Papers, Please — A Satire of Eastern Europ

A game with a lot of bureaucracy in it

I’m not much for indie games, mainly because they tend to be smaller in size and generally have fewer things to do in them than a typical AAA game. They tend to be noteworthy thanks to the “distinct” archetypal art style that defines these games, and people see those things, and they say to themselves, “Whoa! This game is outstanding because it has an awesome art style”. In truth, AAA and indie aren’t that different from one another, at least not on a technical level because most developers follow the basic gameplay methodology when designing video games. But Papers, Please is a bit different in its technicality.

Papers, Please is a special indie game, mainly because its gameplay is irregular. You don’t see many games requiring such acute perception because that’s the most special anyone can say about this game. That’s because it requires a lot of perception from the player. After all, the devil is in the details in this game.

In Papers, Please, the player assumes the role of an immigration officer in the fictional country of Arstotzka, which is a dystopia based on the idea of a stereotypical eastern European communist nation, and the country suffers from a multitude of political issues that result in numerous terrorist attacks. As an immigration officer, it is your task to properly assess who is eligible to pass the border into the country and who doesn’t, paying close attention to the documents they present, such as IDs and passports, and validating that all the papers are authentic (as in, not forged) and that the immigrant is worthy to enter the country. So yes, you’re playing a puzzle game. Still, there are also simulation elements, where at the end of every level, you are required to use your daily earnings to survive the day, which means making sure that your family has food and heat and paying rent. The stakes are high because your family can die (my son died in the game, and I was forced to go its entirety without my child☹). So basically, this game has some intricate mechanics, but once you get the trick and somewhat becomes a rinse-and-repeat formula, it’s still a fun game!

How do immigration officers deal with foreigners (to Europe)?

I’ll be frank; I played this game some years ago, so I don’t remember all the story details or any of it for that matter. I remember a recurring character repeatedly tried to enter the country only to fail, and I can’t even remember if they got in eventually. Of course, since this is a video game meant to be exposed to a large audience, the default language was English for the player’s comfort. However, I can’t remember if there was a character in the game that did not share my language, and that would make since many random people are trying to get into the country. How would our immigration officer deal with it then?

Suddenly, papers aren’t a problem, but dealing with people you take for nothing more than gibberish speakers. I don’t remember if there were more than one language in the game’s story, but I remember for a fact that the game didn’t do anything about dealing with foreign languages. I don’t remember that either, so make it what you will.

But with a feature like that, it’s increasingly harder to enter the country since you need to speak the language. There should’ve been a feature that incorporated multiple languages, even fictional. I don’t know exactly why people would want to enter that shitty country, but it would mean extra intricacy for the game. I suppose maybe a sequel would be an option…

I would play Papers, Please 2

So like I already said, the simplest solution to a missing feature is to make a sequel. Of course, that’s not up to me, so… wishful thinking.

But a more practical solution is, well… not do anything at all. The game has been around for, what, nine years? Clearly, the developer isn’t interested in working on another game.

Of course, there can be a workaround solution: take the feature that I describe, which is to have a game based around trying to understand people who don’t speak your language and make a completely different game out of it. This way, the development is entirely in your control, and you won’t have to wait for anyone. Of course, I’m not going to do it since I’m working on a game of my own… no, really. I just hope it will look good.

Do you want an immigration officer when you grow up?

Funny subtitle; because it’s like I’m asking a kid (the “when you grow up” part is the real kicker). But Papers, Please is one of those few games that want you to pay attention to stuff that happens in it since it determines whether you succeed or fail. I don’t think I ever played a game that demanded this much perception. But about you… did you enjoy it? Regardless, leave your opinion because this section is exactly for that (as if that wasn’t obvious enough already).

In Conclusion…

Papers, Please is a cool game and, frankly, a game that I can say about it that it is innovative but genuinely innovative. It’s a game that will test your perception and intelligence and is unlike any puzzle game I played before, so yes, I recommend you play it. However, after you do one too many puzzles, you start to get the trick and then you just have to… well, I already said it, so yeah.

It’s a shame that they didn’t include foreigners in the game because it would have added more intricacy. I mean, if you were playing as an immigration officer in America, language would’ve DEFINITELY been an issue.

Hey, there’s an idea: a game about an immigration officer in the USA. I bet most of it would take place on the southern border, or “the wall” as popularised by Donald Trump. But what takes place in Texas… or Texas?