Donutal Review Makes the Case for Screening Aliens by Dialogue Alone
Denfaminicogamer ran a review of Donutal, the alien entry screening game in which the player decides which visitors are let onto Earth.
1 source 1h ago
Reporting from 1 source: Denfaminicogamer.
Why it matters
The piece argues Donutal's identity rests on conversation rather than document checking, which is the line that separates it from the Papers, Please comparison its premise invites.
Key Facts
- Donutal is an alien entry screening game in which the player judges which visitors are let onto Earth.
- The review is written by Ryohei Ueda and edited by Ukyu for Denfaminicogamer.
- The article is a tie-in project between Arc System Works and the Denfami editorial department.
- The reviewer says Donutal has no forged passports and no rules that pile up day by day.
- Letting Ms. Maru of the Sky Sphere People enter the planet leads to Earth's destruction.
The reviewer, Ryohei Ueda, notes the game looks like a Papers, Please follower but differs in one respect: it has no forged passports and no rules that pile up day by day. Screening happens through dialogue, and letting in Ms. Maru of the Sky Sphere People leads to Earth's destruction.
The review is a tie-in project between Arc System Works and the Denfami editorial department, and it opens with a spoiler warning. The player's job is to send arriving aliens to the screening dock, question them, and judge whether they enter the planet. Some visitors sit in together so the player can listen to their conversation. The reviewer says the advance information makes the game look like a follower of Papers, Please, the 2013 immigration inspection game, and that the influence is felt throughout. Playing it, he writes, shows systems and themes that differ greatly. The destruction of Earth after Ms. Maru is admitted is the shock the game is built around.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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