A few years ago, after making several purchases on the Nintendo Switch eShop, I spent the last of my Gold points on a random title I had never heard of before called Serial Cleaner. I played the game a few times, enjoying the premise (of a murder scene cleaner tasked with getting rid of the evidence before the police bag it) and its simple but satisfying puzzles. So when we got an email for a game called Serial Cleaners and I found out that it’s a sequel to the aforementioned game that I played on the Switch, and that it was set against the gritty backdrop of a 1990s New York, I was intrigued.
The story of Serial Cleaners is set on New Year’s Eve 1999 as a group of four cleaners gather to have a few drinks and share stories about their careers. Serial Cleaners proudly wears its 90s influences on its sleeve, taking inspiration from Tarantino hits and B-movie cult classics alike. The key difference in this sequel to the first game is the addition of different playstyles. Each of the four cleaners and playable and they each have their own set of skills. From hacking (the digital kind) to parkour, these new playstyles help keep the gameplay loop fresh and interesting. Due to how different each character is to play, you might have one or two personal favorites that you want to keep playing as but, thankfully, the narrative is intriguing enough to make you want to keep seeing what happens next regardless of who you play as.
The first game, which was originally released in 2017, had a nice visual aesthetic with an art style that almost felt like it was made of paper. Edges were often sharp and environments looked as if they were laid out on the table before you. Serial Cleaners ditches that art style, going for a grimey scan-lined aesthetic that takes heavy inspiration from 90s movies. While I liked the design of the first game, this new style lets the levels feel more dynamic and alive. Being a top-down stealth action game, it still retains the table-top-esque nature of gameplay but with added detail to flesh out each area.
Serial Cleaners‘ visuals are backed up by a jazzy lounge music score that sets the tone for the majority of the game. Some characters and scenarios have different musical notes, but on the large, the jazz accompanies you on all your jobs. One thing that I would have liked to have seen (or heard) was a change of rhythm or pace of the music if you get spotted by the police, though as a fan of jazz, I don’t really mind either way. On the note of sound, I do want to mention that all of the characters have voice-acted lines, with performances that give each of them the same distinct personality that the gameplay design offers.
The last thing I will say about Serial Cleaners is that it is lean. The game doesn’t have bloat added to buff up the runtime. This goes for both the narrative and the level design. This does, however, mean that the game isn’t meant for binging. Serial Cleaners is best when consumed in small bursts, hopping in when you got thirty minutes to kill (no pun intended) and playing through a level or two. While you can certainly play through it all in two or three sessions, it may hurt your feelings about the game in the long run as, even with the varied playstyles, the game can feel repetitive.
If you are looking for a fun stealth action game to play, look no further than Serial Cleaners from developer Draw Distance. It has a strange cast of characters, a stylized 1990s setting, and satisfying gameplay that lives up to the unique premise. And for those wondering, no, you don’t need to have played the first Serial Cleaner to play this one, but both are good in their own way and it certainly doesn’t hurt. Serial Cleaners is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Thank you to the publisher for giving us a code for review.
That’s it for my quick thoughts on Serial Cleaners. This was meant to go out months ago, but got pushed back due to other projects. You can read more about that in our post here. If you want to see my first impressions live, you can watch me play through the first hour of the game on release week in the video below:
