[Review] Serial Cleaner

Developed By : ifun4all Published By: Curve Digital

Release Date : Nov 30, 2017

Mike Benton

ifun4all sets a much different pace with their newest game, Serial Cleaner. This time around, you get to step into the shoes of The Cleaner, a man who’s sole responsibility is sneaking into crime scenes, hired by the criminals, to steal back evidence, dispose of bodies, and clean things up to make sure they get away with whatever they’ve done.

While each crime scene differs in size and layout, it presents the same approach each time. There are dead bodies, key pieces of evidence, blood splatters, and a police presence. All you are armed with is your Cleaner Sense and a vacuum. Your job is to avoid the police, collect the evidence and the bodies, clean up some of the blood if you’re asked to, and get the hell out without being detected. And between jobs? You’ll be chilling at home with mom waiting for the next phone call to come in. It seems pretty simple but it will definitely put you to the test. The police that are at the crime scene all have patrol patterns that, when combined, cover every square inch of the crime scene. Each one has a vision cone splayed out in front of them, and if it touches you at all they will gave chase. They can run slightly faster than you, but the one comical thing about them is how dumb they are apparently. To avoid the cops if they’re chasing you, you need to break line of sight from them, or jump into a hiding spot. And if you happen to jump into a hiding spot while they’re right behind you, all of a sudden they have no idea where you went.

Your biggest asset at the crime scenes is your Cleaner Sense. This zooms out and tells you where everything is in the area. All the bodies, any key evidence, it even highlights hiding spots and doors/objects that can be moved. This last bit ends up being helpful because it can completely alter patrol routes from the cops and make things easy on yourself. You’ll want to keep using your Cleaner Sense though, especially if you get caught, because each level is randomly generated as far as the locations of bodies/evidence, so if the cops catch you things won’t be in the same locations the next time you start the level.

One other fun aspect of this game is the inclusion of Bonus Contracts. You unlock these by finding movie reels in the Story Contracts (the games main levels), and these will give you special crime scenes to clean that are inspired by many movies. These are a cool little bonus to extend the gameplay, as well as special nods for anybody who’s a big cinephile.

Serial Cleaner is a fun game. The art style is really well done, and the controls are extremely smooth, and it’s an excellent blend of action, stealth, and puzzle. On top of it all, the humor is so well placed that it’ll definitely bring a few laughs out of you. My favorite thing about this game is being outside in the woods at certain crime scenes, cleaning up blood from the ground….with a vacuum. This is one that, if added to your Switch library, will definitely see some action, so grab your copy from the eShop while it’s fresh!