We discuss ten games like Papers, Please you must play. Add these well-recommended games to your gaming library.
Papers, Please is a game set in a dystopia where players role-play a border guard trying to make a living in a tough environment. Their task is simple, stamp people’s passports and ensure that no one gets into the country without the proper paperwork. They receive pay for their work but let too many people in without the correct documents, and their pay will be docked.
Players interact with a revolutionary group trying to get in and out of the country, and they’ll have the choice of accepting bribes to help them or whether follow an increasingly complex set of ever-changing rules.
The game, released in 2013, received positive reviews, with many praising the problematic moral choices it made players to choose. If you liked making difficult moral decisions in an increasingly dystopic world, here are ten games like Papers, Please you must play.
10 Games like Papers, Please
Not Tonight (2018)
Set in a post-Brexit UK (which now classifies as a dystopia apparently), Not Tonight is a role-playing game where players play as a citizen with a European heritage. They must survive under an authoritarian British government, working as a bouncer across different clubs and avoiding deportation.
Across the game, the player must decide whether to change events or remain complicit with the administration.
The Occupation (2019)
Set in 1987 in the UK, The Occupation is a first-person detective game, taking place in a single government building over the course of four hours. This time advances with or without input from the player, so they only have a limited amount of time to gather knowledge and solve the mystery at the heart of the game.
Not For Broadcast (2022)
Not For Broadcast sees players take control of a TV station in a country suspiciously like the UK, where they have to bleep the swear words, keep the cameras trained on the celebrities, and otherwise keep the audience hooked.
The player is graded on their ability to keep viewership high, and they must censor any information that the authoritarian government doesn’t like. Otherwise, the player’s pay will be docked.
We Happy Few (2018)
Another dystopian game set in the UK, We Happy Few, is a first-person role-playing game that takes place in the mid-1960s following an alternative version of the Second World War.
Players control one of three different characters, each with their own personal mission to complete while escaping the city of Wellington Wells.
Do Not Feed the Monkeys (2018)
Do Not Feed the Monkeys sees players spy on apartments using surveillance cameras, gathering information about the inhabitants. They must do this to maintain their own health and apartment.
The player is told not to interact with any of the people they watch over, but they can, receiving bonuses but endangering their own life.
Limbo (2010)
Limbo is a black and white 2D platform puzzle side-scroller, navigating different traps and environments while searching for their sister. They’re also being chased by a giant spider, giving players another incentive to move forward as fast as possible.
The Red Strings Club (2018)
Set in a cyberpunk world, The Red Strings Club is a game where devices are implanted into humans to alter their physical and mental functions. Players assume control of a bartender looking to stop the corporation that sells these devices by mixing drinks to get information from patrons.
But probe too far on an unstable customer, and they’ll end the conversation, meaning the player will miss out on some vital intelligence.
Beholder (2016)
Players assume the role of a landlord installed by the totalitarian government and have been tasked with placing listening devices in homes, searching through the belongings of tenants, and generally reporting on anyone doing something suspicious.
The player gets to choose whether to carry out these tasks, siding with the state or if they want to side with those affected.
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You (2016)
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You sees players assume the role of Big Brother from George Orwell’s famous 1984 novel, investigating the lives of citizens to find all responsible for several terror attacks. Players can access information from the internet, personal communications, and private files, but any information supplied has consequences.
The Fall (2014)
The Fall has players play as Arid, an AI part of a combat suit that is seeking medical help in a decrepit hospital for the pilot. It’s a 2D side-scroller that sees players complete a series of puzzles and engage in 2D shooting.
Do you have any other recommendations for Games like Unpacking? Let us know in the comments below.
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