[PREVIEW] Beholder: Conductor – Papers, Please on a Train

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It’s surprising how games focused on checking documents and finding errors can evoke strong emotions and provide hours of fun. Especially when these tasks are intertwined with difficult decisions that put your morality to the test. And while Beholder: Conductor is a spin-off that replicates the themes, mechanics, and design decisions of the main games in the Beholder series, this game’s demo truly impressed me with its creative gameplay and story.

Various Mechanics to Keep You Occupied

You begin your new job as the conductor of the Determination Bringer train. Your responsibilities include maintaining order in your assigned carriage and providing assistance to passengers during the journey. To achieve this, you will have to use mechanics such as reporting, intimidation, searching, and ejecting. Your decisions will determine the fate of passengers and your colleagues, as well as the kind of person you will be at the end of this journey.

Our journey begins with a short note that cleverly and amusingly blends railway rules with a message from the development team. Then we meet our protagonist, Winston Smith, whose actions will depend on our decisions. During the tutorial, we learn the basics of our job: checking passengers’ tickets, preparing the carriage, and executing orders from our superiors.

At least, that’s the official part of the job, but in reality, we can spy on passengers through the keyhole, sneak into their compartments, and secretly search their belongings, as well as report activities prohibited by the state. This means that with the arrival at each station, you must look out for new passengers and their behavior, but at the same time ensure that your own risky actions are not noticed by observers or the authorities. This addictive mix of strategy and simulation will excellently keep you in suspense.

The Graphics and Environment Truly Create the Impression That You Are Just a Cog in a Totalitarian System

Another element that contributes to building tension is the atmosphere. This game literally exudes George Orwell’s novel 1984, the references are obvious from the very beginning, starting with the protagonist’s name. The graphics and environment truly create the impression that you are just a cog in a totalitarian system: people are depicted as faceless shadows, you are placed in a confined space under constant pressure and surveillance, and on top of all that, you must carefully manage your budget and reputation. I especially liked how the game depicts the difference in treatment of those favored by the system through exploring different parts of the train, proving that even a limited space can be used effectively for storytelling.

As I mentioned in the title, this game strongly reminded me of Papers, Please, as both titles portray the struggle for survival in a totalitarian regime. But they have one more important common feature: they allow players to choose a side. In the demo, we only momentarily got to see how important our decisions are to the story, but even in that short time, the game managed to show us different outcomes and paths.

Whether you help a colleague, do a favor for a stranger, or follow the orders of your superiors, the choice is yours. I can only say that the demo ended at the most unexpected and intriguing moment, which immediately made me want to find out the rest of the story, which I hope we will have the opportunity to do this year.

The free demo of Beholder: Conductor is available to play on Steam.