Papers, Please
Papers, Please screenshot 1Papers, Please screenshot 2
AdventureIndieSimulationPoint & ClickPixel GraphicsSingleplayerDystopian

183 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 443

Peak in the last 7 days: 509

Papers, Please Steam store

Game description

Congratulations. The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled. For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint. An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling.

Basic info

DeveloperLucas Pope
Publisher3909
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckVerified
Release dateAug 8, 2013
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows XP or later
Processor1.5 GHz Core2Duo
Memory2 GB
GraphicsOpenGL 1.4 or better
Storage100 MB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 369 reviews from the past 1 year

92.1/ 100
Top 10%

Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (97%)

Metacritic: 85 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

As a border guard in a grim fictional state, you check papers and weigh lives; Papers, Please scores 92.1, top 10% of games we analyzed.

👍 Strengths

111 reviews find it fun and engaging, and some joke about enjoying a stressful job sim after their real one. Gameplay ranks 56th of 1396. 72 praise its world and oppressive atmosphere, and some say it captures the quiet horror of serving a bureaucratic regime. 70 praise the story, saying moral choices create real tension and lead to multiple endings. Story & World ranks 45th of 1096, and Content Volume ranks 182nd of 1351. Some also note that it stays uncomfortable and tense by design.

👎 Where it falls short

29 reviews find the loop repetitive, and some say it becomes monotonous and tiring over long sessions, even when that seems intentional. 13 found it confusing to learn at first, and some say the tutorials are unclear or that they needed notes on the many document rules. A few also find the later days demanding as the checks pile up. Visuals & Sound ranks 466th of 1249.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“genuinely fun and engaging gameplay experience” · 111 reviews
“moral choices create real tension and multiple endings” · 70 reviews
“requires strategic analysis and simulation of complex situations” · 18 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 59% of reviews · Top 5% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +4.21 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “requires strategic analysis and simulation of complex situations” · 18 reviews
Negative “some decisions never change regardless of path chosen” · 1 review

Progression 8% · Difficulty 29% · Onboarding 9% · Freedom 2% · Controls & feel 8%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 68% of reviews · Top 5% of the games we've analyzed

Story +4.15 · Plot, quests, writing, and the ending
Positive “moral choices create real tension and multiple endings” · 70 reviews

Characters 14% · World 47%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 41% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Replayability +3.88 · Reasons to play again — runs, randomness, New Game+
Positive “every run different, no run exactly the same, reinstall every few years” · 16 reviews
Negative “重开性不高，没有刷结局的冲动” · 1 review

Volume 13% · Variety 13%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 25% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Audio +3.86 · Music, sound effects, and voice acting
Positive “music and atmosphere lives on in your mind long after playing” · 13 reviews

Visuals 18%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 0% of reviews mention this.

Playing together — · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 0% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 2% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing +0.04 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge
Positive “parasına değecek bir oyun, worth the price” · 1 review
Negative “economy so broken, salary worthless, inflation evaporates pay” · 2 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Balance 0% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 4% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Stability +0.03 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Positive “aged very well with excellent quality of life features” · 1 review
Negative “save file deleted due to muscle memory after six hours of checking” · 1 review

Performance 1% · Developer support 1%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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