Comparison

Papers, Please vs To The Trenches

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

To The Trenches

Lead your army through intense, retro-style WW1 trench warfare. Command specialized units, deploy artillery, and adapt to procedurally generated battles with changing weather conditions. Choose from unique historical factions and upgrade your forces through an in-depth system for infinite replayability.

Highlights
  • Procedurally generated battlefields
  • Specialized units and upgrades
  • Authentic WW1 setting
  • Unique historical factions
  • Offline play
  • In-depth officer upgrade tree
Features
Read full description

Command a WW1 army in pixel-art trench warfare. Send infantry over the top, call in artillery and gas strikes to dominate the front lines. Real-time strategy that can be played fully offline, with a large roster of nations, changing weather and an endless campaign where no two battles are alike. Free to play with no ads of any kind. One purchase unlocks every nation, skill and elite units. Lead your army through the chaos of 1917 Trench Warfare in this retro-style military strategy game. Command infantry, deploy brutal artillery strikes and dominate the battlefield with tactical precision. Procedurally generated battles mean every fight offers new challenges. ▶ FEATURES ◀ [PROCEDURAL BATTLES] - Procedurally generated battlefields, so no two wars are alike. - Face dilemmas that can change morale, rewards and your troops' stats. [SPECIALIZED UNITS] - Unlock, upgrade and deploy Sharpshooters, Flame Troopers, Sentries, Trench Raiders and Medics. - Call in artillery, and with Unlimited add Tanks, Armored Vehicles, Mortar Teams and Strafing Runs. - Grow your army through the in-depth Officer Tree and your platoon officers. [AUTHENTIC WW1 SETTING] - Detailed pixel art shows the brutality of trench warfare. - Fight through mud, and with Unlimited, lightning storms, blizzards and sandstorms that change your tactics. [UNIQUE FACTIONS] - Play Germany, France, Britain or Austria-Hungary for free. Every nation has two faction perks that change how it fights. [OFFLINE FRIENDLY] - Battles play without an internet connection. ▶ WHAT'S FREE ◀ - Procedurally generated battles, artillery, mud and platoon officers - Most of the Officer Tree - Germany, France, Britain and Austria-Hungary - Seasonal events - No intrusive ads ▶ WHAT UNLIMITED ADDS ◀ One purchase, no subscription, unlocks: - More nations: Italy, Ottoman Empire, Russia, the USA, Canada, Bulgaria and Serbia - Tanks and armored vehicles - Specialists: Sharpshooters, Flame Troopers, Sentries, Trench Raiders and Medics - Grenades, Mortar Teams and Strafing Runs - Weather: lightning storms, blizzards and sandstorms - Daily, weekly and monthly missions Command. Adapt. Survive. Do you have what it takes to lead your army to victory? Enlist now and head To The Trenches! ▶ SOCIALS ◀ Discord: https://discord.gg/3TJ6sH3qQG BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/dadmadethings.com Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/tothetrenches/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DadMadeGames TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dadmade X: https://twitter.com/DadMadeGames

Screenshots

Papers, Please4 screens
To The Trenches4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: To The Trenches at Free against Papers, Please's $4.99. To The Trenches also leads on ratings volume (8.2K vs 1.2K). Papers, Please's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and review sentiment (80% vs 65%). On rating, update cadence, ads and device support 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

To The Trenches is free to download; Papers, Please costs $4.99 up front. To The Trenches sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Papers, Please asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Papers, Please against 4.7 for To The Trenches. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: To The Trenches has 8.2K ratings behind it against 1.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Papers, Please's written reviews are positive against 65% of To The Trenches's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Papers, Please ships an update weekly, To The Trenches every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Papers, Please versus To The Trenches: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPapers, PleaseTo The Trenches
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (1.2K ratings) — better4.7 (8.2K ratings)
Positive reviews79.6% of reviews — better65.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.2K8.2K — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#7 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB399 MB
Age rating17+12+
Developer3909Dad Made

Customer experience

Papers, Please

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

To The Trenches

All ratings8,217 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral3.9%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews658 reviews
Positive65.0%
Neutral11.1%
Negative23.9%

Bugs and requests

Papers, Please

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

To The Trenches

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Troops get stuck in loops
  • Freeze when recruiting after battle
  • Freeze when changing weather
  • Crashes when completing daily challenges
  • Losing progress when switching saves
Show 1 more
  • Artillery inaccuracy issues

Requested features

11 requests
  • More maps, troops, officer upgrades
  • Retreat button
  • Unique units like tanks
  • More missions, more purpose
  • Ability to control troops
Show 6 more
  • Medics, machine gunners, raiders
  • Ranks for veteran troops
  • Interactive map of Europe
  • Different battle locations
  • Barbed wire, officer with pistol
  • Ability to upgrade trenches

In-app purchases

None

Papers, Please

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

To The Trenches

One-time10
  • Guardian Token x 1$1.99
  • Training Bonds x 50$1.99
  • Training Bonds x 100$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Recruit Bundle$3.99
  • Training Bonds x 250$4.99
  • Veteran Bundle$7.99
  • Unlimited Version$8.99
  • Training Bonds x 500$9.99
  • Ultimate Bundle$12.99
  • Training Bonds x 1000$19.99

Questions

Is Papers, Please free?
Papers, Please costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is To The Trenches free?
To The Trenches is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Papers, Please or To The Trenches?
Papers, Please is rated higher. Papers, Please averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while To The Trenches averages 4.7 from 8.2K ratings.
Do Papers, Please or To The Trenches have ads?
Neither Papers, Please nor To The Trenches shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Papers, Please or To The Trenches?
Papers, Please ships an update weekly, and To The Trenches every 9 days. Most recently, Papers, Please was updated on November 1, 2026 and To The Trenches on November 3, 2026.

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