12 Phenomenal Indie Games That Deserve Your Attention In 2015

7. Papers, Please

If you pitched idea of "Hey, so you're this border agent and you have to decide which peoples' papers are in order or not", you'd probably be laughed out the room - which is precisely why one Lucas Pope decided to put it together himself. Set in the fictional Russian state of Arstotzka, 1982, you're stationed on the border line as all sorts of civilians attempt to gain access. They'll sidle up, present their papers and you'll decide whether or not to let them in - simple. The deceptively affecting thing about all this, is scenarios will occur where say one husband is approved to enter, but his wife is not. Do you let them remain together and take the repercussions from your unforgiving overseers? Doing so means less food for your own family, and eventually this can lead to losing your own wife, child or grandparent if you can't meet the quotas set by the state. There's a narrative undercurrent surrounding a rising rebel faction that you can get in on, but again it's about balancing things like smuggling documents between informants whilst at least appearing to do a good job. You'll actively start questioning what you would do across PP's considered runtime - taking into account how much your own moral standing can stretch, bend and break, before witnessing the dire repercussions of all your actions play out in front of you.