When comparing Psychonauts vs Papers Please, the Slant community recommends Papers Please for most people. In the question“What are the best games on Steam with a rich story?” Papers Please is ranked 8th while Psychonauts is ranked 74th. The most important reason people chose Papers Please is:
Papers Please has a unique puzzle solving element. Instead of using mathematical logic, or quick matching thinking, the puzzles in Papers Please involve checking people's background information to make sure everything matches the immigration requirements and following clues to find anything amiss.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Allows looking in the strange minds of different characters, literally
Each of the levels in the game are themed after different characters in the game, where the player enters their mind. This makes for a varied experience that will not get stale. It also allows for different gameplay elements due to the different tasks that are asked of the player to complete in each.
Pro Unique puzzle solving through clue based deduction
Papers Please has a unique puzzle solving element. Instead of using mathematical logic, or quick matching thinking, the puzzles in Papers Please involve checking people's background information to make sure everything matches the immigration requirements and following clues to find anything amiss.
Pro Will require making ridiculously hard decisions
There is a fine line to walk while playing, whether it is worth following the rules and ruining lives or bending the rules at the risk of getting caught in order to help destitute people. The moral choices in the game are often difficult and require hard decisions.
Pro Endless mode
Once the main story is beaten there is an optional endless mode for those that want to see how long they can play without losing.
Cons
Con Poor textures and animations
Even at the time of release (as the game is a bit old now) the textures used and the animations found within are a bit lacking, which may detract from the experience.
Con Simplistic gameplay mechanic
The gameplay itself, once the player gets a grasp of it can get repetitive pretty quick due to there really being not much deviation from a singular gameplay mechanic.