Serial Cleaners Reviews
As an avid fan of stealth games, I wanted Serial Cleaners to be much more than simply a prettier and more diverse version of the first game with a cool storyline.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Serial Cleaners unfortunately does not strike like its predecessor: the adventures of Mr. Bob and his company of Cleaners attract the player more with a deep story and narrative branches to be discovered, all with a pleasant jazz accompaniment and a peculiar aesthetic rendering but with fluctuating effectiveness.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Showing a different approach from the existing action games, Serial Cleaners is a fun game filled with artistic visuals seem to be inspired by postmodernism and street art. However, the slow tempo compared to previous work and dumb Police AI are reducing the tension of 'infiltration'. Also, can't expect the replayability due to the lack of challenge mode.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Serieal Cleaners is ultimately an inspired independent production. With an engaging and convincing plot, it offers narrative branches that wink at noir, a genre not always treated with care and respect. The stories of the four protagonists are intense and detailed, though not very original. The gameplay expands on what has been done in the past with the predecessor, but the artificial intelligence has not been properly implemented.
Review in Italian | Read full review
You won’t be killing anyone in Serial Cleaners, only cleaning up crime scenes and making evidence disappear. Crazy how big the difference is between the first and this, visually it is a completely different game with nice-looking graphics. A nice story, fun characters and stealth-gameplay make this game a great purchase.
Although its stealth systems can feel a little too forgiving and easy to work around, Serial Cleaners’ grungey story is still one well-worth going through thanks to its likeable cast, sense of style, varied levels, and satisfying core mechanics that manage to stay fresh throughout the adventure.
Serial Cleaners' main problem is that it's kind of a wasted opportunity. There's room for a game like this on the market, and it's stylishly presented enough that it could easily garner an audience of obsessive stealth-loving cleaners. It just doesn't achieve the necessary tension to make it a compelling stealth game and its mechanics are too open to abuse to reward careful play and smart decisions. As a result, the potential thrill that it could have been is lost.
As a straight, old-school stealth experience Serial Cleaners certainly delivers. There's very little fluff or filler, with compact mission areas, clear objectives and little reason to deviate from the plan.
A glorious pulp style mixed with engaging stealth gameplay makes Serial Cleaners a compelling 90s narcotic to sink your time into. The trip may be a little bumpy on account of the bugs and inconsistent AI, but you’ll be left feeling fulfilled and ultimately satisfied, which is more than Scarface or Vincent from Pulp Fiction can attest.
Serial Cleaners comes with a new style and attitude, taking inspiration from some of the great crime films of the 80s and 90s to tell a four-sided tale. It's an enjoyable return for the original game's quirky take on crime scene cleaning, but only takes a few small steps forward, leaving the limits of its stealth-action gameplay evident to see.
Serial Cleaners' chance to grow brighter and bolder with neo-noir narratives, instead sees itself bogged down in run-of-the-mill nihilism that even affects the gameplay.
As a stealth-action experience, Serial Cleaners is most certainly a breath of fresh air, continuing to build on the foundations set by the series’ first outing in 2017. Between the added uniqueness of the rest of the crew, the diverse and interesting level designs, the non-linear story with freedom of choice, and just good old cleaning action to be had, Serial Cleaners is everything you would want in a sequel; just be wary that some polishing is still needed for the perfect finish.
Serial Cleaners will clock-in on average around eight to ten hours for a single playthrough, and for a narrative-led game around stealth, is just the right amount of time. I do wish you could replay levels you’ve beaten, a feature from the first game not present here, but it didn’t hamper my enjoyment. Having the story being told only in flashbacks seemed like a trope at first, but there’s a reason for it that pays off. Serial Cleaners is a stylish game that plays like a reverse Hotline Miami, coupled with a variety of characters with unique gameplay mechanics that keeps things fresh.
Serial Cleaners is a fun stealth action game that pairs varied gameplay with excellent art direction. It doesn’t have the best enemy AI in the world but makes up for it with its smart level design, great pacing, and engaging narrative. It manages to do a lot with its premise and makes cleaning crime scenes a cleansing experience.
It's hard to find much fun in Serial Cleaners. Although its gameplay is creative, the actual effect is not gratifying: there is more negative feedback than positive, which constantly consumes players' patience. Although the four protagonists have their characteristics, they have never really completed a mission together, and many plot highlights in the game have been wasted in vain.
Review in Chinese | Read full review