Papers, Please

The variety and attention to detail in a game about repetition is quite incredible. At times decisions you make will even influence future gameplay.

An incredibly impressive little game, from its understated old-school art style to its ability to make you feel uncomfortable with how much you enjoy catching criminals trying to trick their way into your country.

Papers, Please is a unique passport stamping simulation game. It becomes surprisingly entertaining because of its gameplay variability and its unusual commentary about an individual working for a totalitarian regime. Bravo.

With a deluge of big-budget, high-profile games on the horizon, it might be easy to overlook a quiet, unusual game like Papers, Please. But don't do that, comrade. The consequences would be dire.

Papers, Please manages to make the apparently boring profession of border guard incredibly engaging and thrilling. Music, graphics and writing all contribute to an oppressive atmosphere that pulls the player in and holds them captured.

It’s a game everyone should be thrilled exists in a vibrant and daring independent scene, tapping a reservoir of fascinating themes and content that mainstream games dare not touch.

Games have mastered action – the amplified and instant reward – but Papers, Please finds satisfaction in the tedium of bureaucracy, and twins it with genuinely human stories and an underlying, dread-filled tension. It’s rare to play a game about something, about a time, a place and a theme, and for a game to embody those ideas from meaning right down to mechanics.

Papers, Please is yet another demonstration that indie titles are what appears to be a virtually unlimited reservoir of original ideas. Charming, sometimes even touching, this game will make you think.

Papers, Please is a lean game that knows exactly what it wants to do, and does it with more style and confidence than one could reasonably expect.

Evil is performed by men in suits, golden pens in their chest pockets, and stamps in their hands. With a single move with their wrists, they sign death warrants, never seeing the consequences of their actions, maybe not even caring about them.

Papers, please deserves to be shown in the schools and to all those believing to have strong morals. Amazing.

One of this year's best indie games, one that will surprise you with your decisions. Are you really as kind and compassionate as you think?

Papers, Please is a really unique experience. Given the price, it's definitely a must-have if you want to try a game that's funny in a way different from the usual one.

With its oppressive 16-bit visuals and stomping Eastern Bloc soundtrack - all ominous parps, sinister trills and garbled Tannoy announcements - Papers, Please feels a lot like an interactive anxiety attack. It's hard to call such a nerve-shredding experience "fun", but it is absorbing, brilliantly written and causes you to question your every instinct and reaction - both in the game and in real life.

Papers, Please is not only original but fun, too. More papers, please! [Sept 2013]

This is an 8-bit-masterpiece, an atmospheric border patrol dystopia, filled with loads of decisions and tough consequences.

A fantastic idea, beautifully executed.

An original and pleasantly demanding puzzle-style game that leaves you wanting slightly more and slightly more variety.

Papers, Please gives you a simple task that doesn't ask a lot of you. The game outgrows its mechanics though, by appealing to your moral compass and emotions. This indie game will get under your skin, will have you feeling uncomfortable and have you think about yourself, as a person.

Well-paced, straight-forward game play combines with vivid storytelling to make into a fantastic game. More than a tale of bureaucratic spot the difference, Papers, Please is a game of intrigue and excitement balanced by fear for your family.

Papers, Please is a real pearl of independent development, a must for those who appreciate courage and inventiveness.

The satisfaction that comes with surviving a shift with a few extra bucks is remarkable, and is made possible by the oppressive mood that developer Lucas Pope has crafted. I also walked away with a slightly different perspective on real-world international strife, which is well worth the grind.

Papers, Please is interesting enough to try on its unique base alone, but it's not only the special concept of playing as a customs employee that makes it worth it. Looking for falsified papers, stamping documents and the necessary ethical dilemmas make Papers, Please a game like no other. Glory to Arstotzka!

Papers, Please is a game about beating the system. Or subverting the system. Or submitting to the system. Or maybe ignoring the system. In any approach, it forces the player to consider conflict as a multifaceted condition tied to its narrative and design, and it doesn't much care if you judge its sum-total as traditionally fun. Papers, Please has something to say, and it makes it very clear at almost every instance.

It's a tribute to the Cold War. An addictive game that's full of sarcasm and social commentary. A game that you should definitely try.

A very interesting piece of software that really has something to say. But beware: if you judge it only in terms of gameplay and pure fun, it can result in pretty boring time.

As much as it can wear you out, Papers, Please is a game to reflect upon and cherish. [Oct 2013, p.90]

It’s a fascinating experience and one of the stranger topics for a video game.

This is an unforgettable trip into the horrifying world of bureaucracy.

Papers, Please is anything but a standard adventure, but beneath the seemingly unappealing premise of bureaucratic drudgery and human misery lies a fascinating game of choices, surprises, and intrigue.

It shouldn't be fun to be a small cog wheel in a huge dictatorial gear box but it's fun to find out where your personal limits are, where the fun ends and when it's time for reflection.

Papers, Please manages to be both unique and creative. Often times thoughtful, stressful and comical it creates a thick atmosphere with both story and gameplay. Easily one of the best downloadable games of 2013.

Papers, Please will stress you out. At times it may even make you hate yourself. And while it's weird to call such an experience "enjoyable," the gameplay itself is not a miserable time. It's worthwhile for the same reasons a depressing novel or a bleak movie can be worthwhile.

The concept may sound absurd but the experience of playing Papers, Please shines a light not on the game’s hapless victims but on the player’s own sense of decency.

A meaningful exercise in misery.

Put simply, Papers, Please is a refreshingly unique game that deserves your attention.

The game’s topic, visuals and gameplay mechanics might seem off-putting, but Papers, Please is a must-play for everyone who values games with a message or indie games in general. [CD-Action 10/2013, p.61]

It's quite hard to consider this a "game", and it rather feels like an interactive documentary. In any case, we think it's something necessary and worth checking out.