The Sorting Bureau ▶ Trailer
The Sorting Bureau screenshot 1The Sorting Bureau screenshot 2
CasualIndieSimulationOrganizingCleaningCozyRelaxingCute

13 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 26

Peak in the last 7 days: 35

The Sorting Bureau Steam store

Game description

A cozy sorting game set in a quiet Tokyo workshop. Clients bring you boxes of clutter: buttons, coins, gears, stamps. Sort them, group them, and put everything back in its place, to satisfying ASMR clicks. No timers. Mistakes cost nothing. Just the joy of tidying up.

Basic info

DeveloperApelsinka Games
PublisherApelsinka Games
PlatformsWindows · macOS
Steam DeckVerified
Release dateAug 21, 2026
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 10+
ProcessorIntel Core i3 / AMD Athlon 3000G (dual-core, 2 GHz)
Memory4 GB
GraphicsIntel HD Graphics 520 / NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 / AMD Radeon R5 (DirectX 11 compatible, 512…
Storage1 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 251 reviews from the past 1 year

75.1/ 100
Bottom 40%

Steam rating: Mostly Positive (78%)

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 21, 2026)

Sorting objects into boxes is the whole idea here, and reviewers find it calming; The Sorting Bureau scores 75.1.

👍 Strengths

71 reviews find it satisfying and engaging, and some say time flew by while they sorted. 66 praise the cozy, meditative atmosphere, with a few describing it as their evening reset and singling out the window view. Story & World ranks 343rd of 1096. 26 love the sound design, and some single out the rain, crickets and wind along with the satisfying object sounds. Visuals & Sound ranks 850th of 1249.

👎 Where it falls short

Gameplay ranks 1231st of 1396 and Content Volume ranks 1223rd of 1351. 51 reviews say it grows repetitive, and some describe sorting the same items day after day with little progression. 26 find the controls fiddly, and some say stacking does not work properly, items scatter, or the constant clicking hurts their wrist. 7 say the sorting lacks depth, and a few find some categories make little sense or force guessing. Others want a dark mode because the interface is too bright.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“excellent game, very engaging and addictive” · 71 reviews
“aesthetically pleasing, meditative game with relaxing ambient noises” · 66 reviews
“art is cute and sounds are realistic and tingles the brain” · 23 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 46% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Controls & feel -0.95 · Responsiveness, precision, and how the menus handle
Negative “stacking objects doesn't work properly, gameplay broken” · 26 reviews
Positive “very convenient controls, can carry items one by one or throw them” · 10 reviews

Progression 6% · Difficulty 4% · Onboarding 6% · Freedom 6% · Strategy 7%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 49% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.41 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “aesthetically pleasing, meditative game with relaxing ambient noises” · 66 reviews

Story 6% · Characters 6%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 41% of reviews · Bottom 10% of the games we've analyzed

Variety -2.41 · Fresh content and situations versus repetition
Negative “repetitive gameplay with no variety or progression” · 51 reviews
Positive “simple organizing game with a few surprises along the way” · 3 reviews

Volume 12% · Replayability 4%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 38% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +2.77 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “art is cute and sounds are realistic and tingles the brain” · 23 reviews
Negative “room for improvement, could lean further into Japanese aesthetic” · 2 reviews

Audio 26%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 0% of reviews mention this.

Playing together — · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 0% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 9% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing -0.04 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge
Positive “good value when purchased on sale” · 3 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Balance 1% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 12% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Stability -0.15 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Negative “sorted items return to table when opening new order, requiring redo” · 6 reviews

Performance 1% · Developer support 5%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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