Choose Papers, Please
Choose Papers, Please if you want the Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. 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 Wait! Life is beautiful!
Papers, Please and Wait! Life is beautiful! both land in Indie, 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 share Indie, Adventure on Steam. Papers, Please (2013) is 7 years older than Wait! Life is beautiful! (2020). Papers, Please scores higher on Steam reviews (97.3% positive) than Wait! Life is beautiful! (66.7% 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 Wait! Life is beautiful!
Choose Wait! Life is beautiful! if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's currently about 50% cheaper on the Steam Store. Wait! Life is beautiful! launched in 2020.
Both Papers, Please and Wait! Life is beautiful! sit in Indie and 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 |  Wait! Life is beautiful! | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2013 | 2020 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Indie, Adventure, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 4.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 97.3% positive (38,957 reviews) | 66.7% positive (60 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Lucas Pope | [DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS] |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Papers, Please (2013) is 7 years older than Wait! Life is beautiful! (2020).
- Papers, Please scores higher on Steam reviews (97.3% positive) than Wait! Life is beautiful! (66.7% positive).
- Wait! Life is beautiful! is currently ~50% cheaper on Steam than Papers, Please (4.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Papers, Please is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Wait! Life is beautiful! has no Deck rating yet.
Papers, Please vs Wait! Life is beautiful! — FAQ
- Should I play Papers, Please or Wait! Life is beautiful! first?
- If you want chronology, Papers, Please (2013) came out before Wait! Life is beautiful! (2020). 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 Wait! Life is beautiful! similar?
- They overlap on Indie, 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.
- Does Papers, Please run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Papers, Please is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Wait! Life is beautiful! doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.