Why is this game so widely acclaimed?

[himmatsj]

So, I spent the last 2 weeks (4 days, 1 week break, then 4 more days) playing Papers, Please ONLY. I played to see what's so great about it. Completed 3 full playthroughs, and so partial ones. 12 hours of game time in total. I got 7 achievements w/o looking up guides (including ending 18 and 19).

I do not see what's so "great" about this that it won numerous awards back in 2013.

I initially thought it was randomized, but the story and main characters play out the same ALWAYS.

I'd be lying if I were to say it wasn't somewhat addicting (especially on my second playthrough, when I got the hang of things but wasn't bored yet).

But seriously, what is it that made this game such a crowd favourite?

Thanks!

[Amber]

for me, i liked the concept ofr finding discrpencies and such. to me there's no other games like it out there in this genre.

In addition, its presented with themes that often are avoided or downplayed i.e. the 'unknown customs inspector in a soviet-like world' and i think it was presented well.

finally, it was created in a medium that I think really gelled well with the themes by having low res on purpose to give that bit of distance from the reality this actually happened to people irl (and is still happening)

[PootyRoot]

It takes a rather dull and boring objective, paperwork, and makes it nailbiting and exciting by setting it against the backdrop of Soviet 80s. Instead of just doing the same action over and over again, story, gameplay, and interesting events occurred to spice up each day. There are many different endings, and, it's unique. Not only did Lucas pope make a fantastic game about a rather bland action, he pulled it off with amazing grace and made a very addictive and brilliant game. As you can tell, I think the game is okay :-).

[Zep]

A lot of people do enjoy the "Inspect" and "Question" genre. It's also why LA Noire was a such a highly acclaimed title. You also have to take into consideration the game's charming graphics and (as you said it) its addictive nature.

[Space_Girl_DFTBA]

I like the fact that you get the moral dilemmas of letting people trough even though they aren't allowed to do so (e.g. the husband and wife immigrating, but the wife doesn't have a permit)
also, there are many choices you can make that affect game play in some way or another, which allows for various different scenarios to play out. there's many hours of fun that can come from the story mode, but if you don't like the scripted stuff, you can always go for endless mode ( the code for endless can be obtained by getting ending 20, in case you just want the code, it is: 62131)

[V1NCE]

Thank you very much!

I also don't know how a game like this gets numerous awards and high ratings. If it is this easy to create a blockbuster why would developers waste their time with graphics features and a story. This games success worries me of what's to come. My negative review got slammed when I said graphics like this belongs in the 90's and it's a game with a weak story. Then I changed it to "I dislike this game very much" and in minutes 0 out of 8 people found this helpful.

Fine, IGN, Metacritic and steam users can give the game good ratings but then don't slam murdered soul suspect and Ryse : son of Rome for a "weak story".

I believe this game should have been a flash game or mobile game but it has no merits for a PC game.

[V1NCE]

Originally posted by The Hatless Imbicile:

A lot of people do enjoy the "Inspect" and "Question" genre. It's also why LA Noire was a such a highly acclaimed title. You also have to take into consideration the game's charming graphics and (as you said it) its addictive nature.

There is no comparison to LA Noire and this. This game is 0.1% of LA Noire

[Zep]

Originally posted by bernardrossouw:

Originally posted by The Hatless Imbicile:

A lot of people do enjoy the "Inspect" and "Question" genre. It's also why LA Noire was a such a highly acclaimed title. You also have to take into consideration the game's charming graphics and (as you said it) its addictive nature.

There is no comparison to LA Noire and this. This game is 0.1% of LA Noire

I was talking about the genre of inspection. You are completley right, of course. LA Noire is greatly superior to Papers, Please. I probaly should have referenced the comparison of two very different games. Apologies.

[V1NCE]

Originally posted by The Hatless Imbicile:

Originally posted by bernardrossouw:

There is no comparison to LA Noire and this. This game is 0.1% of LA Noire

I was talking about the genre of inspection. You are completley right, of course. LA Noire is greatly superior to Papers, Please. I probaly should have referenced the comparison of two very different games. Apologies.

