Crime Scene Cleaner [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

Sometimes, the messiest jobs make for the most oddly satisfying games, and Crime Scene Cleaner isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty… quite literally. It won’t be for everyone, especially with its dark and gory undertones, but there’s a surprising amount of enjoyment to be had beneath the blood-soaked surface.

Check out some screenshots down below:

At its core, Crime Scene Cleaner is a first-person simulator in the vein of House Flipper or PowerWash Simulator, except instead of scrubbing away grime off walls or redecorating rooms, you’re removing bodies, mopping up gallons of blood, and erasing all traces of some seriously grim crimes. Yeah, it’s pretty dark when compared to those other titles, huh? The premise is simple, but the execution leans heavily into dark comedy and visceral shock value. Playing as a janitor who stumbles into the criminal underworld after helping a friend’s son clean up a murder, you’re soon a regular fixture in mob clean-up operations, covering up increasingly horrific scenes that push the boundaries of the experience further.

What makes Crime Scene Cleaner stand out is how well it mixes disturbing subject matter with calming, methodical gameplay. It’s an odd balance: the environments are grotesque – you can expect the likes of blood-drenched spas, body-strewn pizza parlours, and art galleries with more strokes of red than you can imagine – yet the act of cleaning is strangely therapeutic. You’re given a set of tools like mops, sponges, and a power washer, each suited to different surfaces or tasks, adding an almost puzzle-like element as you pick the right tool for the job. There’s also a blacklight for spotting invisible stains and a UV cleaner vision mode to help pinpoint what’s left to tidy, ensuring that you do a thorough job to eliminate any trace of any wrongdoing. It’s really fun to play, and whilst the concept won’t be for everyone, I found the unique premise to be one of the game’s greatest strengths.

Each level presents a checklist of objectives: collect and dispose of trash, remove evidence, clean up fluids, return furniture to its rightful place, and so on. There’s some variety in how these objectives play out, whilst levels also include hidden areas or secrets to discover to add to the variety. These small touches add light exploration elements that keep things just engaging enough without straying too far from the core loop, and whilst there’s nothing too deep to get stuck into, they’re appreciated extras that complement the gameplay loop.

“Despite its grisly theme and some uneven polish, Crime Scene Cleaner carves out a unique niche that’s sure to keep players hooked in.”

There are ten chapters in total, with each varying in length depending on how thorough you want to be, with the game easily taking over twelve hours to beat if you really want to get stuck in. However,  while levels are varied in location and mess type, the gameplay doesn’t evolve much after the first few hours. You can upgrade your tools using skill points earned from stolen valuables which does add an element of progression, but once you max things out, the incentive to revisit missions is minimal.

The absence of co-op or challenge modes further limits replayability, and once the main campaign is finished, there’s not much else to do besides replaying completed levels for a better score or to find missed secrets. For players who thrive on customization or sandbox elements, the linear structure here may feel too limiting – especially since similar titles such as House Flipper or PowerWash Simulator have offered so much more to players. Of course, there’s plenty of room for growth, but as it stands, Crime Scene Cleaner can feel a little bare-boned.

Visually, Crime Scene Cleaner doesn’t break any new ground, but it gets the job done. Environments are detailed enough to tell miniature stories through the carnage, and the exaggerated gore feels intentionally over-the-top rather than realistic. However, the game does wade into darker territory than expected, with some implied scenarios sure to make some players feel uneasy. It’s never offensive by any means, but when paired with the amount of blood and bodily fluids present in every scene, it easily places the game in the ‘not for the squeamish’ category.

Check out some screenshots down below:

The narrative adds some weight to the otherwise repetitive gameplay. Your character isn’t a willing criminal – he’s just trying to scrape together enough money to pay for his daughter’s medical bills, something you might’ve seen before in similar tales. While the writing isn’t exactly sharp (and occasionally features awkward grammar or clunky dialogue), it lends just enough motivation to push through the muck. The final payoff isn’t great, but if I’m being honest, it was nice to see a bit of context to the increasingly disturbing scenarios you find yourself in.

Developer: President Studio
Publisher: President Studio
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, PC
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1040200/Crime_Scene_Cleaner/