- Game: Papers, Please
- Year: 2013
- Designer: Lucas Pope
- Platform: Windows, Linux, IOS, PlayStation Vita
- Genre: single player, puzzle, multiple endings
Congratulations.
The October labour lottery is complete. Your name was pulled. For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint.
An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling.
Glory to Arstotzka
The communist state of Arstotzka has just ended a 6-year war with neighbouring Kolechia and reclaimed its rightful half of the border town, Grestin.
Your job as immigration inspector is to control the flow of people entering the Arstotzkan side of Grestin from Kolechia. Among the throngs of immigrants and visitors looking for work are hidden smugglers, spies, and terrorists.
Using only the documents provided by travellers and the Ministry of Admission's primitive inspect, search, and fingerprint systems you must decide who can enter Arstotzka and who will be turned away or arrested.
I bought this game a couple of weeks ago after hearing that it could be run on a Microsoft Surface (as much as I love my Surface, it cannot handle gaming very well) as well as very positive reviews from a close friend.
I'm not a gamer by any means, but I was definitely hooked by the simplicity of the game itself. Either you let the entrant pass or you send them back. Some will bribe you with money, some will beg you to let their family members in, some will be terrorists, drug smugglers or human traffickers. On top of that, you have a family to support, and you earn more money the more people you let in.
I'm not a gamer by any means, but I was definitely hooked by the simplicity of the game itself. Either you let the entrant pass or you send them back. Some will bribe you with money, some will beg you to let their family members in, some will be terrorists, drug smugglers or human traffickers. On top of that, you have a family to support, and you earn more money the more people you let in.
This is an example of what you have to go through to check to approve of entry: passport expiry, different names, entry permit expiry, differing passport numbers, identity supplement, weight or height not the same, not being a wanted criminal, and those are only a few you have to consider. It can get very stressful, and the rules expand every day.
I find that although the mechanics of the game are simple enough, the premise of having a family and interacting with strangers and their stories was the backbone of the game.
This is what you are faced with at the end of a day of working at the border checkpoint. You have an option to choose to feed your family, keep them warm, or to do neither and let them die to save money. On day 21 you are faced with either taking care of your niece and having another mouth to feed, or saving money and letting her go to an unknown fate.
At first, the idea of letting anyone die never crossed my mind as an option, but after reading up on all possible 20 endings, it gave a dark insight into the possibilities of the outcomes. Many people can argue that this feature is inhumane, but just as many can also argue that it is simply just a feature that is advantageous to a positive end.
I have yet to reach the end of a run with this game, and although I have read on the possible outcomes I'm interested to see where I would end up in my attempts to be a good citizen and keep my family alive. I definitely think the game brings light to the reality of some of these situations, and a look into your own moral implications.
My personal rating: 8/10
(All image sources hyperlinked)
Thanks for reading~
Susie
4489 1229
I find that although the mechanics of the game are simple enough, the premise of having a family and interacting with strangers and their stories was the backbone of the game.
This is what you are faced with at the end of a day of working at the border checkpoint. You have an option to choose to feed your family, keep them warm, or to do neither and let them die to save money. On day 21 you are faced with either taking care of your niece and having another mouth to feed, or saving money and letting her go to an unknown fate.
At first, the idea of letting anyone die never crossed my mind as an option, but after reading up on all possible 20 endings, it gave a dark insight into the possibilities of the outcomes. Many people can argue that this feature is inhumane, but just as many can also argue that it is simply just a feature that is advantageous to a positive end.
I have yet to reach the end of a run with this game, and although I have read on the possible outcomes I'm interested to see where I would end up in my attempts to be a good citizen and keep my family alive. I definitely think the game brings light to the reality of some of these situations, and a look into your own moral implications.
My personal rating: 8/10
(All image sources hyperlinked)
Thanks for reading~
Susie
4489 1229
