The Operator Review (PC)

As someone who likes to be on the move, I find desk jobs to be as exciting as watching grass grow. It’s ideally a daily routine of clearing your desk and waiting for more tasks the next day. Your days are typically run-of-the-mill. But not all desk jobs have this bland outlook. Some are exciting enough to get your heart pumping through the day.

Imagine working as a desk agent for a spin-off FBI office. You receive calls from field agents to track down suspects and piece together evidence without leaving your desk. This, my friend, is the unique and enthralling concept behind Bureau 81’s latest detective title, The Operator. While it’s typical for games with conspiracy or government themes to place your boots on the ground, this time, the action unfolds virtually.

Does it sound like your cup of tea? Stick with us as we unpack all this title has in store in our The Operator review.

All in A Day’s Work

The Operator thrusts you into action from the very start. In the opening scene, a computer-altered voice interrogates someone, presumably the protagonist. The interrogator responds only with a blinking light, presumably two flicks for yes and one flick for no, painting a picture of a conspiracy that immediately gets you wondering how the protagonist fits into the narrative.

The title excels at building mystery and intrigue. At first, you don’t see the protagonist’s face, but you do get a name: Tanner. Evan Tanner. As an agent for the Federal Department of Intelligence, your primary tool is a desktop computer. Logging in provides a brief introduction to your role.

The game heavily leans on narrative-driven gameplay, which is evident in its dialogue choices. Remember how I said the protagonist isn’t voiced? Well, you participate in conversations through selective dialogue options. Occasionally, you’ll get phone calls from colleagues that pop up on the screen, and your response is one of three choices the game provides. This points to a branching narrative that promises varied gameplay or not.

Your supervisor, Xavier Skinner, walks you through a tutorial covering UI basics and how to extract data. Your first task is to find your supervisor’s age, granting you access to the Human Database. While this initial task may seem straightforward, the stakes quickly get higher. Thankfully, the game guides you every step of the way. If you’ve played 911 Operator or Telling Lies, this title will feel quite familiar.

The Bigger Pitcure

Every case that lands on your desk is broken down into objectives. These objectives appear on the top bar, and once you make a connection, you can match the evidence to the objective to move on to the next task. The game doesn’t punish you for wrong answers, but you do get a stern warning from your supervisor, who is ‘always watching.’ As a rookie, you’ll definitely have the riot act read to you if you make a mistake. On the flip side, you might get someone killed, and we certainly don’t want that.

Your first case is a homicide, described by the game as a baptism by fire. Case agent Alexandra Pendell needs the suspect’s ID. Thankfully, she hands you a couple of pieces of evidence, and it’s up to you to unravel this Pandora’s box. It certainly feels like you’re the star of a CSI episode, working backwards to see the bigger picture.

In The Operator, there’s more than meets the eye. Agent Pendell provides a list of names: some crossed out, others circled, and one redacted. Initially, it seems like a dead end, but it becomes crucial later on.

You’ll also interact with Agent Katherine Andrews, a tough agent with a surly attitude. The characters’ personalities come alive through dialogue intertwined with the protagonist’s. Using cutting-edge software, you’ll feel like you’re really behind a computer. All files go to your desktop for easy reference when you make a connection.

Some cases will border on absurdity, likely to thicken the plot or offer a different perspective. For instance, you’ll deduce whether a woman’s claim of being abducted by aliens is true.

The Plot Thickens

The ante goes up when Hal, a hacker, contacts you, promising to expose a conspiracy with extensive roots in the agency—but only if you work together. Now you’re at a crossroads: betray your employer or throw things under the rug? The latter, which is the obvious route to take, opens up the gameplay to more puzzles and tasks. Hal takes over your computer and convinces you to do most of his bidding. Presumably, having you do most of the work pushes the plot forward, but it ends up putting holes in the narrative. I mean, for a hacker who can infiltrate a secure federal agency’s network, how is it that he can’t do some tasks just because ‘it’s behind a secure system’?

Anyway, the game has moments of sheer brilliance where you get your Eureka moment after a taxing puzzle. Once you discover that the clue you need is linked to another piece of evidence, it’s all downhill from there.

Besides being a computer expert, you’ll also analyze samples using Chemical Sample Analyzing Software. Oddly enough, I expected this to happen in a lab; instead, I had to crunch numbers to get the process running. But fret not—if math isn’t your gig, the game holds your hand once more by giving you a user manual.

The Good

Since the game unfolds entirely on a computer screen, it lacks a traditional ambience. However, it compensates by creating an immersive experience through diverse sounds. When the dialogue pauses, background chatter fills the air, making you feel as if you’re in a bustling office. Occasionally, you’ll hear phones ringing, mouse clicks, and even scanning beeps. The music syncs seamlessly with intense moments, featuring deep bass beats every time you uncover something new.

The voice acting, a standout aspect of the game, is impeccably done. Despite the actors voicing multiple characters, they each have distinct intonations and realistic reactions to the game’s events.

Moreover, the game provides you with decent puzzles that are not brain-wracking. The title is almost five hours long and keeps things fun all through. In one instance, you help defuse a bomb, like a rendition of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes.

The Bad

The narrative, though interesting, has a few gaps. While the idea of a grand conspiracy isn’t exactly novel, its execution falls flat with a rushed sequence of events. Despite having different choices, the game tries to steer you in a certain direction with persistent options to betray Hal. 

Beyond this, the gameplay can feel repetitive at first. You get to hover your mouse over various options and click and match the evidence. As the plot thickens, the tasks become more varied, but they certainly follow the same precedence. 

The title also tries to break the monotony with brief cutscenes that try to give Evan a bit of personality. But this also misses the targets. It’s mainly because the title doesn’t hit the bullseye as a first-person game. This is an example of one of the mismatches in the game. Another event that had me rolling my eyes was when I was tasked with identifying something, and it was painfully obvious from the context that it belonged to my character. But instead of just saying it’s mine, I had to jump through hoops, extracting up my name from the database and matching it to the objective. This is one of those rare moments where the game feels like it’s tripping over its own feet.

Plus, don’t get me started about the ending. A disappointing cliffhanger that leaves you with more questions than answers. Probably an indicator that we should expect a sequel or not. 

Verdict

Despite some of its shortcomings, The Operator provides an entertaining and compelling experience that literally glues you to the screen. The sequence of events sometimes hints at a possible outcome. But even though I knew what was coming, the game still managed to surprise me. 

Overall, the game delivers a tightly-paced narrative with unexpected twists that keep you on the edge of your seat. Each puzzle is uniquely crafted to test your investigative skills, ensuring that gameplay remains fresh and engaging. The game’s hint system is a standout feature that provides guidance without breaking immersion, so you never find yourself stuck for too long. Even though it’s all about desk work, The Operator manages to make it as fun and intriguing as it is to infiltrate an enemy-filled lair with only a suppressed firearm.