Contraband Police

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 32 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 32
  3. Negative: 3 out of 32

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Funtastic
    May 22, 2023
    4
    Disappointment, please!

    - Let’s make "Papers, please", but with cars. - This or something similar must have gone through the brilliant minds who tried to emulate what the successful indie hit did back in 2013. The creators of Contraband Police were so inspired by their ideal that they forgot to make it look like they have their own ideas. Eastern european setting – check. 80s    Disappointment, please!

    - Let’s make "Papers, please", but with cars. -

    This or something similar must have gone through the brilliant minds who tried to emulate what the successful indie hit did back in 2013.

    The creators of Contraband Police were so inspired by their ideal that they forgot to make it look like they have their own ideas.
    Eastern european setting – check. 80s time line – check. Communist oppressive regime – check.
    Basically everything was ripped off shamelessly, including the symbol of the ficticious country we are serving. Arstozka or Arcaristan. Even the name sounds the same.

    Now, what do we do?
    We do the same old. Checking cars, cargo and people. We make sure everything is in order, while the game keeps distracting us from actually trying to do that. While the original put us into the daily grind at our desk and establishes a sense of familiarity and repetitveness, contraband police seems to want to force us into an action packed open world experience with an exciting story, car chases, gun fights and all sorts of badly programmed nonsense.

    The driving is awful, the gun fights as well. I stopped caring about the story quickly, cause its just another opressor / resistance sheme and it’s not done well enough to keep my attention.

    The constant distraction wouldn’t be such a problem if it was actually fun. But it’s not. And I felt bombarded with phone calls, „opportunities“, attacks on the border station, driving prisoners to the labor camp through ambushes, having to maintain ammunition, vehicles and tools that break after a couple of days and all sorts of other things, while having to take care of daily border business, which is also constantly changing.

    I just want your papers, please.. I felt quickly irritated and annoyed, cause I just wanted to rely on the established rules I learned in Arstozka. But Arcaristan is more like GTA with some occasional paperwork.

    4/10 stamps    … Expand
  2. Botanistaken
    May 2, 2023
    4
    You can immediately see that the game is too indie, there are a lot of bugs, the plot is straightforward and boring, the game is too long, the control of the cars is terrible, it bothers you to check documents already for 10 days and it’s not as interesting to check as in the original. If you want to get acquainted with this genre of the game, then it's better to play papers please! ThisYou can immediately see that the game is too indie, there are a lot of bugs, the plot is straightforward and boring, the game is too long, the control of the cars is terrible, it bothers you to check documents already for 10 days and it’s not as interesting to check as in the original. If you want to get acquainted with this genre of the game, then it's better to play papers please! This game is already worth playing only for strong fans of the genre or you are interested in the concept itself, but I can say right away that most likely you will quickly abandon this game.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

65
#65 Most Discussed PC Game of 2023
1
#1 Most Shared PC Game of 2023

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. GamingTrend
    May 22, 2023
    85
    Contraband Police gives players meaningful choices, both big and small, that make the player feel like they have an impact on the world they find themselves in. Fun and interesting adventures are frequent and well paced, and the game offers a polished core gameplay loop with an action spin that greatly expands on what Papers Please started.
    Read full review
  2. PLAY! Zine
    May 15, 2023
    80
    To put it simply, Contraband Police is an FPS version of Papers, Please. As a ‘’border patrol sim’’, it offers a great experience and adds some interesting fresh elements to the genre, but is let down by its low replay value.
    Read full review
  3. Movies Games and Tech
    Apr 4, 2023
    65
    Ultimately, Crazy Rocks makes a valiant attempt at evolving the formula but doesn’t quite stick the landing. If you want another game in the same vein as Papers, Please but with a little extra spice and an additional dimension then this is the absolutely game for you.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »