Choose Papers, Please
Choose Papers, Please if you want an Adventure game with Steam Leaderboards. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 38,957 Steam reviews back the pick.
Papers, Please vs Guildmaster Story
Papers, Please and Guildmaster Story both land in Indie on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Indie games on Steam. Papers, Please (2013) is 6 years older than Guildmaster Story (2019). Guildmaster Story is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Papers, Please (9.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Guildmaster Story
Choose Guildmaster Story if it's the newer release (2019) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Guildmaster Story launched in 2019.
Both Papers, Please and Guildmaster Story sit in Indie on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Papers, Please |  Guildmaster Story | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2013 | 2019 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Indie |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 97.3% positive (38,957 reviews) | 6 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Lucas Pope | WZOGI |
Side by side
- Both are Indie games on Steam.
- Papers, Please (2013) is 6 years older than Guildmaster Story (2019).
- Guildmaster Story is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Papers, Please (9.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Papers, Please is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Guildmaster Story has no Deck rating yet.
Papers, Please vs Guildmaster Story — FAQ
- Should I play Papers, Please or Guildmaster Story first?
- If you want chronology, Papers, Please (2013) came out before Guildmaster Story (2019). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Papers, Please and Guildmaster Story similar?
- They overlap on Indie on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Does Papers, Please run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Papers, Please is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Guildmaster Story doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.