PAPERS PLEASE PASSPORT COVER PC

Some are upsetting to the point that you’ll reload your game save over and over just to see if there’s any chance you can make different decisions to prevent it. I’m trying hard to tap dance around specifics, as the events the game throws at you are really best experienced without knowing they’re coming. Someone approaches the border without proper paperwork and a story that pulls at your heartstrings, potentially revolving around love or loss- Do you let them through, potentially at the personal cost of not being able to afford medicine for your son? You’ll often struggle just to feed and house your family, and when anyone gets sick, that’s where you’re put in the position of making difficult decisions. Working as a state official in a pseudo-communist country doesn’t pay well. Each day you get two infractions without penalty, but any after that will set you back five in-game dollars.

The problem with bending the rules is every error you make (intentional or not) results in an infraction from the Arstotzkian government. You will be put in many situations where you’re forced to decide when rules should be broken, often leading to consequences for you and your family. I’m incredibly reluctant to offer any specifics, as discovering these things is a large part of the experience, but let’s just say… Not everything is as easy as black and white in Arstotzka. Despite being the main gameplay element, the act of checking everyone’s paperwork quickly becomes secondary to other events that transpire. Papers, Please has been labeled an “empathy game,' and it’s really hard to come up with a better way to describe it. As the game progresses, additional documents (and security screenings) are added to the protocol you and entrants must follow, which quickly amps up the complexity of allowing or denying entry. This involves flipping through in-game reference materials and tools to make sure issuing cities of passports are correct, document seals are in order, and everything matches across the various forms and identification you’re given. The basic gameplay loop involves tapping the speaker on the top of your post to summon the next potential immigrant, asking them, “Papers, Please,' and then inspecting their documentation. Set in the fictitious dystopian Eastern Bloc-ish country of Arstotzka, players assume the role of a newly assigned border control officer.

PAPERS PLEASE PASSPORT COVER PC

It’s been out on the PC for about a year now, but much like FTL ($9.99), it always felt like Papers, Please truly belonged on the iPad.

Developer Lucas Pope (Of Helsing’s Fire ($0.99) fame!) manages to turn pedantry and tedium into gameplay elements and in the process crafts an experience that will likely be among the most memorable games you’ve played this year. Papers, Please ($4.99) is a weird game, as it’s incredibly difficult to succinctly describe in a way that makes it sound even vaguely fun.

Papers please passport cover