Papers, Please Review

Papers, Please is a special kind of game. When it came out no other game alike it existed, and it opened up for a small sub-genre of games. It plays as sort of a simulation, puzzle and point-and-click game. You play as a border inspector in the made-up communist country Arstotzka. Basically the entire game is you sitting behind the counter having to check the passports of people wanting to enter the country. You have your tools-of-the-trade, a stamp to approve or disapprove visitors entrance and different items used to look for forged passports. It is your job to only let in people who have clearance, and if you fail you are deducted in pay – and rent plus living costs are not cheap. When checking passport you have three options: you can let them enter Arstotzka, deny them access or having them arrested. The story has 20 different endings, giving it a lot of replayability, and each ending is tied to the choices the player has to make during gameplay. Do you want to help the revolutionaries? Do you want to do what your country expects of you? Do you want to get fired for your incompetence as a border inspector?

Whenever you are handed a passport and other documents you must cross-examine the paperwork and the passport to make sure everything is legit. This is date of birth, sex, photo, expiration date and so on. If it does not match they are to be denied. The longer you play the more details are added to keep track of. The player has to check as many passports as possible within a day to be able to cover rent and living expenses, or lose the game. At certain points during gameplay events happens. People hands you pamphlets and secret messages, urging you to take part in anti-government tasks, and forces you to pick your path for the better (or worse) of your totalitarian country.

The story of Papers, Please is interesting, and diverse – you have to play it over and over many times in order to see all endings. It might sound like a drag, but given the storylines are so different it never gets boring, and the replayability is great. It is a fine narrative reminiscent of the old Soviet Union, and especially border control at East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The totalitarian country within the game is filled with bureaucracy and the ever-looming prescense of evil – if you do not do your job, you’re a goner. Made by a single guy, this gem of a game has it all – a great and interesting story, gameplay that has not been seen before, interesting graphics and a good soundtrack. The graphics are pixel-art, and everything is very toned down, dark, grey and depressive. It sets the mood perfectly, especially combined with the music score. The music is very oppressive, starting out with a heavy beat. The developer went all the way to capture the feeling of a totalitarian country, making it into art. It is a truly great game, that everyone owes themselves to play. Even gamers who are not fans of traditional point-and-click games will find the game interesting.