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"Fun" is a weird and troublesome thing. Almost impossible to define, it's a lightweight term that lacks any real heft, yet it's come to be one of the most commonly used criteria for deciding if a game is any good. Is it interesting? Thought-provoking? Never mind all that: is it fun?You couldn't really describe Papers, Please, a "dystopian document thriller" from indie developer Lucas Pope, as fun. It's compelling, challenging and genuinely unnerving. It's a game that leaves a scar, forcing you to confront your own capacity for evil, without the comforting framing device of role-play and morality meters. It's not a game you'll fire up for a 10-minute distraction, but it is a game you should play if you have any interest in how games can explore more than just bombastic wish fulfilment.
What we have here is the literal opposite of the usual power fantasy. You don't play as anyone special, just a downtrodden citizen of the ominous Soviet-styled nation of Arstotzka in the dying months of 1982. Assigned by a labour lottery to work for the Ministry of Admission, you spend your day stuck in a dank booth at a border checkpoint, responsible for deciding who gets to enter the country and who gets turned away - or worse.
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