Papers, Please is a 2013 hit that included mechanics such as choices that matter, time management, and organization tactics. It's an addictive game, but with all the years that have passed, fans may have been craving the next big thing to give the same satisfaction. While Lucas Pope created another unique gem in 2018's Return Of The Obra Dinn, it's a different type of playstyle compared to Papers, Please.
Sifting through papers and organizing a desk may be frightening to those with office jobs. But for others, it's addictive and satisfying when they get the papers just right. Tied with digging through files to find out information on people and crackdown on a case, these games will keep fans of Papers, Please occupied for a long time to come. Each one offers unique stories and settings unlike the next.
Update on May 9th, 2022 by Sharnelle Earle: There will never be a replica of Papers, Please, but you can continue supporting Lucas Pope and others who strive to accomplish similar ideas. We've added five more games to this list to better quench the humorous and challenging thirst Papers, Please gave. Some of these games are mechanically similar in their point-and-click management, while others are a bit different. These have a similar atmosphere and theme, however, whether it be in comedic timing or graphics style.
15 Do Not Feed The Monkeys
In this game you're basically a stalker. Hack into other people's computers and videos, and spy on them. The only rule you must not break is not to interact with any of these people. Don't let them know you're watching.
Do Not Feed The Monkeys is a story rich, choices-matter game where you learn about different couples and strangers online, and make impactful decisions. There are multiple endings and mature themes in this game.
14 Return Of The Obra Dinn
Lucas Pope, developer and creator of Papers, Please, released a second game in 2018. Return of the Obra Dinn is not the same type of game, but if you enjoy what Pope puts on the table, then this game is worth picking up.
In Return of the Obra Dinn, you control time and space with a special compass. It's your job to deduce what happened on this random ship in the sea. Many people have died on the ship, and you're able to turn back time to learn how and why. This is a first-person detective game with a unique graphics style.
13 Not Tonight
In Not Tonight, you're a newly made bouncer for nightclubs in the United Kingdom. Your goal is to keep a stable job and stay out of trouble so that you can become a UK citizen.
This is more of an RPG simulation game with an interesting inventory system layout. Side-scroll through a beautifully pixilated Britain and manage customers. You'll make sure everyone has their IDs and the necessary proof of being allowed into clubs without getting into a scrap.
12 Ministry Of Broadcast
Ministry of Broadcast is a side-scrolling platformer. The stylized graphics would appeal to Papers, Please fans as well as the humor. You play as a regular Joe, forced to survive and complete a challenging and dangerous series of puzzles on a hit reality TV show controlled by the government.
What seems like a horrifying reality quickly becomes comical, as the writing for the characters in the world is well done. There are multiple unique death sequences, and multiple endings.
11 No Umbrellas Allowed
No Umbrellas Allowed is set in the future where you run your own little second-hand shop. People want to sell you items, but you have to make sure they are actually worth what they say. Inspect and investigate various objects customers bring in, and negotiate prices.
The gameplay is most similar to Papers, Please — wake up, go to the store, become a detective and collect information from customers based off what they give you and what you can analyze. When you've made a decision, go all in. This game has multiple endings.
10 Death And Taxes
Benjamin Franklin coined the now-famous phrase behind this game's title. The theme of this game can be boiled down to one sentence: no one said deciding who lives or dies was easy; it's just a lot of paperwork. In Papers, Please, the player was a normal guy deciding who gets to pass the border or not. Death And Taxes puts people in the shoes of the Grim Reaper.
In this game, players sift through individual people's lives on paper and determine if they deserve to keep living on or if their time is nigh. The player basically decides who gets to pass on to the next life. Death And Taxes has multiple endings and a fully voiced cast.
9 Interrogation: You Will be Deceived
This time, players portray a detective working from inside a police department. They have to interrogate regular people who were arrested and figure out if they really did commit a crime. But then, the player must force them to admit it on tape. People can choose to play good cop/bad cop, or both.
