Comparison

Papers, Please vs Pocket City 2

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Papers, Please

Step into the shoes of a border inspector in a dystopian communist state. Examine documents, interrogate travelers, and decide who is allowed to enter. Your choices impact your family's survival and the fate of the nation.

Highlights
  • Dystopian border inspector simulation
  • Document examination and verification
  • Interrogation and decision-making
  • Multiple endings based on choices
  • Unlockable multitouch support
  • Game Center achievements and leaderboards
Features
Read full description

A dystopian document thriller. The award-winning, critically-acclaimed border inspector game. ______________________________________ "Congratulations." "The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled." "For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint." "An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling." "Glory to Arstotzka." ______________________________________ Awards ◉ Best Game of 2013 - The New Yorker ◉ Best Game of 2013 - Wired Magazine ◉ Top Indie Game 2013 - Forbes Magazine ◉ Best Strategy & Simulation Game 2014 - BAFTA ◉ Grand Prize Winner 2014 - Independent Games Festival ◉ Excellence in Design Winner - IGF 2014 ◉ Excellence in Narrative Winner - IGF 2014 ◉ GameCity Prize Winner 2014 - GameCity ◉ Cultural Innovation Award 2013 - SXSW ◉ Best PC Game 2014 - LARA Game Awards ◉ Innovation Award - GDCA 2014 ◉ Most Innovative 2014 - Games For Change ◉ Best Gameplay 2014 - Games For Change ◉ Best Game of 2013 - Ars Technica ◉ Best Game of 2013 - PC World ◉ Best PC Game of 2013 - Destructoid ◉ Best Story of 2013 - Destructoid ... and more ______________________________________ Story The communist state of Arstotzka has just ended a 6-year war with neighboring Kolechia and reclaimed its rightful half of the border town, Grestin. Your job as immigration inspector is to control the flow of people entering the Arstotzkan side of Grestin from Kolechia. Among the throngs of immigrants and visitors looking for work are hidden smugglers, spies, and terrorists. Using only the documents provided by travelers and the Ministry of Admission's primitive inspect, search, and fingerprint systems you must decide who can enter Arstotzka and who will be turned away or arrested. ______________________________________ Features Includes the complete original game with all 31 days and 20 endings. Also adds unlockable multitouch support for faster paperwork, an enhanced inspection mode, Game Center achievements, leaderboards, mid-day resume, and more. ______________________________________ Warning This game contains mature themes, non-photographic nudity, and brief moments of pixelated violence.

About

Pocket City 2

Construct and explore a vibrant 3D metropolis, managing zones, landmarks, and special buildings. Live the life of a mayor, from building your own house to surviving disasters and hosting events. Enjoy a dynamic world with seasons, a day-night cycle, and engaging minigames.

Highlights
  • Build unique cities with zones and special buildings
  • Explore your city as an avatar
  • Dynamic environment with seasons and day/night cycle
  • Play minigames like street racing and plane flying
  • Survive disasters and host fun events
  • Customize avatar and become a homeowner
  • Collaborate on cities in real-time
Features
Read full description

Build and explore your own city in this 3D sequel to the original Pocket City! Create using roads, zones, landmarks, and special buildings. Drop your avatar into the world and roam freely. Buy your own house, host events, survive disasters, and live the life of a successful mayor! No microtransactions or long wait times, everything is unlocked and rewarded through gameplay! FEATURES - Build a unique city by creating zones and new special buildings - Explore your city by controlling your avatar directly - Enjoy a dynamic environment with seasons and a day night cycle - Play minigames like street racing, plane flying, and much more - Trigger fun events like block parties, or disasters like tornadoes - Complete quests to earn XP and money - Customize your avatar with clothing and tools - Become a homeowner and furnish your own house - Visit buildings in your city to buy items and find loot - Invest and build long-term mega projects - Encounter and help NPCs around your city - Spend research points to gain valuable perks - Invite a friend to collaborate on your city in real-time - Unlock special rewards by competing against rival towns - Unleash your creative side in Sandbox Mode - Play in both landscape and portrait mode

Screenshots

Papers, Please4 screens
Pocket City 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Pocket City 2 at free against Papers, Please's paid. Papers, Please's advantage is chart position (#7 vs #45) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Papers, Please costs $4.99 and Pocket City 2 $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Papers, Please against 4.6 for Pocket City 2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 806 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 80% and 80% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Papers, Please versus Pocket City 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPapers, PleasePocket City 2
Price$4.99$4.99
Rating4.7 (1.2K ratings) — better4.6 (806 ratings)
Positive reviews79.6% of reviews79.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.2K — better806
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#7 — better#45
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB304 MB
Age rating17+9+
Developer3909Codebrew Games Inc.

Customer experience

Papers, Please

All ratings1,202 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral3.7%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews997 reviews
Positive79.6%
Neutral7.5%
Negative12.8%

Pocket City 2

All ratings800 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral4.8%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews536 reviews
Positive79.7%
Neutral10.4%
Negative9.9%

Bugs and requests

Papers, Please

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Pocket City 2

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when entering certain buildings
  • Graphical glitches and disappearing elements
  • Freezing and performance issues with larger cities
  • Bugs with regional city and money transfer features
  • Issues with road building and placement

Requested features

6 requests
  • More building styles and architectural variety
  • Improved traffic management and transportation options
  • Expanded regional city functionality
  • Mayor customization and more interactive features
  • Better save/load and cross-device syncing
Show 1 more
  • Optimization for older devices

In-app purchases

None

Papers, Please

No in-app purchases

None

Pocket City 2

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Papers, Please free?
Papers, Please costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pocket City 2 free?
Pocket City 2 costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Papers, Please or Pocket City 2?
Papers, Please is rated higher. Papers, Please averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Pocket City 2 averages 4.6 from 806 ratings.
Do Papers, Please or Pocket City 2 have ads?
Neither Papers, Please nor Pocket City 2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Papers, Please or Pocket City 2?
Papers, Please ships an update weekly, and Pocket City 2 weekly. Most recently, Papers, Please was updated on November 1, 2026 and Pocket City 2 on October 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Papers, Please or Pocket City 2?
Papers, Please currently peaks at #7 in the App Store charts, and Pocket City 2 at #45. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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