Choose Papers, Please
Choose Papers, Please if you want an Indie game with Steam Leaderboards. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 97.3% positive across 38,957 reviews.
Papers, Please vs Mind Scanners
Papers, Please and Mind Scanners both land in Adventure 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 Adventure games on Steam. Papers, Please (2013) is 8 years older than Mind Scanners (2021). Papers, Please scores higher on Steam reviews (97.3% positive) than Mind Scanners (82.1% positive). 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 Mind Scanners
Choose Mind Scanners if you want a Strategy, Simulation, and RPG experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Mind Scanners launched in 2021.
Both Papers, Please and Mind Scanners sit in Adventure 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 |  Mind Scanners | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2013 | 2021 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Strategy, Adventure, Simulation, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 16.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 97.3% positive (38,957 reviews) | 82.1% positive (553 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Lucas Pope | The Outer Zone |
Side by side
- Both are Adventure games on Steam.
- Papers, Please (2013) is 8 years older than Mind Scanners (2021).
- Papers, Please scores higher on Steam reviews (97.3% positive) than Mind Scanners (82.1% positive).
- Papers, Please is currently ~41% cheaper on Steam than Mind Scanners (9.99 USD vs. 16.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Verified.
Papers, Please vs Mind Scanners — FAQ
- Which is better, Papers, Please or Mind Scanners?
- On Steam reviews Papers, Please scores higher (97.3% positive) than Mind Scanners (82.1% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Papers, Please is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Papers, Please or Mind Scanners first?
- If you want chronology, Papers, Please (2013) came out before Mind Scanners (2021). 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 Mind Scanners similar?
- They overlap on Adventure 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.
- Do Papers, Please and Mind Scanners both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.