The tools at your disposal are both intuitive and easy to use – there are stamps which either deny or allow access on a passport, a rule book which contains all of the regulations given to you so far, alongside a world map which provides information on issuing cities and document seals. Generally speaking, each time a new rule is introduced, one of the first few people through the border hut will undoubtedly relate to the new direction on the bulletin, giving you an immediate opportunity to practice and spot what’s required. Each day starts with a bulletin highlighting any new rules or requirements, and later in the game this also showcases wanted criminals who may (or may not) come through your border hut. Fortunately, the systems through which you perform your duties are intuitive and easy to understand. With so many mechanics being layered upon each other, the game could easily become a confusing mess. As the days tick by, rules become more complicated and your eye for detail must be sharper than ever immigrants will attempt to smuggle weapons and contraband, passports from a certain region will need to be confiscated and, at times, you may have to tranquilise terrorist threats. As each day passes, however, new rules are added – foreigners are permitted next, but soon they must carry approved entry tickets. As a highly-suspicious (fictional) communist state, you are at first directed to only allow Arstotzkan citizens to cross the border. Using only the finest 1980s’ technology, it is your job to make sure that no-one crosses the border illegally. Tensions are still high due to the two countries having just concluded a six-year war, and this seemingly-innocuous role places you on the front line of these tensions. You arrive for work on day one, having won the Arstotzkan labour lottery, the prize for which is the position of document inspector at the newly-opened border crossing in the town of Grestin, which straddles the border of Arstotzka and Kolechia. While on paper this sounds about as interesting as, well, actually being an immigration clerk, the game itself is a deeply absorbing, thrilling and even emotional triumph. The mechanics of the game boil down to receiving an immigrant’s papers, checking for discrepancies and then either granting access or using your big red stamp of doom* to send them packing to the country from whence they came.
Lucas Pope’s ‘dystopian document thriller’ is, at its heart, a passport-stamping simulation.
Finally, with ‘ Papers, Please‘ my dream is realised. When I was a youngster, I dreamed what I thought was an unattainable dream – of wielding the power over ordinary people’s lives, my decisions condemning them to life or death, my whims allowing families to reunite or mothers to be separated from their children.