Lucas Pope is probably a name that doesn’t sound familiar to you, but to his credit he has a small list of games developed by himself that are a real delight. And if not, he looks at that Return of the Obra Dinn that has been winning prizes and selling units (digital) for countless platforms thanks to its extraordinary approach and original development. Like the game that we are going to talk about today, which you will soon be able to enjoy on the screen of your smartphones and tablets.
The papers please!
papers please is one of those indie games that stole our hearts nine years ago now, which was when it first came out for Windows, Linux, Mac, PS Vita and iPad computers where he put us in the shoes of a customs agent from a fictional country called Arstotzka. Obviously, that place was an inhospitable, authoritarian, dictatorial territory and where the slightest mistake was punished with sudden dismissal in the best of cases. At worst, deportation and a sacrifice in the name of the divine leader.
The key to the game was detect if each person who passed through our customs post was telling us the truth or not. That is, if all the details of the documentation you are giving us are in order and consistent with the story they tell us. Does the photograph match the image in front of us? Have you ever passed through another banned country that automatically forces us to reject the request to enter Arstotzka?
It is this continuous hustle and bustle of faces, names of cities and countries of residence, personal or work data that must keep us vigilant so as not to make mistakes and reject those who cannot enter the country, to leave those who do have all the papers in order. A game that will lead us to suffer from constant stress, especially as our superiors alert us to new requirements that must be met (such as vaccination certificates). Do you think it’s not fun? If so, it shows that you have not played with papers please.
It was on iPad but Apple…
The great news is that as of August 5th we will have the iOS (iPad and iPhone) and Android versions, available in the App Store and the Play Store definitively, with all the original game completely adapted to those OS and vertical screens, as well as a touch control that, they warn, will be improved. Now, haven’t we already said that in 2013 we were able to play it on the Apple tablet screens of the time?
Yes, in 2013 a version arrived that many users bought but now they can NOT use anymore, because it is not available. Basically because it is not compatible. iOS and iPadOS have changed so much that that first release can no longer work with current tablets, so Lucas Pope has had to face an update job.
And whose fault is it that the money we spent in 2013 is worthless in 2022 and we have to checkout again? Well obviously from Apple, which changes its iOS as it pleases, adding new elements and tools that leave the old operating systems behind without noticing the number of video games (in this case) that fall by the wayside. The excuse of those from Cupertino? That if these things happen it is because the developers do not update their work with each new version of iOS. But go ask a studio that no longer exists to work on a game from 5, 10 or 15 years ago.
Even so, we will put our hopes and good faith in this new version that you will be able to enjoy starting next week. Are you going to give him a chance?
