10 Video Games That Wanted The Player To Feel Terrible
8. Papers, Please
Papers, Please is a fascinatingly creative feel-bad game which casts the player as an immigration officer in the fictional Eastern Bloc-esque country of Arstotzka.
As an instrument of the state, you're tasked with coldly stamping passports, scrutinising other documentation, and denying access to anyone who might seem "suspect."
The result is a chilling depiction of the banality of evil, whereby the player is locked into a repetitious loop of bureaucratic busy-work which perfectly surmises how oppressive regimes are allowed to flourish.
Worse still, the player themselves isn't free from danger: if you make too many mistakes or get caught helping the downtrodden - or those attempting to fight back against the regime - you risk the lives of yourself and your family.
No matter which of the game's many endings you get, there's little chance you come out of this feeling good about yourself - or humanity, for that matter.