Bouncy, Bouncy

I've reached the point in the summer where things start to feel a bit...unsettled.  It's August, so summer is starting to wane and going back to school/work is ominously lurking off in the distance.  You want to make the most of what is left, but you start to feel a bit of an anxious/sad combo.  Not to mention that the state where I live has been experiencing the worst wildfire season on record--there have been 3 different major fires in the vicinity of where I live (*fortunately, nothing too close, but it has made for some very smoky skies that have limited my outdoor time).  I don't know if all of this is impacting my gaming, but I haven't felt a strong urge to play one, single game and have been shuffling between a few.  So here's what I've had on deck.

Crime Scene Cleaner

I finished up the main storyline and all the epilogue missions and decided to check out the "challenge" modes.  Yes, I said "modes" and not "mode" because there are actually two.  The first option is called "Nightmare" and basically re-imagines all the levels from the main storyline in a different form as a version of Kovalsky's own lingering doubts about his participation in all the criminal activity taking place.  Like the main story missions there are collectibles in the form of weird, record-like items to find.  Some of the nightmare levels are pretty wild--one of them has negative gravity, so all the items you touch will float up to the ceiling.  Completing each of the nightmare levels rewards special skins that can change the look of Kovalsky's base cleaning gear.

If nightmare mode isn't enough for you, there's also the "True Cleaner" mode which challenges you to re-visit the original story missions but without "cleaning sense" (an ability that highlights any objects/blood that need to be cleaned/moved).  I completed all of nightmare mode, but haven't given the true cleaner levels a try.  (For some weird reason this game was starting to make me feel a bit motion sick so I have shelved it for the time being)

Balatro

I've won a total of four times, but I just keep going back for more punishment.  I think I'm just singularly bad at building a deck around my jokers and need to keep practicing at it.  I've gotten fairly close a couple of times, but still am just losing...and losing...and losing.  If you haven't checked out this rogue-like/poker smash up, it's a lot of fun, but will slightly crush your soul.

Vampire Survivors

When I get tired of crushing failure in Balatro, I like to switch to slightly less crushing failure at Vampire Survivors.  I bought a bunch of DLC for it awhile back and haven't checked out all the different adventure modes, so I thought I would start there.  I've managed to knock out some of it, but have come up against a wall on a few levels.  For a game with such simple mechanics (kill monsters, loot crystals, upgrade items, and survive for as long as you can), it's surprisingly difficult.  If you're looking for a cheap game that is playable on basically any platform, it is a great option.

Tiny Bookshop

An iteration of my tiny bookshop.

After all the crushing failures in Balatro and Vampire Survivors, I just want to feel less...failure-y.  So, I turn to a nice comfort game in the form of Tiny Bookshop.  You play as the owner of a towable, tiny bookshop who has settled in a new town.  Your ultimate goal is to make a living selling used books, but the friendly townsfolk quickly engage you in various pursuits.  Each day you can pick a new location for your little shop (the perks of it being portable) and learn more about the town and its residents.  Each location offers up specific quests and townsfolk who you can befriend.  Throughout the day your customers will ask for recommendations of varying difficulty--some people have very specific requests while others might just want a book from a certain genre.  Correctly fulfilling these requests will result in a temporary sales boost (and, it's satisfying to get it right).  You can also purchase (or earn/find) items to decorate your shop (this includes paint colors that can be changed every day).  These items provide buffs/debuffs that can impact the types of books customers might want to buy (or other factors like customer count or number of recommendations per day).

I haven't finished Tiny Bookshop yet, but it's a very cute game.  Running the shop is fun, but there's also a cast of townsfolk to befriend and a beautiful little city to learn about.  Not to mention the fun of decorating your shop.

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 in to 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.