One of the best things that the video game industry has left us over the last 15 years is the proliferation of a network of independent studios that are capable of surprising us with completely crazy developments and ideas that end up becoming small classics. And without a doubt, Papers Please is one of those wonders that we have been able to enjoy on many platforms.
An unreliable dictatorial country
Set in a country as strange as it was invented and known by the name of Arstotzka, Papers Please is one of the coolest ideas we’ve ever seen associated with a video game. And not only because of its truly original mechanics, but also because of how it manages to get us into the story with a graphic aspect that is completely less realistic , and in a story that oozes those old spy stories from the Cold War.
It was in August 2013 when the game arrived for the first time on PC, on Steam, and it soon became clear that it had done so to establish a chair and continue its journey through the platforms of the time: from computers it jumped to tablets , both Apple‘s iPad like Android models, strangely leaving out all smartphones. Sure, the display settings were to blame, but over time even that got fixed, which happened in August 2022 when Papers Please finally landed on all iPhones and Android phones, shutting it down completely. the circle.
But why is Papers Please such a grueling experience for everyone who’s tried it? Well, basically that’s because of how vigilant we are going to have to be from our Grestin office, as a new member arriving at the border post on behalf of the Ministry of Admissions.
You pass, you don’t pass…
That is, as it is, the objective of the game. Analyze each person who comes before us with their documentation and decide in a few seconds if they are in order or not. Even if that profile is wanted for the security of the country because it is some kind of enemy of the revolution. And that task, which you may think is simple, is not, because there are countless details that we have to look at from one side to the other.
For example if the origin is from other friendly or enemy states. If you have all the visas in order, if the dates coincide with what you tell us, if you have already been in our country before and when, if you look like one of those who have alerted us that they are looking for you or if they want to sneak it into us by putting some lie that we have to discover. And the problem with failing is not only that we endanger our country, but that our work is at stake and we can end up fired and… deported!
Papers Please is one of those games that the years do not pass by, which we understand you know because its decade of life has allowed it to always remain among the favorites of the players although, if you have not been lucky enough to deal with it, do not hesitate and give it a try. You will find few titles as absorbing and entertaining.