Last week, we showed you Data Dealer, a free online game that allows you to play as a shady mogul, profiteering from the sale of unsuspecting customers’ private personal information. Today, you get to inhabit a similarly maligned character: the lowly customs and immigration inspector, stamping passports and deciding who gets in and who stays out.
But while Data Dealer openly critiques its characters, Papers, Please is more ambiguous. Admirably, its creator, Lucas Pope, just wants to make a good game “Although there are political elements in the game, my goal isn’t to make a political statement,” he told the Verge. “I’m more interested in providing an entertaining experience for a few hours. If players walk away with a little more understanding about the difficult position that immigration inspectors, or any low-level bureaucrats really, often find themselves in, that’d be okay too. But really, I hope the game is still enjoyable even if none of that comes across.”
Download the beta, for Mac and PC, here. I haven’t gotten a chance to play yet, but the trailer (above) looks great.
