911 Operator is a simulation-strategy game that puts players in the position of a 911 operator/dispatcher who must direct the emergency services in a particular town or city. The player manages a few ‘units’ and must send them to different incidents that occur around the city while also deciding whether or not an emergency call is worth sending units to.

While the main gameplay is simulation-strategy, the game borrows some elements from visual novels where the player is able to make meaningful choices that affect their final score. These calls come in a regular basis and are varied enough. This ensures that players pay attention to them. Some of the calls aren’t emergencies or are ‘fakes’ which the player needs to quickly deal with to get the person off the phone so they can go back to directed the emergency services.

However, there are some calls which are a little more tricky and require the players full attention to understand the situation and deliver the help that person desperately needs. In addition to this, some calls require much more work. For example, in one call a man has cut off his leg and the player needs to stay on the phone with them until the emergency services arrive. Another call has a woman ‘ordering a pizza’ because her attacker is still in the room. The calls force the player to think outside of the box while also requiring that they be completed as fast as possible. It results in strategic but frantic moments in the game which help to make the calls more engaging.

The main simulation element requires some strategic planning if the player wants to respond to every call or incident that happens. The player needs to actively send the units to different incidents as they get called in. Some incidents in the game require more than one type of emergency services so the player needs to send multiple vehicles to the same location. In addition to this, some incidents can degrade and become a bigger problem while there’s a vehicle already there. So the player will need to send more vehicles or different emergency service vehicles to the location. It’s enough to keep the game stressful and simulate what it would be like to work as a 911 operator.

While there is a career mode in the game, there is no real plot to it. As a result, anyone looking for a story will be disappointed. Fans of the simulation-strategy genre however will enjoy this style of gameplay. Experienced fans of this genre should be able to appreciate the stress that comes from the game.

In addition to the career mode, players can also play in any city in the world through the freemode. The game includes a large number of cities for players to select between. In addition to this, there’s a system that uses the players location as the basis for the game.

While 911 Operator is a very engaging game, it does become quite repetitive after a few hours of play. The calls and incidents all begin to repeat after several hours. This subtracts from the gameplay experience. It makes the game feel more like work instead of being an entertaining game. As a result, the game becomes tedious after some time. Luckily, the added bonus of different cities does add a little bit of replay value to the game.

Fans of the genre should get a lot of enjoyment from 911 Operator. However, other types of gamers may struggle quite a bit with this game.

Let us know your thoughts on 911 Operator!