PAPERHEAD, the cardboard shooter that’s a hit on Steam

PAPERHEAD launched on Steam on 9 October, and two weeks later 95% of its 572 reviews are positive. This frantic shooter set in a cardboard world comes from Paperhead te4m, a small team based in Kazakhstan, and is published by HypeTrain Digital. Its free prologue had already laid the groundwork, and the game had passed 190,000 wishlists before launch, according to the publisher. For now, that success shows up mainly in how players have received it, since Steam doesn’t publish sales figures.

At a glance

A shooter where the cardboard starts to bleed

PAPERHEAD looks like something a child might build at the kitchen table: an abandoned research facility made entirely of cardboard. Something has gone badly wrong inside, though, and the whole story hangs on a question the game asks in capital letters on the PAPERHEAD Steam store page: why would cardboard bleed? The studio describes it as a fast-paced movement boomer shooter mixed with adventure and horror. The genre has other indie flag-bearers this year, such as Gunmetal Gothic, the retro co-op shooter with a hit demo.

Your toolkit is a shotgun, explosives and a pair of mighty boots. Kicks and head-stomps count as proper attacks: the store page lets you toss enemies into the air, kick exploding barrels at them or jump on their heads like a certain Italian plumber.

Then there’s the magical pencil, which gives the game its identity. It works as both a weapon and a tool for changing the world around you. You can sketch bombs, or draw doors and then kick them down, according to HypeTrain Digital’s press release as reported by HappyGamer in its release date story.

PAPERHEAD hits 95% positive reviews two weeks after launch

The clearest sign of success comes from players. As of 23 October, PAPERHEAD carries an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam, with 95% of 572 reviews in its favour.

That builds on how the prologue was received. According to the 24 September press release, PAPERHEAD EP.0, a free first episode, had more than 3,800 Steam reviews and a Very Positive rating. The studio closed the prologue’s store page on 24 September, but anyone who had added it to their library keeps it.

Before launch, the game had also passed 190,000 wishlists, again according to HypeTrain Digital. HappyGamer points out that it hadn’t checked those figures, and Steam doesn’t publish wishlist counts, so they are the publisher’s numbers.

A small team in Kazakhstan and the composer behind Cult of the Lamb

Behind PAPERHEAD is Paperhead te4m, a small team based in Kazakhstan that built its cardboard research facility by hand, according to HappyGamer. The game is published by HypeTrain Digital, whose catalogue already includes Stoneshard, Breathedge and Black Book.

The soundtrack comes from Joonas Turner, the Finnish composer and sound designer. His credits include Cult of the Lamb, Noita and CARRION. The press release describes tracks that move between atmospheric soundscapes and intense industrial pieces, depending on whether you’re exploring or fighting.

The release date shifted once. Originally set for 18 September, the game was pushed back to 9 October, with the studio explaining on Steam that it had found a better window to stand out at launch.

Quick fixes, and console versions still without a date

Since launch, the studio has been patching quickly. Updates v48 to v49.5, detailed on 15 October, brought optimisations, fixes for progression-blocking bugs and an attempt at fixing a crash that the developer puts down to the Unity engine. Patch v50 on 22 October lets you put out flames by healing or using a serum, and adds more music to survival mode.

There is one reason for caution. HypeTrain Digital hasn’t shared any sales figures in the game’s announcements since launch, and at around 11am UK time on 23 October, Steam’s API counted 52 people playing PAPERHEAD at once. For now, the game’s success rests on how players have received it.

In June, Gematsu reported PS5 and Xbox Series versions alongside the PC release. The game’s Steam announcements only mention the Steam launch, with no date for consoles. PAPERHEAD costs £16.75, or £13.40 with the discount shown on 23 October, and it is available in eleven languages.