Papers, Please

Struggling against the oppressive systems of a totalitarian regime

- Andreas Inderwildi

Almost six years after its release, playing Lucas Pope’s Papers, Please is still a unique, at times even revolutionary experience. Sure, its influence can be felt in a handful of political titles such as PanicBarn’s dystopian Brexit bouncer simulation Not Tonight, but for the most part, it’s been left unemulated. It’s not hard to see why. It’s an uncomfortable and oppressive game, its genre-blend of work simulation and puzzle game exactly tailored to its biting political satire. It’s not the kind of game that lends itself to spawning its own sub-genre. In light of the last couple of years’ political events, however, it's a subject matter is as relevant today as it was at the time of its release.

Papers, Please, a self-titled “dystopian document thriller,” puts you in the shoes of a nameless, faceless immigration inspector in the fictional Eastern Bloc state of Arstotzka in the year 1982. It’s your job to inspect the papers of immigrants trying to cross Arstotzka’s western border in East Grestin, which it shares with its former enemy Kolechia. The war has only just ended, and the tensions are palpable. Each day, a news bulletin from the Ministry Of Admissions is waiting on your desk. Read it carefully, because it gives you detailed instructions of who to admit and who to deny, and the rules change frequently.

Oppressive systems and cruel authoritarian regimes are a common theme in videogames, but our protagonists usually meet them head-on.