends itself well to the gameplay. GLORY TO ARTOTZKA

Stick your resident evils and what, this is a horror game. [Gung zbzrag lbh ernyvfr lbh trg gur Zvyyvtenz-puvyyf nsgre pnyyvat bhg fbzrbar'f traqre be unzcrevat gur erfvfgnapr, nznmvat.] Recommended for everyone.

A bizarre game. It presents moral decisions in a nuanced and interesting way, often expecting the player to ponder what the ramifications of their actions could be. I dug how the game would tell its story through gameplay, even if the gameplay itself was pure drudgery... but it's drudgery that oddly becomes enjoyable after some time. It also has a very good difficulty curve, easing you into the harder border checks over time.

the kind of game that defies typical expectations of games, and therefore how to review them. it accomplishes its goals perfectly, though, and I have vivid memories of playing it, which I'd consider a success.

'Papers, Please' is a masterpiece with a devilishly simple game mechanic: You are underpaid and overworked, and mistakes are severely punished. After 15 minutes of gameplay I learned more about totalitarian regimes than in those 3 years in high school.