High School Life vs Papers Please
High School Life
High School Life is an interactive story game that might be a bit simplistic. Instead of having a deep and well-hashed-out story, the most you'll be doing in this game is dressing up to meet and flirt with boys, and hopefully, you'll get a date to the school dance, be it Homecoming, Sadie Hawkins, Winter Formal, Valentine’s Day or the actual Prom. You don't get to spend a lot of time in the actual high school setting though, despite being a game titled as "High School Life".The characters in the game aren't very well-designed either. The boys in the game seem to look especially flat-faced and honestly, a bit on the ugly side of things. The "texting a friend" feature is pretty interesting but it would have been nice to have some sort of interaction with your BFF at school, where again, being a high-schooler, you should be spending most of your time at.
High School Life is a pretty shallow version of an interactive story game and hence, is a poor alternative to games like Episodes or Choices, but it might still be enjoyable for some players who like something simple.
Papers Please
Papers Please is a pretty dark, story-rich, point and click game where you're sole and yet most difficult job as an immigration officer is to approve or deny a throng of people, some of which are good but of course there will be smugglers, spies and terrorists, entering into your country of Arstotzka from the war-devastated neighbor, Kolechia. Thankfully, you'll have some information at hand to help you make your decision. There are lie-detectors, documents, fingerprints, inspections and other primitive methods along with, of course, a series of questions and follow-up questions that you can ask.Your every decision will determine the lives of those who go through your immigration booth and enter Arstotzka as well as for those who were turned back to eke out a living in a war-torn country. Your morality and empathy will be greatly tested in this game.
Papers Please is among one of the most impactful games of, perhaps, all time. The game is simple enough for anyone to get into and yet it challenges your very beliefs, your concepts and your morality as you stamp those immigration papers with the words "Approved" or "Denied". If you are looking for a thought-provoking game, Papers Please is just perfect for you.