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Knowledge is power, and there are few games where this is so literal The operator.

The operator is an indie game where you take on the role of Evan Tanner, a new recruit at the Federal Department of Intelligence (FDI). It’s the early 90s and an old friend has hooked you up with this cozy government gig. All you have to do is master a set of high-tech tools and serve as the man in the chair for frontline agents.

in The operator, all of the action takes place on Evan’s work computer. There are brief vignettes where Evan goes home to feed his cat or moves into a restricted area of ​​the FDI building, but most of your time will be sorting through files, searching for clues, and solving mysteries.

It’s hard to bet a game on core mechanics, but luckily, The operatorThe central system of talking to agents, watching short videos and doing lab work is a lot of fun. I’m a former kid who cried while doing math homework, and part of me was worried that the game would expect me to start cracking some serious equations. Fortunately, the challenges are based more on reading instructions and solving logic puzzles.

I have access to the best technology from the 90s, which means I can stop recording at a certain frame and enhance, enhance, improve to get a suspect’s face, key code or registration number. None of the solutions are incredibly difficult, but they are difficult enough that I have to stop and sketch things out and feel satisfied when I find the answer.

None of the solutions are like the infamous old-school adventure puzzles where the solution is some esoteric combination of riddles. I can ask my supervisor for help, which is a nice set of training wheels, but for the most part I’ve been able to enjoy the natural progression of identifying suspects, finding addresses, or investigating criminal compounds.

It’s just a shame that the agents I work with are a bit flat. Agent Pendell is a new recruit on the case, and Agent Walker is a long-time FDI veteran. These are fun archetypes, but the characters don’t stray too far from that initial impression. There was a line that made me laugh out loud when Pendell finds himself in a particularly dangerous situation and shouts, “It’s my third day!” But mostly the characters are window dressing that helps move the plot along to the next puzzle .

Image: Bureau 81/Indianova

An antagonistic hacker, HAL, also inserts himself into the story by hacking right into Evan’s terminal. They’re another hero who fails, which is disappointing considering that HAL immediately surrounds Evan with some guile and deception. The high stakes situation is stressful, but I was also annoyed as a player because HAL is not an interesting character. They’re full of useful information, but their voices sound similar to much of the rest of the cast, except for the occasional use of emoticons.

Sometimes I felt like the characters were interfering with my detective work in ways that detracted from the experience. I would solve a puzzle and get a fascinating piece of information, only for the music to dramatically swell and my supporting cast to rush in and start explaining the conclusion. I would have preferred a little more time alone to process things; it seemed a bit like developer Bureau 81 was afraid to risk leaving players in the dark. While I appreciate the handholds and the ability to ask for help, it sometimes pulled me out of my immersion.

With all that said so far the central mechanic of The operator is interesting enough to draw me into the game. The puzzles are reasonable, my 90s-era operatives are fun to use, and there’s an interesting story behind it all. Sure, the peanut gallery of supporting characters is a bit chatty and has too much dialogue for my taste, but I’ll take those flaws if it means I can finally be the guy in the chair scanning footage and ordering the computer to improve. It’s a new way to play a game, and I’d love to see Bureau 81 tackle the concept once more if this game succeeds.

The operator was released on July 22 on Windows PC. The game was reviewed on PC using code from Bureau 81. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. They do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find additional information on Polygon’s ethics policy here.