Contraband Police review: What if Papers, Please had a gun?

I am an experienced border agent. Contraband PoliceI’m the last line in defense for the Acaristan nation against nefarious weapon dealers and smugglers. A folder of regulations is given to me, along with a flashlight, clipboard and, perhaps the most important of all, an actual gun. It’s a lot like indie darling Papers PleaseExcept that I sometimes have to leave to enforce the law or shoot criminals.

Contraband PoliceIt’s a bit buggy but it is deeply engaging, and Steam has been a big surprise. It’s the 1980s, and I’m starting my new job as the border agent in a Soviet-style totalitarian state. The corrupt previous employee was fired and I have a bunch of new colleagues who are pretty bad. I have to open up a car’s trunk and hood, search for cigarettes in the front grille, and discover ceramic chickens stuffed full of drugs. My coworkers smoke while I’m at work.

It’s the kind of game where it’s easy to fall into a fugue state. In my tiny camper, I wake to see a long line of cars waiting at the border. I call them in, one by one, and check the driver’s papers to make sure they meet regulations. The game likes to throw me curveballs when I’m most at ease — a guy might speed past the border post and into Acaristan, and I have to sprint to my official work truck and chase them down. A group of rebels could ambush me, turning the border into a battleground.

Image: CrazyRocks/PlayWay S.A.

The most important administrative tool I possess is a pistol. The campaign starts with a service pistol that I upgrade to shotguns and submachine weapons. The point is moot as the true art of border patrol, according to pro-gamers, involves running up to someone and poking him with a pitchfork, or even a shovel, until they silently collapse.

Contraband PoliceI am sometimes called away from work. Sometimes my superiors will ask me to help with an urgent issue, or I may be called in to investigate a murder locally. Or to track down a rebel known to the authorities. Sometimes I have to haul all the smugglers I’ve caught down to the local labor camp, where they can make up for their crime of having a flask in their car by mining ore for no pay. This all seems perfectly normal and moral!

The game’s shooting and driving mechanics are very floaty, and as long as you occasionally duck into some kind of cover, it’s rare you’ll lose a conflict. But it’s also not the real meat of the game; it’s a side dish to the main course of doing some border stops.

Sometimes, when I’m processing a guy’s documents, he might give me a sob story. “Oh no, my loved one is in Arcaristan, and they’re in mortal peril!” or “If you don’t let me through, a bunch of children will die in a terrible mining accident!” Do I let them through, and take a fine from my superiors? It will give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, but I also have to pay all the bills around here, and my Soviet superiors aren’t keen on me building up any level of debt.

Image: Crazy Rocks/PlayWay S.A.

I also have to pay to upgrade all of my stuff, and I don’t exactly make a competitive wage. Therefore, I’m incentivized to really look over everyone’s vehicles with a fine-toothed comb. It’s weirdly soothing to scan over a guy’s car and search for hidden goodies — like cigarettes or cocaine. Sometimes people offer me a bribe, which I don’t take — it’s way too easy to get caught and penalized. No one really cares that I exchange contraband with drivers. I have a nice little side hustle going, because it’s important to diversify income streams. After a little work, I could upgrade my tiny camper van to a nice home that includes a tub for bathing and some state-approved poster!

The game currently has a campaign that plays out over the course of a month in-game, and the player is periodically presented with choices — do they stay loyal to glorious Acaristan, or do they cast off their shackles and choose to be an inside man for the rebellion? Developer Crazy Rocks is working on an endless mode with more paperwork and police ranks, which I’m looking forward to. The campaign can be completed in a few sittings, and it’s punctuated by some fun choices — but I’m hungry to keep checking for contraband.

Contraband PoliceSteam is selling the game at $16.99. The game has since picked up over 4,000 reviews averaging to “Very Positive” and sold more than 250,000 copies.