Airport Contraband has been available on Steam since October 28, 2026. We tried our luck as a customs officer at Caldora Airport and tell you whether the mix of simulation, cartel and roguelike is worth it.
Airport Contraband had been on my wishlist for a long time, and now the customs simulation from DRAGO entertainment is finally out. You check passports, X-ray suitcases, weigh cargo and decide whether you stay honest or team up with the local cartel. That sounds like Papers, Please with a shovel and an X-ray machine, and for long stretches that is exactly how it feels.
In this review
Rating and verdict
Airport Contraband is a good simulation with a fresh idea. Switching between honest duty and cartel jobs creates tension, and the many stations at the airport make everyday work hectic and varied. If you liked Gas Station Simulator or Contraband Police, you will quickly feel at home.
The package is not fully polished yet, though. Animations feel stiff, the airport sometimes seems strangely empty without staff, and the taser as well as individual hotfixes caused frustration at launch. The roguelike reset with dream coins is also not for everyone. For just under 20 euros you still get an entertaining game that can get even better with updates.
What we liked
✅ Exciting choice between the law and the cartel
✅ Many inspection stations with scanner, scale and searches
✅ Pretty, sunny setting at Caldora Airport
✅ Developer reacts quickly with fixes
What bothered us
❌ Stiff animations and few staff at the airport
❌ Taser sometimes misses, hotfix issues at launch
❌ Progress only through restarts with dream coins
❌ Daily tasks become repetitive over time
Rating: 70 %
How we rate
- 90–100Legendary
- 80–89Very good
- 7070–79Good
- 60–69Okay
- 50–59Mediocre
- < 50Weak
At PlayInsider we rate every game individually and always against the expectations of its genre. We judge the story of an action game or adventure by its narrative quality. In a simulation or management game, on the other hand, what counts is what the genre typically offers. This keeps our ratings fair and comparable within a genre.
Gameplay: a customs officer with a conscience
In Airport Contraband you take on the duties of a customs officer at Caldora Airport, somewhere in a tropical region with palm trees, jungle and even capybaras. You check documents, question passengers, X-ray luggage and search cargo for prohibited goods. Every correct decision earns you money and standing with your superior.
But not everyone follows the rules, and neither do you have to. You can wave smugglers through, arrest innocent people or carry out jobs for the cartel. Easy money is tempting, but if you draw attention too often, you lose your job. This moral dilemma is what makes the game appealing to me and keeps Airport Contraband from feeling like a pure checklist simulation.
Roguelike meets simulation
What makes it special is the roguelike structure. If you get fired or fail a daily task, you start over with a new officer. With so-called dream coins you unlock permanent upgrades that are passed on to your successor. The longer a run lasts, the more stations and tasks are added, and the tighter time becomes.
That is motivating, but it also has downsides. You only earn dream coins when you restart, and then you have to unlock many things again. Some players on Steam therefore wish for a more relaxed mode without time pressure, or the option to always play honestly without hurting progress. On normal difficulty, however, you progress well without failing on purpose.
Inspections and equipment
Passengers are not the only ones under observation. Pilots also have to show their papers, cargo is weighed and compared with the documents, and long queues quickly form at the security checkpoint. A handy detail: if you select a suspicious item, the manual immediately shows you the matching entry without long page flipping.
If someone runs away, the taser comes into play. It feels unreliable, though, and seems to miss far too often, which is quickly punished without the upgrade that gives you two charges. Anyone who knows Contraband Police will also miss some variety in the daily tasks, which start repeating after a few hours.
Tech, graphics and sound
Visually, the sunny airport with its palm trees looks quite nice, and many players praise the beautiful scenery. On closer inspection, however, the animations when searching suitcases feel stiff, and passengers on the bus sometimes move strangely along with the vehicle. There is also a lack of airport staff, so the terminal sometimes feels empty.
Technically, the launch had a few stumbling blocks: an early hotfix briefly broke the game for some players. DRAGO entertainment fixed reported bugs quickly, though. The system requirements are moderate, and you can find the details in the table below this text. Voice output is English only, while text is available in German and several other languages.
Release, price and developer
Airport Contraband was released for PC on Steam on October 28, 2026 and regularly costs 19.49 euros. The game was developed by DRAGO entertainment from Kraków, who previously released Gas Station Simulator. The Japanese company Shochiku secured the publishing rights for Japan, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
You can find more reviews and news on the PlayInsider homepage.
Trailer
System requirements (PC)
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 11 64-bit |
| Processor | Intel Core i3 3.0 GHz or Ryzen 3xxx | Intel Core i5 (recent generation) |
| graphics card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 4GB VRAM | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 or better 6GB VRAM |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| storage | 10 GB | 15 GB |
