This review was originally written on February 26, 2019

Technical Information

Developer: 3909
Publisher: 3909

After 6 years of war, the communist country of Arstotzka ended a war with Kolechia and wanted to take its share of the city on the border of Grestin.
Your goal is to control the life of a simple man who works at an immigration border and must approve or deny people’s entry into Arstotzka. However, among this crowd are spies and terrorists, and one mistake could be enough to destroy your life.

Final Thoughts – Analyzing the Game as a Whole

Graphics and UI

Despite the graphics being simple, the game’s visual identity is very beautiful and well-made. A perfect example of “less is more”.
The typography was very well thought out, leaving the game’s aesthetic and total harmony.

The main menu and day selector (which would be “chapters” of the game) work well.
However, I felt a bit lost as new mechanics are gradually introduced into the game. Each day that passes, you’re introduced to a new verification, and it’s not always clear how to do it. So, you end up wasting some time reading instructions and understanding how it works, which inevitably affects your performance in the game, forcing you to start again.

Soundtrack and Sound Effects

There is absolutely nothing extraordinary about the soundtrack or sounds, but they combine perfectly with the game’s vibe.
The sounds from the initial screen and “dialogs” stick in your head, it’s funny how they induce you to enter Arstotzka’s atmosphere.
Just a few minutes of playing and you’ll be mimicking the sounds produced during the game! hahaha

Gameplay

The first thing that caught my attention about this game was the translation. It was very well localized (at least for Brazilian Portuguese), so when you play, you won’t get the impression that someone just took the game’s text and threw it into a translator. This alone demonstrates the care to make the product have quality not only for non-English speakers.

The gameplay mechanic is quite simple: you need to compare information and authorize people’s access to the country of Arstotzka.
As you progress, new rules start being introduced, gradually increasing difficulty and the number of verifications you need to perform to release someone into the country. Over time, unexpected situations and characters appear, adding a touch of “moral choices” and making you torn between what’s right and wrong.

At the end of each day, a balance is made, and your payment is deposited. Your salary is deducted according to your personal expenses, which include those for your family.
If you let someone with a fake passport through, for example, you won’t be penalized at first. However, as these small mistakes begin to recur, in addition to the alert notification (which already creates significant psychological pressure), penalties start being deducted from your salary, directly affecting your family’s expenses.
The game pressures you heavily not to make those mistakes. At the end of the day, failing to pay bills will lead to game over.

Only a mouse is needed to play. However, as your progress unfolds, it becomes increasingly necessary to have dexterity (both physical and mental) to quickly handle people at the border.
In addition to moral choices, the game has various endings. There are many combinations of actions, great for making us break our heads.

Replayability and Game Retention

It’s a game that can make you lose hours playing without realizing it, with an extremely high replay factor. Besides the storyline mode, there is an “Infinity” mode in which you play eternally.