In today’s world, new games are released every day. While many of them become the talk of the town, have you ever wondered, “Why is this game so popular?”
In this series, we’ll analyze why games that are catching gamers’ attention have become so popular. Read these articles to become an expert on the latest trends. This time, we’re featuring *Potato Please*, developed and published by Golden Horn Studios.
Peel potatoes for your country—peel, peel… and peel some more…
This first-person simulation game follows a protagonist assigned to the military’s supply unit for health reasons, who must peel massive quantities of potatoes for the frontline troops.
In the early stages, you use tools like knives and peelers to manually peel the mountains of potatoes one by one, but from the mid-game onward, you introduce machinery and eventually achieve full automation—giving the game an incremental simulation aspect.
Occasionally, “something” is hidden inside one of these potatoes.
Should you hide the “letter from the Resistance” found inside a potato, or report it for the sake of the country? You’ll keep peeling potatoes relentlessly while pondering such questions.
Why is it trending?
Based on the name “Potato Please,” the title logo, and the game’s atmosphere, it’s clear that this title pays homage to the adventure game *Papers, Please*, in which players serve as immigration officers reviewing the documents of travelers seeking entry into the fictional communist nation of Arstotzka.
In fact, the announcement trailer released on September 20 drew many comments pointing out the homage to *Papers, Please*, along with comments expressing high expectations for this new title. The title and world-building, which evoke *Papers, Please*, may also be one of the factors that sparked interest in this game.
Just two days after its announcement, on September 22, the game surpassed 10,000 wishlist entries. By October 7, that number had reached 59,154, indicating that it had garnered significant interest even before its release.
The simple, straightforward rule of “just peeling potatoes” likely made it an easy game for streamers and VTubers to feature in their broadcasts. On Normal difficulty, the playtime is just right for streaming—you can reach the ending in about five hours (as long as you don’t insist on doing everything manually).
Watching the manual peeling process—before the machine was introduced—might have made viewers think, “I could probably peel them better than that,” and there are likely some viewers who actually bought the game and played it themselves.
On a slightly more negative note, the day after the game was announced—September 21—indie game developer Rado Klasa claimed that the game was a copy of his own work, which drew significant attention.
Rado Klasa’s *1,000,000 POTATOES* was released on itch.io following the “GMTK Game Jam 2026” event held in July 2026. It was also released on Steam, though it seems the plan was to release it there only after further polishing the game.
In response to Rado Klasa’s claims that his idea was stolen and the game was quickly produced using generative AI, Golden Horn Studios refuted these claims, denying that generative AI was used in the game’s creation and pointing out that the combination of a communist country and potatoes is widely recognized as an internet meme or joke.and that generative AI was, in fact, used in *1,000,000 POTATOES*.
It is difficult for a third party to determine whether the idea was actually stolen. However, it is certain that this controversy has served as an opportunity to bring the game’s existence to the attention of a wider audience.
Will its popularity continue?
Released on November 3, the game had received 2,164 reviews as of the 13th—10 days after its release—with 88% of them rated “Positive” or “Very Positive.”
However, since the story can be completed in a relatively short amount of time, it remains to be seen how long the current buzz will last. Given the nature of short games, the hype itself will likely die down quickly. It’s safe to say that the game is currently generating buzz primarily through social media and livestreams.
That said, while the buzz surrounding this specific title may be temporary, the game has left a strong impression thanks to its “interesting concept,” so it may attract attention when future updates or Golden Horn Studios’ next title are released. Incidentally, Golden Horn Studios is also developing *Dr. Clone* alongside this title, and that game is still in development.
*Potato Please* is currently available for PC (Steam).
