14 DAY TRIAL // It has been a great year for video games created by smaller studios, both because they have gained visibility on Steam and because they have managed to attract the attention of Microsoft and Sony for the launches of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
But my favorite experience is one that will probably never be ported to another platform because its very essence is linked to the roots of PC gaming, using a style that takes older fans back to the ‘80s and the beginning of the industry.
Papers, Please is a game about humanity, surveillance and the importance of seemingly repetitive and meaningless tasks.
The player has to learn a system of matching persons with data, designed to make sure that only those who respect certain criteria can enter a fictional country called Arstotzka.
As the game progresses, a simple system becomes ever more complicated and a number of events and outside forces begin to push the player character in strange directions, while the specter of being unable to feed his family hangs over him.
Papers, Please can be claustrophobic and dark, a game that shows how easy it is to be coopted by a dictatorship and how hard it is to follow our good human impulses.
At the same time, the actual gameplay is very engaging, forcing gamers to pay attention and move fast, asking them to recognize patterns and trust their intuition.
Lucas Pope, the developer of the indie title, was inspired by the way immigration officials treated him when he moved to Japan.
Papers, Please is not a direct critique of the democratic systems, but it does ask its players how far they are willing to support a regime as long as they have only one way of making sure that their families are safe and looked after.