Cleaning Up! Review

Cleaning up is never fun. Those people who tell you they enjoy tidying are lying to themselves. However, cleaning in videogames is fun, which is exactly why I was excited to try developer Unbound Creations’ latest title, Cleaning Up!.

Unbound Creations is responsible for some great indie titles, including Headliner: NoviNews and Rain on Your Parade. Quirky, original ideas packed with humour, can Cleaning Up! continue this developer's track record of indie gems? Let’s find out!

Cleaning Up! begins as you download Clyner: the world's number one app for cleaning! I guess it’s like Lyft, but for people too lazy to tidy up after themselves? Regardless, you then get stuck with the oh-so-helpful “Spongy”, an AI assistant who guides you through the app. Thankfully, Spongy is more of a parody of AI bots (we here at GameGrin aren’t exactly fond of AI), offering a satirically amusing — yet often accurate — take on the bots people rely on way too much.

Aside from the odd bit of dialogue from Spongy, there isn’t any story or other characters to interact with. Not too surprising, you can’t exactly turn a cosy cleaning title into a 60+ hour RPG (although someone should definitely do this).

The aim of Cleaning Up! is simple: clean up! Across a variety of levels, from simple dorm rooms all the way to the moon, your character will use a range of tools in order to turn trash heaps into cash heaps! To do this, you’ll select a level from the app's map and get to work! Controlling like a twin-stick shooter, the left stick controls your movement, whilst the right dictates which way you look. Tools are used with the R2 button, with the vacuum being the one you’ll use the most.

Other tools, such as a mop and a broom, are used to clean up stains and dirt, but more often than not, you’ll be sweeping each level with your vacuum. I would have liked a tool wheel instead of having to cycle through each one until I landed on the one I needed, though. Eventually, your vacuum will need emptying, which is easily done by holding the L2 button close to a bin (unless you want to scatter the litter all over the level again, I suppose).

Each level has a progress meter at the top of the screen to see how close you are to completion. Certain levels also contain secrets, which, when uncovered, will grant you extra money, as well as secondary objectives. These objectives add a bit of challenge to Cleaning Up!, as you’ll be tasked with things such as not getting run over or not spraying water on a cat. Nothing outrageously difficult, but a nice way to mix up the gameplay.

Upgrading your tools is done by spending the money you make in each level. Upgrades consist of attributes such as range, improved capacity for the vacuum, and so on. This will quickly become essential for later levels, as the basic tools just won’t cut it (or should that be clean it?). Earning the maximum of three stars on each level will need a fully upgraded set of tools, so Trophy hunters, make sure you get spending!

Just like the gameplay, the audio and visuals are simple, yet there’s a certain charm to it. Some of the purchasable costumes add to this charm, and the whole thing is just a cosy, stress-free adventure that is genuinely enjoyable for all ages.

Taking around four hours to beat, Cleaning Up! feels like the perfect little title for when you need a break between whatever big AAA games you’re playing (or whilst waiting for said AAA games to be patched because they never seem to work from day 1 these days).

Overall, Cleaning Up! is a pretty easy game to both play and recommend for all ages. It isn’t a huge time sink, but the few hours spent tidying up these virtual messes are ones well spent.