Games like The Operator
If The Operator is your kind of game, the closest matches are Telling Lies, Greyhat - A Digital Detective Adventure and Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its atmospheric, immersive and mysterious. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.
Get personalized picks →The Operator is a 2024 investigation puzzle game developed by Bureau 81 and published by Bureau 81 and indienova. Players step into the role of a deskbound analyst at the Federal Department of Investigation, using specialised software to examine audio logs, decode ciphers, crack passwords, analyse documents and defuse bombs in service of field agents solving mysterious crimes. The game blends atmospheric mystery with simulation mechanics, tasking players with uncovering a conspiracy that players note feels increasingly significant as the story unfolds. Reviewers highlight that the audio logs and surveillance aesthetic create an immersive environment, while the puzzle design—including bomb-defusal sequences—generates tension throughout. The Operator runs verified on Steam Deck, carries a 90 percent positive rating from over 3,400 Steam reviews, and is priced at $13.99.
About The Operator: Welcome to the FDI. As our newest Operator, your role is to use your detective skills to assist our field agents and investigate mysterious crimes. Use cutting-edge FDI software to dig for clues, solve puzzles, and uncover the truth.
Players who liked The Operator also play
Steam players who put hours into The Operator also tend to own these titles — a signal called collaborative filtering. imho.run cross-references millions of library ownership patterns to surface games whose real audiences overlap, regardless of whether their genre tags match.
Telling Lies
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Top pick for The Operator fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
Four private lives. One big lie. Search through secretly recorded video conversations to discover the truth. The successor to the acclaimed Her Story.
Greyhat - A Digital Detective Adventure
WHY THIS
Shares password recovery and an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Second-strongest match for The Operator fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
How far would you go to save your daughter? As an infamous hacker-for-hire you have the skills to steal almost any secret. But when your daughter is taken, will you be able to use these skills to uncover a dark conspiracy that goes further than you could ever imagine?
Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged
WHY THIS
Shares puzzle solving and an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Third-strongest match for The Operator fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
The classic multi-award winning adventure "Broken Sword - the Shadow of the Templars" returns with glorious 4K visuals and iconic remastered audio, pitching intrepid tourist George Stobbart and fearless journalist Nico Collard into a journey of perilous adventures and ancient conspiracies.
Almanac: Detective Agency
WHY THIS
Ranked #4 for The Operator fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
A narrative detective game about solving mysteries through investigation, evidence, and conversation. Question suspects in your own words, photograph clues, and piece together the truth in a town full of secrets. Who is lying, and what are they hiding?
Mysteries of Perception
WHY THIS
Ranked #5 for The Operator fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
Mysteries of Perception is a detective game where you will see the same scene through the eyes of different characters. Uncover their secrets by analyzing all the clues. Switch perspectives and learn everything about the artifacts of the Distant and the deaths in their wake. Glory to the Stars!
The Rise of the Golden Idol
WHY THIS
Shares puzzle solving and an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Ranked #6 for The Operator fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
The Award-winning detective saga returns in this standalone sequel to The Case of the Golden Idol. Uncover the truth behind 20 strange cases of crime, death and depravity in the 1970s. The world has changed dramatically - the sins of humanity have not.
LAN Party Adventures
WHY THIS
Shares puzzle solving with The Operator.
Ranked #7 for The Operator fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
Okay, Pedro is AWOL, and you have to get this LAN Party set up at the Game Store for the session later. Connect cables, install software, and solve puzzles all while you and the gang uncover the mystery of your missing friend.
The List
WHY THIS
Shares a mysterious mood with The Operator.
Ranked #8 for The Operator fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
A young man is interviewed by the police only to turn up dead a week later. 3 years have passed, a special agent from Santa Fe navigates the police database in order to solve the mystery.
Reviewers mention these as similar to The Operator
Surfaced from review text: when other players write 'if you liked X, try Y', we catch the name and resolve it back to a Steam game.
Cyber Manhunt
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Reviewers of The Operator cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Operator.
Cyber Manhunt is a story-oriented puzzle game focusing on big data, hacking, citizen privacy, and social workers. It focuses on social issues such as cyber violence and privacy breaches.
Do Not Feed the Monkeys
WHY THIS
Shares a tense mood with The Operator.
Reviewers of The Operator cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Operator.
A digital voyeur simulator where you watch strangers through surveillance cameras. Invade their privacy and witness their most intimate moments, but don’t interact with the subjects – anything could happen if you dare feed the monkeys!
The Roottrees are Dead
WHY THIS
Shares puzzle solving and an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Reviewers of The Operator cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure with The Operator.
A genealogical mystery straight out of 1998. Scour the early Internet for clues, uncover hidden connections, and piece together the family tree behind the secretive Roottree Corporation.
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You
WHY THIS
Shares a tense mood with The Operator.
Reviewers of The Operator cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
Big Brother has arrived - and it’s you. Investigate the lives of citizens to find those responsible for a series of terror attacks. Information from the internet, personal communications and private files are all accessible to you. But, be warned, the information you supply will have consequences.
CaseCracker
WHY THIS
Shares an immersive mood with The Operator.
Reviewers of The Operator cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
In order to improve the efficiency of selecting talents, the Chicheng police specially developed a test system-the true detection system, with the black robe company. As a tester, you need to complete the cracking of the case under the rules of the system.
Contraband Police
WHY THIS
Shares a tense mood with The Operator.
Reviewers of The Operator cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Adventure and Simulation with The Operator.
Take over the duties of a border guard inspector in a communist country of the 80's. Smuggling, corruption and forgery are the order of the day here. Be vigilant and earn the respect of your superiors.
Home Safety Hotline
WHY THIS
Shares puzzle solving and an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Reviewers of The Operator cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Operator.
