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Jazz it up with Serial Cleaner, where the player needs to clean up murder scenes and remove evidence from under the cops noses. So that means that you will have to get rid of bodies, collect weapons used, and remove blood from the scene all the while ducking in cover. Well, that seems simple enough to do, but it is far from being that easy…And it gets progressively harder in all of the right ways as the player makes their way through the games 20 levels.

serial cleaner bloody mess nintendo switch

“Serial Cleaner” is a rather gory and violent game. So it’s probably not a game for those who can’t stand huge amounts of blood (funny enough, the goal of “Serial Cleaner” is actually to get rid of corpses and whatnot at murder scenes).

And throughout those 20 said levels cops, security, and cameras, all have a cone of vision that has to be avoided. That’s just the half of it though, because on top of this everything the player does make noise that carries an area of effect. All of which increases as the game goes on making it so that perfect timing and watching what everyone is doing a necessity.

serial cleaner plan your escape nintendo switch

A good cleaner never gets caught. In other words, you have to make sure that you get in, clean up and get out without leaving a trace of evidence for the police to find.

The first cops that you have to dodge have a set path that they follow on their patrols making it, so they are the easiest to dodge. This changes as some have paths that they can take but which one is randomized every time that they stop at set places.

serial cleaner hiding from cops nintendo switch

Bodies, blood, and evidence locations change every time that a level is restarted in “Serial Cleaner”. So that means that you will be constantly challenged throughout the whole game (don’t get caught by the cops!).

Getting caught in the cops vision doesn’t always result in having you to restart the said level. You see, the player can run away and hide it’s just a matter of getting out of their field of vision. At the last few levels, the player runs into guards who carry a gun, when the player moves into their vision, the player gets shot faster than they can react. Cameras, while some are static, others move from side to side, getting seen on camera is an instant restart.

Serial Cleaner’s 70s inspired soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and it really helps to build up the fast-paced action moments of the game (the excitement, the thrills, and so on).

However, cameras can be blocked, or altered with moveable objects. Furthermore, sometimes an entire area can be blocked off making a safe zone, sometimes the player can trap one of the cops in these areas by removing someone from catching them. While at the same time, moving objects will force guards or cops to change their pathing altogether.

serial cleaner home base nintendo switch

Serial Cleaner’s weakest card is with no doubt it’s story (the story leaves a lot to desire).

Noise area of effect starts off fairly small and can sometimes just be ignored, by the end of the game, the noise made from walking or using the vacuum will have a very large area. Adding to this, there are some walls that noise won’t be able to travel through and some walls are so paper-thin that any noise will alert the guards. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, “Serial Cleaner” is a very good and entertaining 70s styled 2D action/stealth game.

So if “Serial Cleaner” is your cup of tea, then pick it up and give it a go to the Nintendo Switch.

Pros:
+ Music is amazing
+ Bodies, blood, and evidence locations change every time the level is restarted.
+ Difficult but fairly so in most cases
+ Timing is randomized with getting around levels

Cons:
– Story is so-so
– Sometimes the randomized timings of guards and cameras can be pixel perfect
– It is easy to get stuck in a corner of an object and get caught

Gameplay: 4.5/5
Graphics: 3.5/5
Sound/music: 5/5
Controls: 4/5
Replay value: 4/5
Story: 3/5

tgg grade 4 out of 5

Verdict: 4/5
Dodging cops, guards, and cameras while needing to clean up blood, hide bodies, and collect evidence all to the catchiest music one can find. When it comes to music, I had no problems when I needed to hit pause and walk away because it was still on blast. The difficulty ramps up in just the right way so the player doesn’t just feel a massive spike in difficulty. Adding to this how everything is placed in randomized positions making Serial Cleaner worthwhile to pick up and play again. Not to mention the 10 bonus levels that I see myself coming back for at some point.

Title: Serial Cleaner
Developer: iFun4All S.A.
Format: Nintendo Switch
Genre: Action/stealth
Resolution: 720p/1080p
Release date: 2017-11-30
Difficulty: Normal
Spent time: +6 hours
Average grade internationally: 78.33% via Gamerankings.com
PEGI/ESRB age rating: PEGI +12
Price: $14.99