Papers, Please

Last month was spent in a haze of fast paced action with GTA V and Breaking Bad, which is why discovery of  Papers, please is perfect timing. It can be almost be used as a case-study of something that is exactly the opposite of GTA V.

Set in a dystopian 80s communist state, you play a low-level bureaucrat working at an immigration booth on the newly opened border. Your endless days consist of appearing at this booth and determining the fates of applicants based on the correctness of their paper work. The rules for admittance get convoluted over time, but not without reason - There are political and social forces at play that induce the ever increasing amount of paperwork to be examined.

The real achievement of this game is its ability to create an, and I hesitate to use the word, immersive experience. It captures the sense of what I imagine must be the dread and helplessness of living in an oppressive state where every action is monitored, logged and has consequences. The stark skeuomorphic sound effects juxtaposed with deep base thumping background music elevates the game to a masterpiece of execution. Using 90s style pixelated graphics, the game still brings about more realism than most massively designed game set; This is because like all other great media, this game realizes that the mind matters more than the eye.

I would recommend this game as a social study assignment to experience first hand the factors and social environments that lead an ordinary person to first start making deeply disturbing choices and eventually become inured to the ordinariness of suffering - Approve, approve, reject, take bribe - approve ... Stamp stamp stamp. repeat day after day.

One tip for players - don't fall into the trap of replaying a day because of some mistakes in strategy. There are several endings to the game and they are determined by choices, intentional or inadvertent. Allow this game to uncover your nature and then reflect upon the outcome of your choices.