So many casual games on the marketplace now are making mundane parts of life entertaining. For folks like me who tend to play all of the hotly anticipated cozy titles, it’s sometimes tough to stand out. Whether unpacking after a move, running a restaurant, or even managing a cute village, the fun factor of these games has to be combined with the right vibes to keep me from heading back to another, more compelling experience. Cleaning Up! succeeds in ensuring that you’re not only given a simple, fun-to-follow series of tasks, but that the journey doesn’t lose its luster. Let’s talk through the tidying-up treasure awaiting in Cleaning Up!

Developer Unbound Creations is known for the titles Rain on Your Parade and Just Crow Things. While Cleaning Up! certainly hits on elements that made those games fan favorites in the cozy gamer scene, it’s much less puzzle-focused and leans more into the task-oriented corner of the genre. It’s the experience I’ve enjoyed the most of the three titles, even if it feels the most familiar. In Cleaning Up!, you’re a gig worker starting a new journey as a cleaning professional. From small apartments to more peculiar spots like a haunted mansion, you take on messes with a variety of tools. The pattern stays mostly the same, but a few variations keep it fresh.

As you clean spaces, I’d argue that you’re not necessarily going to want to keep going forward because it’s addicting. The process of moving around the spaces is cyclical, but the overall process of seeing rooms or buildings slowly look neater thanks to your work is a great chill-out experience. There are a lot of cozy titles recently that almost overwhelm the player with things to do. Your options in Cleaning Up! are limited, but I still found myself wanting to move forward because it wasn’t asking much of me. For people who are attracted to games like that, I think they’ll be happy to move through the gigs in this short experience.

While many cozy games rely on cute visuals and eye-catching graphics to draw players in, I didn’t love the art style in Cleaning Up! For a lot of the spaces, I just didn’t resonate with what I was seeing. That said, I do think that by presenting players with a finite number of slightly different environments to clean up, you’re not likely to have much room to make these spaces all that dynamic, but they still feel a tad lackluster.

Still, the time I spent with Cleaning Up! did feel worth it, and if you’re someone who seeks these games out in the cozy, casual genre, it’s well worth a pick up. This isn’t going to be an all-timer we put in the echelon of comfy, creative triumphs, but that’s not the only thing that makes a game effective. That’s really what Cleaning Up! comes down to. You are told to go forth and clean, and if you’re seeking more than that, the minor puzzles or costume upgrades aren’t going to wow, but they will reward you for your time. When it’s time to unwind after a work day or busy week, I think that’s plenty.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Cleaning Up! was provided by Unbound Creations for this Review

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!

Cleaning Up!

$14.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Easy to follow tasks and low stakes fun
• A nice, quick experience

Cons

• Art style isn't my personal favorite
• Straightforward, yes, but also a bit repetitive