


This earns you bonus points when you clock out, and you will need those bonus points because this game is deceptively difficult. There are also stacking areas, which are outlined on the ground and labelled with what gets stacked there. Other tools you will find laying around each level are a broom, which is like the mop but worse, and a laser welder that you can use to fill bullet holes. The game then drops you off in your chosen map with a mop, and a tool called "the Sniffer," which you can use to find hidden messes to clean, and you have to clean everything as best you can before you clock out. Starting off, you are given a huge variety of maps you can choose from of varying sizes, styles, and difficulties. If you want a game with a compelling narrative that drives gameplay as a whole, this one really isn't for you. At least, that's how I looked at it because I think is a hilarious perspective to have, but it may not be everyone's thing. You aren't playing some other protagonist, you play as yourself after somehow being stuck in a dead-end job as a space janitor to pay the bills. It allows the player to really insert themselves into the character. There actually isn't any story for your character, you are just a janitor of some random age trying not to get fired.

In fairness, the game knows that the story isn't a draw, so they don't give you some half-baked character hoping it will do. Unfortunately, you don't really have your own story as a Janitor. Despite this, Viscera Cleanup Detail's clever premise, surprisingly complex gameplay, and well-designed graphics and sound are great whether you want to test your speed or just relax after a stressful day. There isn't really any story to drive the game, when you first start it does not give you much by way of direction, and there is the occasional bug or glitch. The tones can range from "Aren't these standard tropes ridiculous" to the slightly darker "If this world were slightly more realistic you would be a monster." Nothing is safe from a little old-fashioned satire.įlying under the radar in this vein of games is a little gem Viscera Cleanup Detail, a 2015 game by Runestorm which will ruin action and horror games for you by making you think "Dammit, who's going to clean up this mess?" Though entertaining, it isn't perfect. Monkey Island comes to mind as one of the older examples, and more recent examples could include the Magicka series and Undertale. Historically, video games that mock other games are only slightly younger than games themselves.