No it's fine. I just can't take this papers please popularity. I mean Murdered soul suspect was also a great inspection game? And it got such bad reviews for "predictable story and unimaginitive",

[Zep]

Originally posted by bernardrossouw:

Originally posted by The Hatless Imbicile:

I was talking about the genre of inspection. You are completley right, of course. LA Noire is greatly superior to Papers, Please. I probaly should have referenced the comparison of two very different games. Apologies.

No it's fine. I just can't take this papers please popularity. I mean Murdered soul suspect was also a great inspection game? And it got such bad reviews for "predictable story and unimaginitive",

Well, one thing you have to remember is preference. Some people like games like LA Noire, or some people like games like Paper, Please. Murdered, Soul Suspect is a triple A game, while Papers Please is an indie game. Murdered was made by a large group of highly trained people, so reviewers are expecting alot more from it, while Papers, Please, well, vice-versa.

[flwjrg]

Originally posted by himmatsj:

So, I spent the last 2 weeks (4 days, 1 week break, then 4 more days) playing Papers, Please ONLY. I played to see what's so great about it. Completed 3 full playthroughs, and so partial ones. 12 hours of game time in total. I got 7 achievements w/o looking up guides (including ending 18 and 19).

I do not see what's so "great" about this that it won numerous awards back in 2013.

I initially thought it was randomized, but the story and main characters play out the same ALWAYS.

I'd be lying if I were to say it wasn't somewhat addicting (especially on my second playthrough, when I got the hang of things but wasn't bored yet).

But seriously, what is it that made this game such a crowd favourite?

Thanks!

[dariussparkes669]

Originally posted by bernardrossouw:

Thank you very much!

I also don't know how a game like this gets numerous awards and high ratings. If it is this easy to create a blockbuster why would developers waste their time with graphics features and a story. This games success worries me of what's to come. My negative review got slammed when I said graphics like this belongs in the 90's and it's a game with a weak story. Then I changed it to "I dislike this game very much" and in minutes 0 out of 8 people found this helpful.

Fine, IGN, Metacritic and steam users can give the game good ratings but then don't slam murdered soul suspect and Ryse : son of Rome for a "weak story".

I believe this game should have been a flash game or mobile game but it has no merits for a PC game.

This, just as many helpless posts scattered within the depths of the interwebs, conclusively tells us, when someone has completely missed the point.

[Rhonda]

Originally posted by bernardrossouw:

If it is this easy to create a blockbuster why would developers waste their time with graphics features and a story. This games success worries me of what's to come.

Well, maybe it isn't that easy to have such a great idea and implement it into a slim but addicting game. If developers had such great ideas easily they prolly would make games out of it, but it seems to be more rewarding and less exhausting to create the next no-brainer FPS-clone.

In terms of economic success, inspite PP was sold in masses after it reached a certain popularity, I don't think it can compete with the sales of AAA-Blockbuster, but due to it's self-ensvlaved one-man-dev and low costs it's a great success within it's range. I can imagine Lucas Pope was some way surprised by the success himself. It might be compareable to Notch and his unequaled prosperity with Minecraft: a good idea, a small team, low costs and a good word of mouth advertising. FYI Notch sold the Minecraft game and trademark for US$ 2.5BILLION (with B) to Microsoft.
While everyone can create games with a small team and keeping costs low (as the steam front page proves everyday) it's the good idea that is lacking in most games.

[Miss Pavlichenko]

Even though it's set in an 80s Eastern Bloc country, a lot of the issues in it are extremely relevant (e.g. immigration laws, racial profiling, gender markers on documentation) and puts you in positions where you have to choose between keeping your job or doing the right thing.

Also, Jorji Costava is the man.

[Centipede]

Originally posted by Anesthesia Romanov:

puts you in positions where you have to choose between keeping your job or doing the right thing.

I find this decision to be easy for me: I want to keep my job. In that case, would I still enjoy this game?

[Rhonda]

Originally posted by Centipede:

Originally posted by Anesthesia Romanov:

puts you in positions where you have to choose between keeping your job or doing the right thing.

I find this decision to be easy for me: I want to keep my job. In that case, would I still enjoy this game?

Yes.