Being a bad cop, people are able to stop the recording and start asking gritty questions or straight-up torture a person. Acting as a good cop, they'll want to ask questions in the correct order to persuade the suspect into feeling like they can and should say the truth. This is all before sifting through their case and files.
8 For The People
For The People is a political simulation where the player is in charge of what side a town leads most towards. Will their leader be for the people or against them? The game juxtaposes seemingly simple mechanics beside emotional and moral quagmires in the same way Papers, Please does.
This game allows the player to maintain full control over all actions. Decide how to handle ruffians and people in need. Get information via nefarious means or keep it by the book. Read through all the complaints and cries of the town and try to get all the endings the game has to offer.
7 Not For Broadcast
Playing almost like a mixture of Papers, Please and Five Nights At Freddy's, the player is in charge of managing live television. Ever wonder how news stations shut off so quickly when something bad and unplanned happens? It's this guy. Or rather, the player.
The control setup is rigged with multiple buttons and controls to learn and adjust as the player watches the station. Strange things might happen such as people trying to hijack the station to promote other things. Players get to decide if it's something people need to see. Make sure nothing inappropriate or out of line gets seen by regular folk at home or else it's everyone's heads or even a revolution!
6 VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
Here in this cyberpunk bar, the player will have to manage customers and prepare drinks as they learn about each passerby. Similar to the cyberpunk game The Red Strings Club, much of the gameplay revolves around interpersonal relationships.
Players interact with customers and influence how their stories turn out. But they must also try their best to collect as much money as possible. This bartender job is all the player has; money may be more important than the people.
5 Suzerain
This game puts players in the role of the next president, and as such, being in such a position of power is dreadfully scary and daunting. With a team, discuss politics and the state of the land with other powerful figures to lead your country in the right direction.
Unlike Papers, Please, this is a text-based game where players get to decide what path to take. Some people may be deceitful and the citizens may resent choices made, so the player must keep thei wits about them.
4 We. The Revolution
We. The Revolution has the player portray a judge in the midst of a revolution. The people can cry all they want, but at the end of the day, it is the judge who chooses what happens to people. But the player won't just face deceitful criminals; they'll have to judge protestors and petty thieves alike.
We. The Revolution maintains a beautiful graphics style that plays in a satisfying way. Set in the 1700s, players will have the choice to outright execute some people. Not only will the public disagree with some choices, but even the player's family will, too. This is a stressful political simulation game where everyone's opinions all meet in the player's courtroom.
3 Beholder 2
Beholder is a 2016 strategic landlord simulator where the player gets to spy on tenants. This means that their personal lives are in the palm of the player's hands. Except, with Beholder 2, the player is an intern at a corporate company. People have the choice to expose their corporate bosses or scheme their way to the top. People might find themselves making choices like these in real life every day.
Beholder 2 also has newer graphics compared to the original and a slightly new style of gameplay where the setting and people are 3D and the camera is more focused. It's a bit like if Gearbox ever put out a game about Jack climbing the ranks at Hyperion.
2 The Shrouded Isle
The Shrouded Isle's art style resembles that of Return Of The Obra Dinn. This game takes more of a fantasy route, where the player is ocean-bound and preparing for a god of the seas. The player also happens to worship said sea god. It's up to players to decide who should be part of their crew ,and who is as faithful as you are to the god.
It's a thrilling and dark tale full of adventure and many choices to be made. Everyone is at the player's mercy (whether they want to be or not). Just like Return Of The Obra Dinn, if the color scheme of the game bothers some players, there are different color options.
1 Field Hospital: Dr. Taylor's Story
A more tame paper management game than the previous, Field Hospital turns the player into a well-established doctor, who must accept and/or deny various patients that come and go. Each patient has different levels of priority to the hospital staff much like in real life.
People will have to work through each patient's file and determine just how bad their story is. Who lives and who dies? Who gets top-notch medicine and who has to just take some Advil? Is Daniel lying about his symptoms? Field Hospital is a detective game full of tough decisions and lots of deducing.