Developer: iFun4All S.A.
Publisher: Curve Digital
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, Linux
Tested on: PC
Serial Cleaner – Review
There was once a time when the crime rates were a lot higher, due to the Mafia and other criminals. Murder happened frequently and although the cops tried their best to find the culprit, sometimes evidence was missing or even corpses left the scene. Well, what if you could have your say in this but not for the good side. It seems that the bad side has more perks, so you actually work as a cleaner after some nasty stuff happened. Is your stomach up for it?
Story
There doesn’t seem to be any story attached to the our Serial Cleaner Bobby. Still living with his mom, he can use all the money he can get and it seems he just likes to clean. Getting called by his clients, he speeds to the scene in the hope to finish the job and gets some hard-earned cash. It would have been nice if there was at least some story value added, although there are short conversations and messages that indicate if Bobby is pleased or not with the current situation. Also, it is possible to interact with several objects in your house before going to the next job, like saying goodbye to your mom, which is a fun extra.
Graphics
The visuals of this game lie between pixelated and simplified. For instance, the blood splatters on the floor or the evidence that can be found look really basic, while the corpses, policemen and even yourself have some more pixelated edges but you’re still very recognisable. This rather special style really is something refreshing and fit the theme of the game, namely trying to get everything clean as soon as possible without wasting too much time.
Just as the visuals themselves, the movements look rather stiff but this also fits the overall setting of the game. What else could you expect when everything looks rather simplified? Don’t expect everything to look the same though, you will visit a lot of different places as your clients have a different taste of where to slaughter people. Sometimes you will need to go to somewhere desolated while at other times your job is in a rather bustling city.
Sound
As we’re teleported back to the seventies, the music is adjusted to this time. No beats or modern tunes, but good ol’ rock or electro. This is mostly background music and won’t really stand out a lot. When you’re at home, you can hear the sounds of the television or the old radio while the phone is ringing loudly at the wall. No cellphones to rely on or other fancy technology, everything is done oldschool with an old cleaner and corpse bags. When you start cleaning blood or zip a body bag, these effects can be heard rather loudly. To emphasize the sound you’re making, especially when carrying things, you can see a visual marker around your character. This is rather important for the cops that are lurking around, as you can hear them groaning or humming questioningly when they see that something is missing and will look around when they hear something closeby.
Gameplay
Serial Cleaner is an action stealth game where you have to clean up after your clients had a murdering fest. Your client can ask you to clean up a lot of the blood, get rid of evidence and of course get the corpses out of there. Evidence can be found lying around and you need to get close so you can pick it up. You don’t need to drop this into your car first, so you can do it while you’re on your way to a certain location.
Bloodstains are rather difficult to get rid of, but not for our trusty cleaner. A good ol’ mop can do miracles and although the blood gets off rather fast, it also makes quite some noise. At least getting your cleaning gear out and putting it away doesn’t take too long, otherwise you would’ve been caught from the start. The main reason you’re actually cleaning up everything is to get back the corpses. You can take them with you to your car so you can dump them later or you might need to get inventive and dispose them on the scene. A nice predator might do the trick for instance.
It would have been dead easy of you could waltz to a crime scene and were able to clean up everything without any trouble. The cops are of course your best friends and are thoroughly scouting the area. Thank goodness they usually take the same routes so you can participate where to go next. Their flashlights are also rather visible, so you can get out of a certain location before getting seen. If you do happen to get spotted, the answer is to run to the nearest hiding spot. You can locate them by using your super cleaning sense, which scouts the area and highlights important areas. Even when a cop is only one feet away from you, the magical hiding place will shield you from all eyes, leaving the police flabbergasted. Sometimes there isn’t anywhere to hide, which might lead to you being caught. Don’t worry, as you can start back from the beginning and the fun part is that the level is randomized. It could be that some bodies or stains are on much better locations now, or maybe not.
Some levels might have an extra item for you to loot, unlocking one of the extra contracts. These are based on movies, which make them even more fun to obtain. Last but not least, the developers added the feature to use data from your environment. For instance, when you’re playing in the morning the lighting might be a lot different when playing during the day or at night. It’s just something extra that makes it all more enjoyable and if you’re not keen to use this feature, it can always be turned off.
Conclusion
Serial Cleaner is a fun game that places you in the shoes of a hardworking guy in the seventies that happens to have a lot of short-tempered clients. Corpses, cleaning, getting rid of evidence, nothing is too much for our good ol’ chap. Of course, the cops think otherwise and aren’t too happy with your interference. Enjoy this game in a rather unique style with fitting music and you might learn a thing or two about cleaning and ditching bodies.
Serial Cleaner - Review,
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