In contrast to Among the Free, within Lucas Pope’s puzzle game Papers, Please, the story revolves around in the shoes of an unnamed lowly laborer deriving from a village in Arstotzka. The worker is assigned a government job as a bureaucrat, working along the Arstotzka-Kolechia border checkpoint as an inspector inspecting passports and paperwork, hence the name, “Papers, Please”. Although performing a government job, the character and their family can barely get by in the authoritarian, anti-democratic Communist nation. The time frame of the game takes place shortly after Artoska opens its borders, allowing its citizens to leave, and eventually to let foreigners in. This resulted from a peace deal between Kolechia and Arstotzka after a war.
When playing Papers, Please, Lucas Pope distills a sense of hopelessness and desperation into the player, while still maintaining puzzle elements that keep them playing. The social commentary on dystopia is entirely up to the player, making the story very unique from differing perspectives. …show more content…
Plus, frequent terrorist attacks are conducted during the playthrough, despite if you did your job perfectly or not. Inspectors will come every ten days to inspect your work station. If you hang a family photo, your son’s drawing, or anything not permitted, you are fired and are placed in a labor camp, resulting in a game over. “”You are under arrest for violating direct orders. The penalty is forced labor. Your family will be sent back to their village. The border will remain open under a replacement inspector. Glory to Arstotzka”” (Papers, Please. PC. Lucas Pope,