Few games forced gamers to ponder the morality and impact of their decisions like Papers, Please, a dystopian drama that situates players on the fictional Grestin border checkpoint between Arstotzka and Kolechia. In Papers, Please, players play an immigration officer who must verify the appropriate paperwork of immigrants and, eventually, make choices between right, wrong, and what is best for their family as they struggle to survive in the contested border region.

Russian director Nikita Ordynskiy has now released a short film based on Papers, Please, and it absolutely nails the tone, era, and ideology of the game itself. The title's signature metronome‐like soundscape returns as an immigration officer mimics the in‐game puzzles of routine passport inspection, and things quickly grow more convoluted as plots and happenstance force tough moral choices. The ten minute short is stock full of production value and should strike a tone with fans of Papers, Please.

Gamers can take a look at the short film below:

The short film was created as a completely independent film, receiving no financial support from the studio behind Papers, Please itself. However, that isn't to say that developer Lucas Pope wasn't a fan of the dystopian document drama ‐ in fact, the game's creator was involved in both scripting and production, and has even added a link to the short film on the game's Steam profile page.

The immigration officer is played by Igor Savochkin, a Russian actor with over a decade of film experience. Having starred in Russian titles like Night Watch and Leviathan, he's no stranger to drama or action ‐ two things this Papers, Please short invariably captures.

While the game itself has twenty possible endings, the short film only has one for the unfortunate inspector. Just like in Papers, Please, one moment of softness can lead to severe repercussions ‐ but isn't it worth the chance?

Lucas Pope is currently working on a new game through his studio, 3909 LLC. He's made an early version of the game available for everyone, but even after years of development time it's going to be a tough venture to fill the shoes left by the success of Papers, Please.

Papers, Please is available now iOS, Linux, PC, and the PlayStation Vita.

Source: YouTube