Papers, Please Critic Reviews

A true game, with a base gameplay that gets more and more complex as we play, with subtle touches and ruleset changes. But it's so much more as well : a deep dive in a terrifying dystopia, brilliantly crafted, that will put your life into perspective and awaken your political consciousness with both violence and humor.

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

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 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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

Papers, Please is not only original but fun, too. More papers, please!

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

A fantastic idea, beautifully executed.

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.