Contraband Police Review — Papers, Please Energy, Console Polish (PS5/Xbox)

Contraband Police Review

Reviewed on PlayStation 5.Score: 8/10

Contraband Police launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 7, 2025. We took the opportunity to put it through its paces in a detailed review. Developed by Crazy Rocks, a small studio based in Warsaw, Poland, the game first arrived on PC in March 2023 and has since sold nearly 1.5 million copies, approaching 10,000 positive reviews on Steam. If the checkpoint-and-inspection loop is what interests you most, see our coverage of Quarantine Zone: The Last Check and the more narrative-focused The Department.

Trailer

The Collector’s Edition (PC) includes a hand-painted 20 cm figure, a smuggler’s-crate box, in-game map poster, Acaristani flag, duty handbook, game logo magnet, exclusive DLC, and the base Steam version with the Crimson Fall DLC, with pre-orders opening November 6.

Set in the fictional communist country of Acaristan, you take on the role of a border guard inspector ready to live the socialist dream of checking documents and the grubby, oil-soaked engine bays of Trabant 601s or other similarly rust-blessed modes of vehicular transport. Set in the late 1970s, smuggling, corruption, and forgery are what make the wheels of industry turn in Acaristan — but it’s your job to crack down on this villainy like the hungry newbie you are, or you can just as easily turn a blind eye and risk the venom of your superiors instead. Because the previous commander of the border police was fired for collaborating with smugglers, it’s all eyes on you to set a new example.

‘Papers, Please’ But With More Trabants… and Chickens

Ever since Lucas Pope’s “Dystopian Document Thriller” Papers, Please graced our screens back in 2013, games where decisions and choices have an impact on how the game plays out have proved extremely popular. While Contraband Police might not hit as morally and emotionally hard as Papers, Please did, it still causes you to question your every instinct and reaction — and it’s commendable.

On PS5, Contraband Police isn’t going to win any awards for visuals. It does enough to set the scene and push the narrative — and since your eyes are on documents, passports, and IDs for the most part, it gets the job done despite occasional clipping and janky limbs poking through car doors.

A Civil War Sets a Politically Charged Narrative

The underlying narrative that propels Contraband Police is the unstable political landscape: a civil war between the communist government and the Blood Fist rebels sets the tone — where suspicion and subterfuge go hand in hand. Needless to say, support from the government is minimal.

Gameplay is focused on checking identities and cargo, inspecting vehicles, and using clues and tip-offs to root out the undesirables who approach your checkpoint in various vehicle types. A keen eye for detail — mismatched passport numbers, forged country-of-origin stamps, undeclared or missing cargo, even smuggled contraband hidden in tyres or engine bays — earns you money to reinvest at your checkpoint and in tools, providing an avenue of progression.

Attention to Detail and Progression-Based Mechanics

Crazy Rocks’ attention to detail keeps you busy — engine bays, bodywork, vehicle roadworthiness, vehicle weight, cargo manifests, and registration all factor into your checklist. Go the extra mile as a reliable communist by removing every item of cargo and examining it under a blue light to highlight the smuggler’s mark.

Perform a perfect inspection and you’ll be rewarded with more money and experience to improve your checkpoint and tools. Other sources of revenue exist, too: it’s not a communist state if you can’t be bribed once in a while — and while you can’t sell contraband, some motorists will trade goods like coffee or toilet paper. You can even earn by sending arrested criminals to the local quarry.

Gunplay, Vehicle Chases and Upgrades Break Up the Gameplay

Various tools and weapons, including assault rifles, can be purchased, and goods are available from a nearby store. Earning lets you upgrade your checkpoint — office, inspection area, and garage — and kit out fellow officers with better uniforms and protection.

It’s not all document checking: things heat up when criminals make a break for it or the local organised crime gang decides to shoot up your checkpoint. Fans of tactical shootouts should also check our related coverage of Police Shootout coming to consoles. The gunplay is basic, but it breaks up the monotony of paperwork.

The game offers meaningful choices with real impact. Its core inspection loop is well structured and, while the graphics won’t wow, they sell the grimy glamour of border work across multiple progression layers and enough variety to keep you busy — will you make it as a strict officer, or give way to bribery and corruption? If you like decision-heavy indie experiences, you may also enjoy our hands-on with The Darkest Days demo.

Why We Like It

Document control — In a similar vein to Papers, Please, Contraband Police relies on attention to detail and observation. The slightest discrepancy means refusal of entry. Over time, the number of documents increases and errors get tougher to spot, dialling up the paranoia.

Smuggling detection — Intelligence flags suspicious drivers. Searching vehicles with a UV flashlight and using the right tools to extract smuggled goods delivers satisfying “gotcha” moments.

Shootouts — Your station is a constant target for Oberankov’s gang, and every away mission risks a clash with the enemy, keeping things edgy.

Police chases — Desperate smugglers sometimes try to flee the control zone. Vehicle chases add spice to the otherwise methodical document-checking loop.

Related Links

• Contraband Police — Steam (PC)
• Contraband Police — PlayStation 5 Store
• Contraband Police — Xbox Series X|S Store
• Police Shootout to Consoles in February — Fix Gaming Channel
• Hands-on with The Darkest Days Demo — Does It Deliver?