Someone's Gotta Do It

I picked up a few new titles in the Steam Summer Sale and have been spending my time checking out one (actually two, but I found that I deeply disliked one of them).  A somewhat weird genre that I've found myself enjoying is cleaning games.  Do I enjoy cleaning in real life?  I mean, I have to do it, and I don't hate it or anything, but it's just more work to me.  I'm not the kind of person who is a neat freak either, but I do love to simulate cleaning up in a game.  Hence why I've found myself in the role of a down-on-his luck janitor in Crime Scene Cleaner.

What is it?

A first-person cleaning game where you clean up the aftermath of various violent criminal encounters.

What you're walking into on a typical job.

How much playtime can I expect?  Is it replayable?

I'm not 100% done (and have fully confessed to my slowness in cleaning games) but I'm at almost 32 hours of just the main story missions.  There is also a challenge mode that I haven't checked out yet.  Basically, there's plenty of content and yes, it does have an element of replayability built-in with the challenge mode.

Pros:

+ There's a decent story.  I mostly expected to find some built-in story elements on the jobs that might explain the situations that you're cleaning up, but there's a fully fleshed out story about your character and the various crime scenes you clean up.  Your character, Mr. Kovalsky (no first name given), is a school janitor whose daughter gets sick and needs some expensive medical treatment.  His normal gig won't cover the cost, so he's open to alternatives.  He gets pulled into the shady business of cleaning up after crimes in an almost accidental way--the son of a friend gets into some trouble and calls Kovalsky to clean up.  He does such a good job that the big boss reaches out and offers to give him...more permanent employment...as long as he can keep his mouth shut.

What the heck?  Some more humor.

+ Simple, but oddly enjoyable gameplay.  Kovalsky is armed with a bevy of cleaning tools--a mop, sponge, and pressure washer--and the ultimate goal of each level is to completely clean all the blood, get rid of all the bodies, clean up any trash/destroyed items, and move any furniture back into its original position.  Basically, you want each scene to look like nothing ever happened there.  Plus, you can also add to your base pay by stealing any valuable items that might just be laying around.

+ Secrets and collectibles to find.  Each level has hidden areas that require some attention to detail/alertness to find.  These hidden areas can contain a cache of stealable items or even special items (I figured out a sort of puzzle clue and unlocked a katana that can be used to smash up certain items), so they're worth finding.  The collectibles come in the form of cassette tapes/CD's that can be found throughout the levels (and are also usually hidden in secret areas).  They add new playable music to the game.

+ Talent system/skill tree.  You earn experience points based on how thoroughly you clean up each level (and the number of items that you steal) and they can be placed into different skills.  You can improve your base items in many ways like improving the amount of blood that your mop can hold before it needs to be cleaned.  Earning talent points is very easy and you can unlock all the skills.

Small items from each job appear in Kovalsky's apartment.

+ Wall of memories in Kovalsky's apartment.  There's a cabinet (that becomes shelves later on in the game) where you can find small items from each job.  It's reminiscent of the curio wall in PowerWash Simulator 2 and a fun feature.  Kovalsky's apartment changes as the story progresses.  Oh, and he has a cute dog named Dexter that you can pet.

This Witcher 3 reference can be found on one of the levels.

+ There's a bit of humor built into the story and plenty of dad joke-esque remarks from Kovalsky.  Kovalsky definitely feels a bit divided about his participation in this criminal enterprise, but needs to cash for his daughter.

Cons:

- Gameplay is very simple.  You use your mop to clean up floors, your sponge to clean up other surfaces, and power washer for those hard to reach places.  It's a point-and-click type of affair, so there's nothing advanced about it.  There is some nuance required (trotting through a giant pool of blood will result in bloody footprints getting tracked all over), but it's pretty basic.

- Physics are also pretty simple and can feel a bit weird.  You can use your sponge to safely clean basically anything but if you smack something breakable with your mop, it will automatically break.  Feeling out the distance while mopping is weird.  When in doubt, use your sponge.  When Kovalsky is carrying bodies they are in a weird t-pose that feels odd.  It's a minor gripe and nothing gamebreaking, but just gives things a bit of a wonky feeling.

- There's an element of cheese in the writing/stories.  It's not cripplingly bad, just slightly cringeworthy at points.  Again, not a gamebreaker.

Recommendation:

I have been pleasantly surprised by Crime Scene Cleaner.  There's a story (granted, a little bit cheesy), a talent system (in a cleaning game!), and fun features like collectibles and challenges.  The gameplay itself is a bit simple, but enjoyable.  If you enjoy cleaning games and want something that doesn't push too hard and has fun features, it's worth your time.