The game is based upon the Belgian comic book series Papyrus by Lucien De Gieter, with the player completing levels set in ancient Egypt as the titular character.

Players are the titular Papyrus, an Egyptian fisherman tasked with rescuing the kidnapped Pharaoh's daughter Theti.

The Ubi Key is a feature contained in some Ubisoft Game Boy Color titles that allows players to trade unique items found in Ubisoft games to unlock additional content using the infrared link: in Papyrus, this includes a secret level.

[2] Describing the game as a "nicely made platformer", Eliot Fish of Hyper praised the game's "top-notch" animation, control and level design and "fun" platforming, although noted "there isn't any great mental challenge".

[6] Game Boy Official Magazine praised the graphics as "great", but considered gameplay to only last a "few days play".