After a slight delay, Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope has revealed that the hit indie will be available for the iPad starting tomorrow, December 12. Originally released in 2013, the title is also available on Windows PC and Mac, with a PlayStation Vita version also in the works.
Set in the fictitious country of Arstotzka, Papers, Please has players working as a border control agent for the country. In order to succeed, you will need to be able to keep your emotions in check as you may be forced to turn away the sick in order to secure better pay for yourself.
While the plan for porting the indie to iOS has been in the works for some time, Pope claims that Apple was partially responsible for the delay. According to a Tweet he posted, Apple originally rejected Papers, Please due to “pornographic content.” This refers to the body scanner players can use in order to scan immigrants for contraband.
In order to get around this wall, Pope says that the nudity will be replaced with a layer of underwear. While some may cry out against Apple’s censoring practice, the original release also had the option to cover up nudity, so this isn’t a particularly big deal. With the nudity being completely censored, the title’s rating has also dropped from 17+ to 12+, so now minors can also enjoy the soul-crushing work of immigration inspecting.
We were big fans of Papers, Please when it launched last year, as it landed a spot on our 2013 Game of the Year list. I “enjoyed” it so much, that I’m strongly considering double-dipping on the title tomorrow. If you haven’t already experienced Pope’s indie, I highly suggest you seek it out on any of the platforms it’s currently available on.