Monitor State

Monitor State places the player in the role of an operator within a retro-futuristic dystopian state where cameras follow every citizen. The developer describes the game as being in the style of Papers, Please, with an emphasis on the moral weight of the operator’s duties and an unsettling atmosphere. The player observes people, enforces the state’s laws, uncovers secrets and makes decisions that shape events.

Gameplay involves handling a range of cases that require the player’s attention and judgement. News feeds provide background to the wider story, and the laws the player must enforce change over time, meaning the approach to new cases has to be adjusted as the game progresses. Each decision either strengthens or weakens the operator’s loyalty to the System, and all choices are watched by a distant Department.

The game offers several directions for the player to take: complying with the System’s rigid demands, joining a secret resistance, siding with the cold logic of an AI, or seeking an alternative route. The world responds to the player’s actions and the outcome depends on the choices made. Monitor State is currently a work in progress, with the developer inviting players to wishlist the game on Steam and follow updates via Discord.