At 505 Games, I was able to test different games that I really liked. The first of them, Serial Cleaners, developed by Draw Distance, throws us into the retro with a particular style and approach. It's below that it happens, and it's right now!
History
In the mafia, you don't need anyone to clean up the dirty crime scenes. And this is precisely where you and your team come in. You are four professional cleaners, each with your own abilities, to clean up the crime scenes. You can boast of being virtuosos!
My opinion: We are far from having a reinforced concrete scenario, it is an excuse to do the taff. But the few stories that we are told hold up well, even if we suspect that it will end in blood.
Graphics & atmosphere
The game propels us into a very 70s atmosphere... but it's 1999! We move in a very particular universe, with colorful characters, in crime scenes that are sometimes very dirty and lost in settings that clash very strongly with the funky aspect of the thing. Far from being a bad thing, we realize that the sometimes ridiculous animations and scenes are the opposite of the game's theme, as if to soften the mix. Small bonus: a character surprised me enormously with big and fat insanities on the screen to let his madness and his stress burst... it was quite unexpected.
Gameplay
You can choose between 4 characters who have their own abilities and roles. The chef with his big glasses is able to surf on blood and handles the vacuum cleaner like no one else. But you can also play a hacker or a chainsaw fanatic. For the last... well, I won't spoil the surprise for you!
The goal of each mission is quite simple, find and make the evidence disappear, but also take the heaviest ones so that the police cannot trace them to your employer. But on top of that, each body will have to disappear one way or another... by the way, do you know that wood chippers are really cheap in this period? And after, the blood will have to be cleaned up to a certain dose for this to validate the mission.
Serial cleaners
To block your way, you will have to face the police forces who will try to capture you if they see you, which will cause a chase by sliding on the blood, hiding and being as cunning as possible. And if you're lucky, you might even knock one out as you pass. All means are good, and every trick will have to be used against these more and more intruders over the missions.
Summary
Serial Cleaners can be quite a nice game over short distances, but it can get repetitive in the long run, especially if you gobble up the title in one go. The two small missions that I was able to do gave me a rather funky overview, but left me on my end as the simplicity was present. Maybe over time, the levels will get tougher, but in any case let's give the game a good point for the diversity of gameplay and graphic style. It will be released on September 22:
