Review | Thank You For Your Application - Workplace Discrimination Simulator

Thank You For Your Application is a manifestation of the video game industry’s anxieties about itself. The past several years have seen an acceleration of trends long present in the industry, with successive waves of layoffs and studio closures dominating the news — not even a successful game release can guarantee safety — putting job security foremost in the soup of anxieties that inhabit many of our prefrontal cortexes. This is then mirrored by the anxieties of players across the strata of society. No job feels safe and secure right now. The looming threat of being replaced by the Plagiarism Machine haunts many of us.

This game has come to me at a time when I am perhaps especially vulnerable to the specific cup of existential dread it has brewed up. Following a 2020 redundancy (classic!) and a turning-thirty crisis (another hit!) I decided to go back to university and get a degree in journalism, allowing me to utilise my only real skill (writing — you be the judge of that). I am about to enter my final year of study, and all my anxiety chickens are coming home to roost. Naturally there are the common new-graduate worries about finishing university, but there are some extra chickens roosting in my coop. What if I’m too old? What if nobody is hiring fresh grads next year? What if I’m too disabled? What if the industry I’m training to enter buckles under the existential threat of a giant Obsequious Idea Stealing Machine?

Thank You For Your Application touches on a lot of these concerns, in some cases outright instructing you to reject applicants above the age of 31. “It’s like [blank] but with [X]” tends to be quite a reductive way to describe things, but in this instance, it’s exactly accurate to say that Thank You For Your Application is like Papers, Please but for job applications rather than visas. Compare resumes, references, ID cards, and more documents to an ever-increasing list of requirements and restrictions, hiring those who pass and rejecting anyone who does not. Manage your finances and pay your bills. Work hard enough to pass your evaluations but not so hard you suffer from a breakdown. Don’t post anything incriminating on any forums.

There are multiple endings available in the game, depending on your responses to various plot points. Luckily the game is bite-sized — it took me around five and a half hours to secure myself what I can only assume is the worst ending. I thought I was headed towards a specific outcome but forgot to scan one resume for one thing, which derailed my trajectory. This is a game which rewards attention to detail being applied on a consistent basis. In a longer game, it would be frustrating to have what felt to me like a single mistake cause me to get a bad outcome, but because it’s short, Thank You For Your Application can afford to be ruthless. I’ll just play another run-through to see a different ending.

If you didn’t enjoy Papers, Please because of how hard it is, or how grim it is, or because its particular kind of social commentary isn’t your cup of tea, you might still enjoy Thank You For Your Application. For one, you get to decorate your apartment with nice wallpaper and look out the window every night. The game also has a built-in “Housing Subsidy” mode, which takes the edge off the constant struggle for survival and makes it more forgiving overall without guaranteeing you a good outcome, so you can keep playing to whatever ending.

The game is extremely stylish, with gorgeous pixel art popping up frequently. I was particularly taken with the end-of-day loading screen, featuring two Intelligent Employees (humanoid robots that are cheaper than humans and easier to control) charging their CRT monitor heads on the tram. The music is fairly understated. It’s thematic but takes on a supportive role rather than pushing to the forefront. I enjoyed it while I was playing but I won’t be downloading the soundtrack.

On the other hand, if you didn’t enjoy Papers, Please because of its mechanics, this might not be the game for you. Thank You For Your Application asks extremely similar things of the player. Look over various documents to see if they fulfill the needed requirements, and keep an eye out for any discrepancies. Reject anyone deemed unsuitable by the unseen powers above. Yes, even if their only crime is being older than 31. Yep, even if they cry and say they’ll be homeless without a job. It’s not your role to evaluate; it’s your role to process. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Thank You For Your Application, and while it’s not without its issues, it’s worth a try. I found the saves and autosaves a little frustrating and it was never clear where exactly I’d load in after a break, and I suffered one crash (though the game has since received an update which fixed several bugs, so I suspect this would not be a problem henceforth). Minor hiccoughs that didn’t impact my overall enjoyment of the game.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of Papers, Please, and it was a delight to revisit those mechanics in a scrubbed-up, stylish package. If it appeals to you, it’s worth a go — it does exactly what it says it’s going to do, while having plenty more in its back pocket to bring out while you play.

Thank You For Your Application was played on PC using a code provided by the publisher.