Titles under the Humble Original banner are more often proof-of-concept toys rather than fully fleshed out games, and Operator is no exception to this. The game boasts one full mission of something that could potentially be much larger- the seeds are sown in ill-gotten emails and text messages for some expansive world-building beyond just the mission at hand.
It’s impossible to ignore how reminiscent of HackNet the whole package is- which, given HackNet’s status as BBLC’s GOTY 2019, is a mighty big pair of shoes to fit into. It’s perhaps an unfair comparison given Operator is a Humble Original, but as both games are available on the same platform (in Operator’s case, it’s the only place you can get it) it’s inevitable- and I’m happy to say Operator does about as well as it possibly could in the circumstances. It has a few toys HackNet doesn’t include, such as hackable cameras and even a drone you can pilot around the facility.
Excepting a few glitches (said drone can very easily be taken out of bounds), these additional toys would make for a very cool successor to HackNet. Time will tell if the team behind Operator ever takes it that far.
Fin or Bin:
The game was over within the hour, so this determination comes down to whether or not I would play more of it if there was more to play- and I absolutely would. With some spit-n-polish and access to more missions across an expansive story, Operator could be something pretty special. Hopefully one day I’‘ll get to Finish that game, too.