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Serial Cleaner Review


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5a21857cb12ba_SerialCleanerlogo.thumb.jpg.c253e5de8bac68c6e59d7948d49a5c10.jpgFor all the games that have you shooting down dozens of enemies, how many games show the aftermath? Someone has to clean up all of those bodies and guns after all, and if this game is any indication it's a messy job with its own hazards. In Serial Cleaner, available on the Switch eShop from developer iFun4all and publisher Curve Digital, it's your job to make sure the crime scene is spotless, even when the area is already crawling with cops. There are no fancy gadgets involved here, no magic teleportation—you can't even fight back when the cops start chasing you. Serial Cleaner is about pure stealth: watch the enemy patterns, plan your route, and get out of there as quickly as you can. This kind of challenge isn't for the faint of heart, but then neither is being a cleaner.
 
You play as Bobby, and average guy paying his bills by doing a little dirty work for the mob now and then. Bobby is a cleaner; he's not the guy pulling the trigger, but he makes sure there's no evidence left behind when the cops show up. And as you might expect, eventually something goes wrong, and Bobby finds himself in over his head with an ever more dangerous client. For a game with such macabre subject matter and a suspenseful storyline it might be surprising to hear that Serial Cleaner is actually not that dark. In fact, it's really quite charming. Bobby lives with his mom and you can check in with her before each mission. The 70s setting lends the game a certain funky aesthetic that balances out the criminal aspect of the plot. Who would've guessed that cleaning up dead bodies could be portrayed in a fun, light-hearted way?
 
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As mentioned Serial Cleaner is a stealth game with almost no bells or whistles. In fact there are only a couple of controls in the game, and the only concession the game gives you to make the stealth gameplay a little easier is Cleaner Vision, which allows you to see the entire map so you can better plan your movements. The lack of special items or abilities adds a satisfying intensity as you sneak around—this isn't a stealth game that you can just stumble your way through.
 
The goal of each level is to remove any incriminating evidence left behind at the scene of the crime. The police always manage to get there before you so you need to avoid being seen as you dispose of bodies by loading them into your station wagon or dumping them in specially marked locations, pick up items like murder weapons, and vacuum up the blood on the ground. Yes, in the world of Serial Cleaner a vacuum cleaner is the most efficient way of cleaning blood—a quirky touch, but also relevant to the gameplay since anyone nearby will hear the vacuum, so you have to find the right time to vacuum. The cops move about on predetermined paths and later levels give you a few options as far as distracting or blocking off their movements. You can also hide in certain areas of the map—even if a cop is chasing you and sees you hide, you'll be safe, so oftentimes a chase ends in a mad dash to the nearest hiding spot. That's essentially all there is to the game, but even with relatively few mechanics the developers have done a great job of challenging the player's planning abilities and sense of timing.
 
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And just to make things a bit more complicated, the position of bodies, evidence, and blood is randomized, so each time you fail and retry a level the key objectives might be moved around (hiding spots can also move but the core stage layout and enemy positions never change). The randomization can be both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes you find yourself just plain stuck, unable to get the timing right or find a viable path through the level, but then the objectives move and it ends up being easier for you. That can be a huge boon sometimes. But the opposite can also be true: you have a good layout but make one mistake, now everything seems to be in a more difficult spot on the map. Sometimes it feels like you're just cycling through randomized sets until you find a manageable layout, which is less of a fun challenge and more of a luck of the draw. At the very least it keeps you on your toes and adds some replay value, even if it can be frustrating at times.
 
With only twenty levels in the story mode Serial Cleaner can be a fairly short game. You can also unlock ten more bonus levels based on recognizable movies from the 70s, but that still doesn't quite pad out the game's length much. The real value of the game comes from its challenge modifiers. You can replay any level with an extra helping of difficulty by using special rules such as no Cleaner Vision, no enemy vision cones so you can't easily tell where they're looking, an endless mode where bodies continuously spawn until you're caught, etc. The game keeps track of your best time for each of these challenges but surprisingly there's no online leaderboard. The challenges don't fundamentally change the way you play the game, but at least it's something to keep you engaged if you want more Serial Cleaner after finishing each level once.
 
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Whether you're hooked by the game's replay intensive format or not, Serial Cleaner has a groovy sense of style. The simple, sharp edged art style is simultaneously adorable and stylish, which is then offset by the bright splashes of scarlet blood scattered around the stage. It's a great juxtaposition and gives Serial Cleaner a striking, almost pop art look. Plus you can unlock bonus outfits for Bobby, also drawn from 70s pop culture like the bonus levels—I doubt you'll see anything quite as delightfully bizarre as a character cleaning up dead bodies while dressed as Dr. Frank-N-Furter from Rocky Horror Picture Show. The real star of the show might be the soundtrack which perfectly captures the funky 70s aesthetic and feels like it could be right at home in any action movie or TV show from that era. The catchy guitar riffs, groovy bass lines, blaring horns, and soulful sax make the perfect background music as our antihero rolls up his sleeves and gets to work in one criminal enterprise after another.
 
Serial Cleaner isn't a flashy, elaborate take on stealth games. It's very much the opposite: a game that focuses on the core element of examining your environment and relying upon a solid gameplan and careful execution to make it through levels unscathed. It's challenging, but the funky soundtrack and stylish art design are utterly charming and fun, even in the face of the bloody work the game is centered around. The randomized elements of the game can sometimes work against that philosophy, but at the same time a little chaos helps buoy the game's replay value given its short story length. In the end stealth fans should appreciate the challenge, and the game's undeniable style will keep them coming back for more.
 
Rating: 8 out of 10 Bodies
 
Review copy provided by the developer
 

Serial Cleaner is available now on the Switch eShop for $14.99/£14.99.

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