Hearing noises? Seeing things? Call Home Safety Hotline! Our operators are standing by, waiting to give you the answers you need to protect your home from all manner of pests and household hazards.
Uplink
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Reviewers of The Operator cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie with The Operator.
Uplink lets you play as a freelance hacker tackling risky contracts for corporations. Break into systems, steal data, sabotage rivals, and upgrade your gear. Support factions or go rogue in this immersive, strategy-driven hacking simulation game where your choices shape the outcome.
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below The Operator at current Steam store prices.
Garry's Mod
WHY THIS
Priced ~64% under The Operator on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Operator.
Garry's Mod is a physics sandbox. There aren't any predefined aims or goals. We give you the tools and leave you to play.
Vampire Survivors
WHY THIS
Priced ~64% under The Operator on Steam right now. Shares Indie with The Operator.
Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you. Be the bullet hell!
PEAK
WHY THIS
Priced ~43% under The Operator on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
PEAK is a co-op climbing game where the slightest mistake can spell your doom. Either solo or as a group of lost nature scouts, your only hope of rescue from a mysterious island is to scale the mountain at its center. Do you have what it takes to reach the PEAK?
Slay the Spire
WHY THIS
Priced ~55% under The Operator on Steam right now. Shares Indie with The Operator.
We fused card games and roguelikes together to make the best single player deckbuilder we could. Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and Slay the Spire!
Inscryption
WHY THIS
Shares puzzle solving and an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Priced ~43% under The Operator on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
Inscryption is an inky black card-based odyssey that blends the deckbuilding roguelike, escape-room style puzzles, and psychological horror into a blood-laced smoothie. Darker still are the secrets inscrybed upon the cards...
Cookie Clicker
WHY THIS
Priced ~64% under The Operator on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Operator.
An idle game about making cookies! Originally released in 2013 on the web, and actively developed since then. This is the official version for Steam.
WEBFISHING
WHY THIS
Priced ~64% under The Operator on Steam right now. Shares Indie with The Operator.
WEBFISHING a multiplayer chatroom-focused fishing game! Relax and fish (on the web!)
Noita
WHY THIS
Priced ~43% under The Operator on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
Noita is a magical action roguelite set in a world where every pixel is physically simulated. Fight, explore, melt, burn, freeze and evaporate your way through the procedurally generated world using spells you've created yourself.
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
Life is Strange - Episode 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Adventure with The Operator.
Episode 1 now FREE! Life is Strange is an award-winning and critically acclaimed episodic adventure game that allows the player to rewind time and affect the past, present and future.
Ultimate Custom Night
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with The Operator.
Welcome to the ultimate FNAF mashup, featuring 50 selectable characters and custom difficulties!
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Operator.
Sonic the Hedgehog...was murdered!? Get to the bottom of the mystery in this brand-new adventure!
Indigo Park: Chapter 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
Explore the abandoned childhood wonder of Indigo Park! Guided by Rambley the Raccoon, help restore power to the destroyed amusement park while you run from the reason it shut down.
missed messages.
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Operator.
‘goth gf’s iPhone’ airdrops you - accept or decline? A love/horror story about life, death, & memes.
NGU IDLE
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
NGU Idle is a Free To Play Idle game that's full of weird humor, tons of upgrades and hundreds of hours of content! Try out NGU Idle today and experience the joy of Numbers Going Up!
A Date with Death
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Simulation with The Operator.
Fight against & romance the one hunting for your soul in A Date with Death, a romance chat simulator where you date(?) the Grim Reaper himself. Create your own character, decorate your apartment, and chat away with the charming yet dangerous Grim Reaper through text and video calls.
Grimm's Hollow
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
A spooky, freeware RPG where you search the afterlife for your brother. Reap ghosts with your scythe, explore haunted caves, and eat ghostly treats on your journey through death.
Narrow it down
Head-to-head comparisons
Plays great on Steam Deck
Valve-Verified or Playable picks from the similar pool — ready to go on Deck out of the box.
Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged
WHY THIS
Shares puzzle solving and an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
The classic multi-award winning adventure "Broken Sword - the Shadow of the Templars" returns with glorious 4K visuals and iconic remastered audio, pitching intrepid tourist George Stobbart and fearless journalist Nico Collard into a journey of perilous adventures and ancient conspiracies.
Mysteries of Perception
WHY THIS
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
Mysteries of Perception is a detective game where you will see the same scene through the eyes of different characters. Uncover their secrets by analyzing all the clues. Switch perspectives and learn everything about the artifacts of the Distant and the deaths in their wake. Glory to the Stars!
The Rise of the Golden Idol
WHY THIS
Shares puzzle solving and an atmospheric mood with The Operator.
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Operator.
The Award-winning detective saga returns in this standalone sequel to The Case of the Golden Idol. Uncover the truth behind 20 strange cases of crime, death and depravity in the 1970s. The world has changed dramatically - the sins of humanity have not.
Frequently asked about The Operator
- Is The Operator verified for Steam Deck?
- Yes — The Operator is Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve has confirmed it runs well on the Deck with full controller, text legibility, and default configuration support.
- How much does The Operator cost?
- The Operator is listed on Steam at 13.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- What games are most similar to The Operator?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside The Operator are Telling Lies, Greyhat - A Digital Detective Adventure, Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged.
- Who developed The Operator?
- The Operator was developed by Bureau 81 and published by Bureau 81, indienova.
imho.run ranks Steam game alternatives using a mix of collaborative filtering (ALS / iALS / EASE / LightGCN), content scoring over genres, categories, Steam tags, developers, and publishers, plus AI-extracted vibes mined from review text. The page above is generated in seed mode anchored on The Operator.
For library-aware picks tuned to your specific taste, sign in with Steam on the home page.