Ophelia Payne

I’ll be honest, I am not the most organized person in my real life. There is always a little clutter around, and I’m okay with having a ” lived-in” space.  I do love a game where I clean or organize, though, which I am sure seems silly to a lot of people. Games where everything must be sorted into its place scratch an itch in my brain in the best way.

Quite some time ago, I played a game called “A Little to the Left,” and I loved it. It wasn’t just a game where I could sort and organize; it also had some light puzzle components in solving how to organize and sort items, and some even had multiple solutions. When I saw “The Sorting Bureau” from Apelsinka Games, it immediately seemed similar to that game, and I knew it was a must-play for me. 

The whole premise of The Sorting Bureau is simple.  You have taken on a job in a quiet Tokyo workshop where you sort through random boxes of clutter. You will sort through piles of buttons, coins, gears, stamps, candy, etc. Sort into the designated boxes, defined by colour, material, or however it’s dictated, sometimes piecing things together or sorting onto flat collage-like surfaces that you will take photos of upon request and place in an album on your desk. Once all the items are in the correct box, it seals itself and gets a stamp showing it’s completed.

Sometimes the items in the box are similar, like all buttons or leaves, and you must sort by colour or shape. Other times they might be mixed things like buttons, candy, paper clips, and stamps, and you sort by colour or material. Multiple items may share a box in these cases.

If you make a mistake, the item will pop out of the box, so there are no fail states and there are no timers, so you can enjoy the cozy office atmosphere, looking out the window at the changing seasons and even petting the office cat perched on your desk.

Each day starts with new boxes, and perhaps a letter giving a little direction for the day. Each of the tasks is a completely realistic demand: a party chef sorting moulds, a watchmaker sorting gears or someone wanting their collection of stamps or leaves sorted, etc. If your piles of items are hard to sift through, there is a spread-out feature to move things around so you can see them better.

The sounds in the game are simple, gentle street noises and the slight snaps of items being put in their boxes. The days and seasons pass, and your simple office space is cozy. As mentioned above, you will get specific requests and orders, and even without any spoken dialogue, you get a real feel for the people you are helping. They will often leave comments, especially on the collage photos you take for them.

The Sorting Bureau is a quiet game, and I find it very meditative in nature. While you could binge through the game, I wouldn’t suggest that. I think it’s better played in sessions when you need to give your brain a little respite from the busyness of the world.  Priced at less than $ 10 USD, it’s a great price point as well when you need a little escape. I think it can also be replayed a lot since it’s just a little escape, and each time you play it will have the same effect on your mind, like doing a jigsaw puzzle or something similar. This is an easy recommendation from me.

Until next time…be good to yourself and be good to each other.

**Special thanks to Keymailer for the review code**