8 Video Games That Punished You For Being Good

8. Papers, Please

Papers, Please is one of the only video games I can think of that manages to get over a sense of pure intimidation in its title alone. That singular comma between the two words tells you everything about this game before you've even played it. It's authoritative, restrictive, and altogether exasperated.

You play as a glorious member of Arstotzka working as an immigration inspector at the border of your country. A cease-fire has recently been announced between your homeland and its neighbor but political tension is still at an all-time high. Therefore you need to examine and cross-check those looking to move from one country to another to limit events escalating once more.

However it's not as simple as things might first appear, as while people show up without the proper documentation or with things that were completely correct yesterday, new rules have rendered their application obsolete. As then spin you sob stories about how they want to see their family, Papers, Please becomes a battle between your moral compass and the Big Brother state in which you live.

And of course, bending the rules to let people through results in severe punishment, not just for you but for your family as well. By being fined you won't be able to afford heating or medicine for your family, and thus it becomes a pretty harsh experience of ignoring what is right to do what you're told is right.