So what amazing game play does Papers Please use? You check a person's passport for discrepancies. No really, that's it. Well I suppose that isn't everything. You also have to check their ID or entry permit against their passport. Later you you get nude pictures of the people trying to get into your country to determine if they have contraband or weapons on them. Think airport security scanners. The nudity is handled incredibly well. It isn't sexualized in the least, it isn't even interesting from a sexual stand point. The people are just everyday people, men and women with all of the body types you can think of. I will admit I was a bit shocked the first time I had to do it, I didn't expect nudity in a game like this. It didn't seem necessary. Which is exactly why it is so effective. It dehumanizes both my character in the game and the person of whom the pictures are being taken for me to review. Which is exactly the point I'm getting from the game. Beautifully done.
The game is essentially set in a soviet style country opening up just a little for the first time. Your character won the "Labor Lottery" to get the job. If you make a mistake you lose money. Losing money is a big deal because you're trying to keep your family alive. Keeping your family alive isn't easy because you need money to buy food and heat the house, to get medicine for them when they get sick. How much money you earn depends on how many people you can get through customs in a day. This encourages the player to try to go as fast as possible while still being accurate. However, the game play is designed around being slow. You want to hurry but you just can't. Not really.