Papers, Please

Please show me your documents! In Papers, Please, you'll play as an immigration officer responsible for reviewing immigration papers. While this task might not seem significant in a peaceful country, it's crucial in Arstotsk, a country recently ravaged by war. You'll need to carefully examine and compare data, and if you deem it acceptable, approve the resident's immigration documents. Here, you'll be influenced by a multitude of factors, including psychological, economic, moral, and emotional considerations, which will draw you into a vortex. How to escape this vortex is what you'll be pondering throughout the game!

Gameplay

Compared to many other indie games, Papers, Please's gameplay seems quite simple. The game employs typical point-and-click puzzle mechanics; players almost only need to carefully examine data, compare and contrast it, and then tap the screen to decide whether to approve a resident's immigration documents.

In Papers, Please, you'll play as Arstotsk, a national immigration officer. Your role is crucial and will influence many aspects of the game. You will decide whether to stamp someone's immigration documents.

The show *Please Show Your ID* is excellent because it cleverly blends the macro-level spirit (controlling and filtering harmful elements to ensure national security) with personal life—the latter often considered too micro-level. But in the workplace, you too are influenced by psychological, economic, moral, and emotional factors. It's these factors that can make it difficult to extricate yourself from situations where you feel overwhelmed.

Playing *Please Show Your ID* requires only two fingers for complete control, requiring minimal effort. Your daily task is to sit at your desk, receive immigration documents submitted by residents applying for immigration, and compare the personal information recorded in the documents with existing information in a computer database to find anything confusing, strange, or ambiguous. Afterward, you need to consider the applicant's family background, occupation, aspirations, and work experience. During the review of computer and document information, you'll intersperse verification questions to confirm the applicant's answers are truthful and consistent with the information you've obtained. Don't forget to carefully examine the applicant's identification documents, comparing their appearance with the photograph on the document.

By combining all the above information, you will be able to understand which details in each person's background or purpose of immigration are incomplete, concealed, or involve fraud. For residents you deem safe and legitimate, you will stamp their passports, thank them, and invite them to join this new land. If any doubts arise, you will question them more thoroughly and make different decisions accordingly, such as refusing to stamp their passports, interrogating them, or even arresting them if suspected of being criminals, spies, or terrorists.

Features

Border Inspector: In this game, you will obtain a border inspector job through a labor lottery in a communist country. They will provide you and your family with a new house. Your job is to check the identity cards and passports of all arriving tourists and residents from post-Arstotsk republics (such as Grestin).

Captivating Storyline: The game is set during the collapse of the Soviet Union. You will play as the communist state of Arstotsk, which lost territory in a war with neighboring Kolechia. Now, you must control the influx of immigrants from this war-lost border town. Your main task is to distinguish between hidden spies, terrorists, and smugglers, as well as genuine tourists and immigrants.

An award-winning role-playing game: *Documents Please* is an award-winning game that has received accolades from Forbes, The New Yorker, the BAFTA Awards, Wired, the Independent Games Festival, Gamecity, and the Lara Games Awards for its unique gameplay and excellent design.

Find the smugglers and terrorists: To identify the criminals among all the immigrants, you must examine the documents provided by the immigration authorities. You can easily find the criminals based on their place of birth, fingerprints, photos, and other information.

Retro-style graphics: The game uses a 2D pixel art style, evoking players' nostalgia for classic games. Although the graphics are slightly blurry, they still create a unique communist atmosphere that is immersive. This visual style also adds fun to the storyline and gameplay.

Awards

2013 Best Game - The New Yorker

2013 Best Game - Wired Magazine

2013 Best Indie Game - Forbes Magazine

2014 Best Strategy Simulation Game - BAFTA Awards

2014 Independent Games Festival Grand Prize

2014 Independent Games Festival Outstanding Design Award

2014 Independent Games Festival Outstanding Narrative Award

2014 GameCity Award

2013 SXSW Cultural Innovation Award

2014 Best PC Game - LARA Games Awards

2014 GDCA Innovation Award

2014 Most Innovative Award - Games For Change

2014 Best Gameplay Award - Games For Change

2013 Best Game - ArsTechnica

2013 Best Game - PC World

2013 Best PC Game - Destructoid

2013 Best Story - Destructoid

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Unique perspective

Highly challenging gameplay

Well-written story.

Cons:

Outdated graphics

Conclusion

Papers, Please is one of the best games of 2013, and playing it on an Android device is a true pleasure. It's a timeless classic, retaining its originality and groundbreaking nature despite the passage of time. It's a true triumph of video games as a powerful narrative medium.