Papers, Please tasks players as an immigration inspector for the fictional nation of Arstotzka, checking the passports of various immigrants to decide who can enter. Successfully checking passports and documents at a quick rate will earn more money, ensuring one’s family survives month to month. However, the guidelines and requirements become more stringent over time.

Other challenges can emerge but we won’t spoil everything. Garnering widespread acclaim for its gameplay mechanics, themes and writing, Papers, Please has sold over 1.8 million copies as of 2016. It’s currently available for PC, iOS for iPad, and PlayStation Vita. Check out our review for it here and the surprisingly excellent short film here.

"Papers, Please" but small. August 5th. pic.twitter.com/87o8IqfCdF

— Lucas Pope (@dukope) July 23, 2022

MIMIC CHESTS (DARK SOULS)

The poster boys of traps in video games that players keep falling for. Mimic chests are by no means the exclusive domain of Dark Souls, but FromSoftware’s RPG uses it better than most out there. Walking up to a chest with anticipation of what treasures it might hold, only for it to open its mouth wide and try to swallow you whole can be a terrifying feeling. And sure, the more you play, the less you fall for it, and the more used to it you become- but those first few times are unforgettable.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/10-video-game-traps-that-gamers-fell-for/feed 0 447620 https://gamingbolt.com/15-useless-video-game-tasks-we-all-enjoyed https://gamingbolt.com/15-useless-video-game-tasks-we-all-enjoyed#respond Wed, 23 Jan 2019 17:09:02 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=380622 Sometimes in games, the most mundane of actions end up being strangely enjoyable. While no one will play these games because of these segments, and can often also be little more than ancillary mechanics or distractions, the action ends up being strangely fun regardless. Here’s a list of 15 such things that shouldn’t be fun, but for some reason are anyway.

CAMP CHORES (RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2)

The van der Linde gang’s camp, for a large part of Red Dead Redemption 2, is an excellent place to just hang out. From picking up quests and side quests, to playing some mini-games, to picking up various side quests and acivities, to just chatting with your fellow gang-members, there’s a lot to do in the camp. One other thing you can do is… chores. Picking up a loft of hay and slowly walking across the camp to to it back down in the horses’ feeding spot. Filling up a bucket and water and bringing it to Pearson’s table. Chopping a bunch of firewood. It’s all the very definition of mundane, and really, doesn’t require much activity on your part as a player- but for some reason, every now and again, it feels oddly fun to just do a bunch of chores around the camp. Of course, the Dead Eye bonuses – for whatever reason – are an obvious boost.

Sony has announced that PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive SOMA, Onrush, and Iconoclasts – among other titles – for free in December. They might not quite be major headliners like last month’s Yakuza Kiwami and Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition, but these are still some quality releases. Check out the video below.

SOMA is available for the PS4, and comes from the development studio behind Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It takes players into a futuristic underwater facility teeming with robots, both friendly and rogue. What’s going on, and how does the player escape? That’s part of the appeal in this atmospheric horror title.

Codemasters’ Onrush comes from the team responsible for DriveClub. Though it wasn’t especially successful, the title’s fast and responsive racing, along with an unorthodox approach to team play, is interesting to try out. Then there’s Iconoclasts for the PlayStation Vita (which has Cross Buy support with PS4), an excellent side-scrolling 2D platformer with a compelling story from the developer of Noitu Love 2: Devolution.

Other titles that you can look forward to include Steredenn and Steins;Gate for the PlayStation 3 and Papers, Please for the PlayStation Vita. All in all, it’s a fairly strong selection across all platforms. Look for them to go live when the PlayStation Store refreshes in December.

Remember Lucas Pope’s compelling but ultimately chilling Papers, Please which explored the nightmarish red tape of border immigration? It’s been adapted into a 10 minute short film that’s now available to watch on Steam and YouTube. Check it out below.

Directed by Nikita Ordynskiy and produced by Liliya Tkach, both based in Russia, the short film focuses on a checkpoint inspector in Arstotzka. It’s his job to admit or deny entry to a number of different individuals. How morality plays into his decision making and the impact of certain choices is beautifully captured.

If you haven’t played it, Papers, Please is currently available for Mac OS X, Linux, Windows, PlayStation Vita and iOS. As the short film depicts, it’s up to the player to inspect those entering the Arstotzka checkpoint, checking for discrepancies in their permits and passports. As one progresses, they must stamp even more passports in an effort to support their family with food, medicine and heating. It’s garnered tons of critical acclaim and sold over 1.8 million copies as of 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFHHGETsxkE

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Undertale

Toby Fox’s Undertale possesses a ton of charm underneath its relatively archaic visuals. Whether it’s the quirky gameplay, freedom of choice or utter wit, it’s a game whose art-style pays homage to the retro era of gaming. For a retro-styled game though, it could look a little bit better. Regardless, if you want a compelling story with significant consequences, Undertale is your ticket.

The developer of the massively successful independently developed game Papers Please, Lucas Pope has launched the playable demo build for his next PC game. The demo was launched very quietly with no big hub bub made over it.

The game is called Return of the Obra Dinn and is set in 1808 and the game tells a tale of the sailing merchant ship, the Obra Dinn. The Obra Dinn was thought to have been lost at seen six years prior however, so what’s it doing back? Well, no one knows for sure yet, Pope says “This is a very early playable build,”…”There’s not much content and it hasn’t been tested. Progress is not saved.”

The game makes use of a beautifully stylized dot matrix styled graphical world to lead the player on a first person adventure full of mystery at sea. For those of you that are interested, the demo can be found at Pope’s site. 

[Source]

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us bagged the Game Of The Year at this Game Developers Choice Awards. It also earned the Best Design and Best Narrative awards, which can be added to the long list of awards that the developer won for the third person survival action experience.

Indie puzzler Papers, Please also had a good run winning the Innovation and Best Downloadable awards at the GDC. This comes after the recent news that Papers, Please sold 500,000 units after its release. Currently, creator Lucas Pope is working on his next game and concerned about how to meet the expectations of his fans.

As for Naughty Dog, the developer is currently working on adapting The Last of Us to the big screen. There are also discussions regarding a sequel or some additional content to expand the universe, besides on-going development for Uncharted 4. What are your thoughts on the GDC Awards? Let us know in the comments.

Lucas Pope’s indie puzzle title/immigrant check simulator Papers, Please has garnered an excellent amount of critical acclaim since its launch on August 8th 2013. Despite only being available on PC, Linux and Mac, the game has managed to sell over 500,000 units since launch according to a profile piece the BBC has been doing on Pope.

The game also recently won a BAFTA Award in the Strategy and Simulation category where Pope’s former employer Naughty Dog won awards for The Last of Us. We know that Pope is working on his next game but no details have been shared thus far aside from his fear of being able to live up to fan expectations.

You can check out our review of Papers, Please here and share your thoughts on the game in the comments. Will you be expecting a sequel to the same or a brand new game from Pope? Let us know below.