Serial Cleaner - gamescom Preview

What do you get if you cross the one-life-heat-racing action of Hotline Miami, the body hiding, and stealth of Party Hard with the grueling cleanup of Visceral Cleanup Detail? You get Serial Cleaner. A new indie title from developer iFun4All.

Remember that part in Pulp Fiction where Vincent messes up, leaving a guy in the back of their car dead with his brains all splattered everywhere? Well, someone has to clean that up and it's got to be done professionally. While in the movie, you've got Winston "The Wolf" Wolfe, taking charge and clearing their mess leaving no trace. In Serial Cleaner you play a similar role and clear up the aftermath of bloodbaths or assassinations. Ensuring that bodies are disposed of, weapons are hidden and blood stains are washed away.

Taking place in a stylised 1970's you play professional cleaner, a 30-ish man with a sharp style alongside aviators and a mustache, in a story-driven, stealth/action title that will challenge but can offer the same sense of reward found in Hotline Miami. Each level starts with a task. It could be as simple as disposing of a body or evidence, but as you progress the more challenging it becomes. Some scenarios will have you clear bodies, remove evidence and clean blood stains without getting caught. It's a one-life game and you have to persist and figure out best actions to take in order to clear up the crime scene. Police wander the area and you have to do your best to avoid them.

During my playtime at gamescom I was able to try my best at avoiding the cops, clearing the crime scene and escaping. It wasn't easy. Just like Hotline Miami, if you're hit/caught it's game over. You can flee if spotted and some levels will have areas allowing you hid from the gaze of the cops flashlights, but you will have to move eventually and being watchful of their patterns is key. While the level layout and police placements were the same, the objectives may change and can be of a varying degree.

As I traversed the levels I tried my best to collect the evidence, clean up the bloodstains by mopping or vacuuming back and forth and carrying the bodies to my station wagon for disposable. It took many attempts and even after trying to sneak away or hide, someone somewhere else spotted me and hunted me down till either I was caught or managed to hide. It can get pretty intense and knowing that you've only got one life only builds upon the tension.

I only had a small taste of the game from seeing the early stages to get you started to some of the more difficult and devilishly trickier scenarios later on. I even asked the developer to show me how it's done on one troublesome level and even he struggled in a few places due to the perfect timing required. It's certainly a game that rewards risk takers and those who experiment.

While the subject matter is rather dark, with you having to clean and dispose of bodies, it doesn't take itself too seriously with its art style and the developers have said, the humor is similar to Pulp Fiction and Fargo.

If you're one looking for a stealth/action title that offers variety, humor, and a challenge then look no further than Serial Cleaner. It's now available on Steam's Early Access for those who want to grab their chance of playing now and offer feedback for the levels and mechanics.