I weirdly enjoyed this game. I got very into it, and quite fast at checking passports, entry visas and work permits. While I recognized some of the political aspects: terrorism, USSR, etc. — I became intently focused on getting as many folks processed so I could feed and heal my family.
You’re thrown into a world, with just the context of a newspaper headline and a few notes on your desk. Your country, Arstotzka has just ended a long-term war with the neighboring country, Kolechia and reclaimed half of the border town Grestin — the security checkpoint of which you now work checking passports and admitting citizens and travelers alike into the country.
The game’s home site, describes Papers Please as “A Dystopian Document Thriller.” This seemed like an incredibly accurate description, although after class yesterday, I feel like I may be in the minority. Many folks found the game boring, extremely long and overly tedious — although this (as many people noted) is part of the point. Maybe it means I’d be good at menial office work…
I watched several of the endings — of the 20, only one seems satisfying — the ‘good’ ending, in an effort to avoid major spoilers I won’t mention it — only that it was still not as satisfying as I wanted after a good hour of clicking and searching through documents. Many of the endings over the month long work don’t really even feel like endings — just simple failure screens — you were unable to feed your family, try again.
The graphics add another layer to this seemingly bleak life. The outside world is grey, the people merely shadows that walk across the top half of the screen.
The characters are simply drawn, with minimal animation. The only sounds are the opening beat of the title sequence, loudspeaker squabble, the thunk of your stamp and the shuffling of papers.
In story mode, the game presents many moral trials. Do you separate a husband and wife? Save a trafficked immigrant from a pimp? Do you still save them even if it means your wife will die? Do you play the game like you are a well trained cog in the machine stamping all day long without a care for the people? Or do you start the underground resistance?
With such a simple premise, Papers Please is able to convey a lot of real-world applicable thinking. I left the game with a new-found appreciation for the person behind the desk, a deepened curiosity in a country’s response to war and terrorism and a sore wrist from all of the mouse clicking.
Glory to Arstotzka!