Papers Please.

 Hi all,

Not to long ago, I happen to stumble upon a game that took the number one spot for a brief period on Metacritic. The independent (indie) game is called Papers, Please which is available on Steam.

Papers, Please is a puzzle video game that puts you in the role of an immigration officer of the fictitious communist country Arstotzka. The storyline takes you into the life and job routine of an immigration officer.

Now if you may begin to feel that the game could possibly be boring due to the job scope, I will have to stop you there.

 Glory to Arstotzka!

The game gives an eerily real feel of how Cold War Communism could have been like. The dystopian atmosphere is pervasive and distinct in the graphics and game play. Life as an immigration officer may seem to sound dreary and lifeless. On the contrary, the gameplay makes things very much more interesting that it seems.

The requirements to monitor, screen, approve and reject travelers passing through Arstotzka increases as time goes by. Furthermore, there are moral decision that need to be made to sustain the livelihood your family. On top of all that, the relations between Arstotzka and neighboring countries will affect the procedures of your work in many ways. Created from the perception of going through immigration as a very tense experience, the creator of Papers Please wanted to turn that perception into an interactive fun game.

 

 Oh Jorgi!..

Mustache Man... What is your purpose of visit?

 Fun Fact: Prior to the release of the game, Lucas Pope, the creator of Papers Please, set up a name submission form for the public, where people could submit their own names to be randomly assigned to scripted characters in the game

The concept and gameplay is simple. And yet, there is a "feel" and "experience" to it that I really enjoy. If you are a fan of Cold War Communism and love to hone your skills in being meticulous and working through social problems, this game would be just the thing for you.