Oh right, Papers Please. That's an unfunny, tedious and boring game indeed.
No wait, what, it isn't. PP is quite fun and creative. A funny game that also happens to be packed with drama and difficult choices. A game that presents you said drama and difficult choices in an engaging, fun format.
However, lad, I'm still waiting for an answer to my original question:
Are "realism" and "immersion" really so important that they should be represented with a boring and tedious mechanic?
That was my point behind all that talk of bathroom needs, hunger, thirst, fatigue and blisters.