NextGameLike
Papers, Please

12 Puzzle games like Papers, Please that you should try

Games like Papers, Please · Find similar →

We filtered the 24 games similar to Papers, Please down to the 12 that fit the “Puzzle” category. Papers, Please - The Short Film, Do Not Feed the Monkeys and There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Papers, Please.

NextGameLike89/ 100

Did you find what you were looking for?

GenreSimulationSubgenreJob Sim
Tags
NarrativeDarkSolo
Year 2013Dev Lucas Pope

Quick answer

Within the “Puzzle” category, the closest game to Papers, Please is Papers, Please - The Short Film — scoring 94/100 on our similarity scale. Do Not Feed the Monkeys and There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension follow close behind.

🗳️

Help us build the best rankings

Community powered

Vote on each result below — good match or not. Every vote directly shapes how we rank similar games for everyone.

The best puzzle games like Papers, Please

12 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Papers, Please. Each one has been evaluated across 11 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

1

Papers, Please - The Short Film

94
NGL91
Papers, Please - The Short Film
Closest overall match
SimulationJob Sim
SoloNarrativeDarkCasualHardcoreFirst PersonPixel Art2D
Year 2013Dev Lucas Pope · 3909Playtime ~4hOn PC · PS · iOS

If Papers, Please worked for you because of deep simulation, strong narrative focus and single-player focus, the same is here. The common ground extends to a first-person view.

Same studio: Lucas Pope.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100
2

Do Not Feed the Monkeys

84
NGL84
Do Not Feed the Monkeys
SimulationJob Sim
SoloNarrativeDark2DPixel ArtFirst Person
Year 2018Dev Fictiorama Studios · BadLand PublishingOn PS4 · Linux · Android

What carries over from Papers, Please is deep simulation, strong narrative focus and single-player focus. Both also lean on 2D presentation. What it adds of its own: resource management.

Released 5 years after Papers, Please.

Genre100Game mode100Visuals100Tone85
3

There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension

80
NGL92
There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension
SimulationJob Sim
SoloCasualNarrativePixel Art2D
Year 2020Dev Draw Me A PixelPlaytime ~5hOn PC · iOS · Android

What carries over from Papers, Please is deep simulation, a casual, approachable feel and single-player focus. The common ground extends to pixel art. It sets itself apart with deep RPG systems and melee combat.

Released 7 years after Papers, Please.

Genre100Game mode100Visuals79Tone76
4

Beholder

77
NGL85
Beholder
SimulationJob Sim
SoloNarrativeDark2DStealth
Year 2016Dev Warm Lamp Games · Alawar EntertainmentOn Linux · Android · PC

The thread back to Papers, Please runs through deep simulation, strong narrative focus and single-player focus. To that it adds 2D presentation. They part company on visuals: this one brings 3D presentation.

Released 3 years after Papers, Please.

Genre100Game mode100Tone86Visuals27
5

Observation

77
NGL79
Observation
SimulationJob Sim
SoloNarrativeDarkFirst PersonHorror
Year 2019Dev No Code · Devolver DigitalOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

With Papers, Please it shares deep simulation, strong narrative focus and single-player focus. The common ground extends to a first-person view. Where the two diverge is visuals: horror tension and a sci-fi setting.

Released 6 years after Papers, Please.

Genre100Game mode100Tone84Visuals58
6

Gnomes Garden

76
NGL88
Gnomes Garden
SimulationJob Sim
SoloCasualNarrative2DFantasy
Year 2015Dev 8Floor · 8Floor GamesPlaytime ~4hOn PC · PS · Xbox

What carries over from Papers, Please is deep simulation, a casual, approachable feel and single-player focus. To that it adds 2D presentation. They part company on visuals: this one brings horror tension and fantasy world.

Genre100Game mode100Tone71Visuals21
7

Loom

71
NGL89
Loom
SimulationJob Sim
SoloNarrativePixel ArtMagicFantasy
Year 1990Dev Lucasfilm GamesOn Linux · PC · Mac

Genre puts it alongside Papers, Please, and so does deep simulation, strong narrative focus and single-player focus. Both also lean on pixel art. The distance is in visuals and tone — its own ground is a third-person camera.

It predates Papers, Please by 23 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Game mode100Tone54Visuals48
8

Farmer Against Potatoes Idle

70
NGL95
Farmer Against Potatoes Idle
SimulationJob Sim
SoloCasual2DFree to Play
Year 2022Dev Oni GamingPlaytime ~2hOn PC

It comes from the same genre as Papers, Please and shares deep simulation, a casual, approachable feel and single-player focus. To that it adds 2D presentation. They part company on visuals and tone: this one brings deep RPG systems and free-to-play access.

Released 9 years after Papers, Please.

Genre100Game mode100Tone47Visuals36
9

100 Asian Cats

70
NGL97
100 Asian Cats
SimulationJob Sim
SoloCasual2DFree to Play
Year 2023Dev 100 Hidden Animals · 100 Cozy GamesPlaytime ~1hOn PC

Shelved next to Papers, Please for good reason: deep simulation, a casual, approachable feel and single-player focus. Both also lean on 2D presentation. The distance is in visuals and tone — its own ground is sports simulation and free-to-play access.

Released 10 years after Papers, Please.

Genre100Game mode100Tone45Visuals36
10

Human Resource Machine

60
NGL83
Human Resource Machine
SimulationJob Sim
SoloCasualHardcoreIsometric
Year 2015Dev Tomorrow CorporationOn Linux · Android · PC

Same family as Papers, Please: deep simulation, a casual, approachable feel and single-player focus. Where the two diverge is visuals and tone: an isometric view.

Genre100Game mode100Tone61Visuals0
12

TIS-100

56
NGL85
TIS-100
SimulationJob Sim
SoloHardcore
Year 2015Dev ZachtronicsPlaytime ~1hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux

It meets Papers, Please on deep simulation, punishing difficulty and single-player focus. Where they diverge is tone.

Genre100Game mode100Tone36

More similar-games lists to keep going

Found one on the list you already love? Open its own list: the games that play most like it, ranked, with the reason for each.

Explore games similar to Papers, Please by category

If Papers, Please left you wanting more, this is where you narrow it down. Was it the adventure or the puzzle that hooked you? There is a list of just that. And if you play on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and Mobile, filter by platform and skip the games you could not play anyway.

Rankings in the same genre

Sometimes what you want is not a Papers, Please look-alike but simply the best Job Sim Games there are. That is what these rankings are for: no comparison to anything, just the highest-rated games. And if you feel like widening the net, the Simulation Games ranking is a good way to run into something you were not expecting.