I passed on the beta at the time originally since I knew a full version would come out eventually. So picking it up today was my first time trying out the game.
Playing as an immigrant inspector doesn't sound like fun in theory, but its execution is far better than I could have anticipated. It's like playing a detective in a third world country with tense atmosphere and high personal stakes. Also, it's a very mechanically driven game as well with plenty of rules and little additions based on special events that snowball with each passing day. In the beginning, I was struggling with figuring out everything that I needed to check between passports, entry permits, citizen IDs, etc. But even though I got more efficient as I got further into my first playthrough with fewer daily citations, the gradually progressing difficulty caught me off guard near the end. I had a moment where I thought to myself, "Holy shit, this is a lot that I have to keep track of!" It was surprising shock but also a satisfying one as I realized how far I had gone.
Papers, Please has a very unique kind of slow building tension and atmosphere that always committed to its setting and kept me engaged throughout my 2 hour session. There's definitely nothing else quite like it, and I can't wait to play more.
