Stamping passports at a border checkpoint ought to be the dullest job ever – but in Papers, Please, it will make your heart race. As an immigration inspector for the dystopian nation of Arstotzka, you’ll carefully examine visitors’ documents and decide who’s allowed in. Work fast – you’re paid for each person you process (and fined for messing up), and you have a family to feed.

What we love: The sweat-inducing moral dilemmas. Do you approve a desperate refugee whose husband crossed just before her, even though she lacks the proper paperwork? Accept a bribe so you can buy medicine for your sick child? There are 20 possible endings to discover – and unlike the pages of your checkpoint rulebook, nothing here is black and white.

Quick tip: You can decorate your booth with unauthorised items – such as your son’s artwork – but remember to yank them off the wall when your supervisor visits or you’ll be fined (or jailed, if he catches you twice)! You’ll see him approaching via the exterior view at the top of the screen.

Meet the creator: Virginia–born, Japan–based developer Lucas Pope worked on the first two installments of the blockbuster Uncharted series before striking out on his own to make indie games. Nine years after the original release of Papers, Please, Pope redesigned the game’s interface to make it easy to play on smaller touchscreens.