Official_Xbox_Magazine_USA_Issue_202_July_2017

PrevIew
Levels are modified using real-world data that matches in-game time to the time when you’re playing
Serial
Cleaner
Who’s going to clean up this
bloody mess?
Paul Walker-emig
PublisheR infun4all DeveloPeR ifun4all
FoRmat XboX one eta 2017
036
Above You can
bring bodies back
to your car, or
find a way to
dispose of them.
below If you
get caught, the
police will gun
you down like the
bad ‘un you are.
If you ever wanted to play the
videogame version of Pulp Fiction’s
Winston Wolfe, rejoice. Each stage in
Serial Cleaner sees you arrive at the
scene of a crime, with bodies lying
everywhere, blood splattered across
the floor, and police on patrol. Your
job is to clean up the mess without
getting caught by the fuzz.
As a stealth game, Serial Cleaner
takes its cues from Hotline Miami,
rather than the likes of Hitman and
Metal Gear Solid. In other words, it’s
intended to be played at speed, with
you swiftly weaving your way between
the vision cones of patrolling police
as you mop up pools of blood, dispose
of bodies and hide incriminating
evidence, reacting on the fly to the
movements of your pursuers, rather
than spending an age planning your
route while crouched behind a crate.
Though it might share some
common ground with Hotline Miami
in its preference for split-second
decision-making over calculation
and consideration, Serial Cleaner is
completely different when it comes
to tone. It’s dark but silly. This is, after
all, a game where you can dispose
of a body in the gaping mouth of
an alligator waiting patiently at the
water’s edge, or toss it into the Bond
“You can dispose
of a body in the
gaping mouth
of an alligator”
villains’ favourite water feature: a tank
full of piranhas. Even the unsavory
act of lobbing a corpse onto a train
track to be squished by a train is
transformed into macabre slapstick
through comedy timing and sound.
Shades of the 70s
The game’s black comedy style is
complemented by an aesthetic that
looks like it’s been plucked from the
1970s. Its minimalist art is painted
in soft colors that emulate the
washed-out look associated with
‘70s photography and film. Prepare
yourself for big moustaches, aviator
sunglasses and funk-themed tunes.
Parody may be the intention, but
Serial Cleaner nevertheless evokes the
era with skill. Developer iFun4all has
taken the ‘70s theme even further,
saying that it has levels based on
actual 1970s murder scenes. Whether
this sense of realism will complement
the game or just be a crass grab for
attention is yet to be seen.
What we’ve seen of Serial Cleaner
suggests that it’s aiming for simplicity
and clarity when it comes to its
systems—think vision cones that
leave no doubt as to when you’re in
view and when you’re not. What we’ve
learnt from other stealth games such
as last year’s Hitman and Dishonored
2 is that simple stealth doesn’t have
to be one-dimensional or boring—it
can actually revolutionize gaming.
We’re unsure if Serial Cleaner has
something to offer beyond its novel
core concept yet, but we’re very much
looking forward to finding out. n
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