10 Video Game Moments You Were SUPPOSED To Hate

10. Papers, Please (2013) - Choosing Between Food And Heat

In Papers, Please, players take on the role of a checkpoint worker in the fictional totalitarian country of Arstotzka. It’s the player’s job to decide which of the people who appear in front of their meagre desk are allowed to enter, and who get turned away.

However, this isn’t as straightforward as it seems.

The rules for entry become more convoluted each day, which consequently makes the required checks more time consuming with mistakes becoming easier. The more mistakes are made, the less money players are awarded at the end of each shift.

Over time you can come away with less money than you started with, and things get worse when players must also decide whether to use earnings to pay for essentials like food and heat, or life-saving medicine for their family. Given how difficult the job becomes, though, this soon feels like an un-winnable task.

As well as serving as a commentary on authoritarian regimes, Papers, Please likewise highlights the soul crushing realities of working a thankless, low paying job.