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 Civil Purgatory
Papers, Please and Civil Purgatory 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 12 years older than Civil Purgatory (2025). Civil Purgatory is currently ~60% cheaper on Steam than Papers, Please (3.99 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 Civil Purgatory
Choose Civil Purgatory if you want a Strategy, Simulation, and Casual experience. On Steam, it's currently about 60% cheaper on the Steam Store. Civil Purgatory launched in 2025.
Both Papers, Please and Civil Purgatory 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 |  Civil Purgatory | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2013 | 2025 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Strategy, Indie, Simulation, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 3.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 97.3% positive (38,957 reviews) | 8 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Lucas Pope | AIGround |
Side by side
- Both are Indie games on Steam.
- Papers, Please (2013) is 12 years older than Civil Purgatory (2025).
- Civil Purgatory is currently ~60% cheaper on Steam than Papers, Please (3.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Papers, Please is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Civil Purgatory has no Deck rating yet.
Papers, Please vs Civil Purgatory — FAQ
- Should I play Papers, Please or Civil Purgatory first?
- If you want chronology, Papers, Please (2013) came out before Civil Purgatory (2025). 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 Civil Purgatory 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. Civil Purgatory doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.