Light theme

Viscera Cleanup Detail review
Meh
by Chocodemon

TL;DR - Viscera Cleanup Detail is a novel concept which has been badly executed.

What drew me to this game was the new and interesting concept of a Janitor that has to clean places that have been the main focus in other games. Aliens killing Humans on a space station? Dinosaurs running rampant? Those are tense and interesting settings, but after all that action, who cleans up the place?
You!

This combines two of the biggest plus points this game has.
- A good variety of interesting settings / levels
- A meditative task that has visible and satisfying progress

First we need to understand the tasks that YOU as a janitor have.
"Cleaning! Duh!"
Well yeah, but there's more to it. (luckily)

- Remove dead entities; human or otherwise.
- Remove trash (bullet casings, broken equipment, literal trash)
- Mop up any liquids and wipe away other stains (blood, ash from explosions)
- Sort and stack barrels and boxes (need to stash those explosive barrles)
- Gather information on the dead
- Write a report on what seemed to have transpired, how each individual might have died and how satisfied you are with your own work

The missions lie at the heart of the game. Each mission doesn't just differ in its design, but also in the tasks that need to be completed and in the backstory. Each mission has a hidden story of what happened for the level to end up like it did. Did someone awaken a horror which then killed all personnel? Or did someone accidentally released all the raptors?

So what are the downsides? Aside from the obvious fact that you are cleaning a virtual environment instead of doing something productive™ there are problems that permeate the game on every aspect.

The game will no hold your hand at any time, which is nice when you are already a pro, but is kinda shitty when you start playing the game and there not a single thing explained. So there many things you have to either google or find out via testing. Given that some gameplay mechanics are also unreliable is not something which is fun. "Did this burst aflame, because I made a mistake, or is this normal?" is sadly something you will be asking yourself more than once. Ok, maybe not about settings things on fire, but you could say that not a single of the tools given is reliable. In addition to unclear gameplay, there are also the frustrating physics and what is fun in Goat Simulator becomes frustrating in a game, where you want to clean up the mess. Basic interaction with objects in the world is frustrating, which is really bad, as it is the only thing you do in this game.

I haven't touched the visuals yet and I'm not sure that I want to... On the highest setting the game looks like high end 2006, while performing like Fallout 76 on release. On the lowest setting is looks like the early days of UE3 and still not performing anywhere in an acceptable range. Not optimized in the slightest, sadly.

Other interesting aspects are that your work impacts the story between the missions and the soundtrack is integrated diegetically into the game world via boom box, which can be carried around and/or incinerated. Elements of the game are randomzied, like character names, or the amount of bullets which are scattered around.

FAZIT: The game is not something I can recommend. Wonky gameplay, unreliable rules, and miserable performance keep me from enjoying the game, even though the premise had me captured instantly

PS: I think that RuneStorm definitly have talent and I hope that they keep at it and invest some time in gameplay and visual optimization in future games.
«I could make it better»

Other reviews5

Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
The Character wakes up clueless in a destroyed, unknown Location. What the Prehistory of this puzzling Situation is unclear is unclear, but one suspects that one is in a World where an Alien Invasion has taken place. One wonders what the following Tasks are and learns: PUTZEN!! The Tasks of the Game are actually to clean up the Chaos left behind. I didn't think cleaning would be so much Fun. Especially when you have Friends with you who help you. Normally you are fully involved in a big Battle in many Games, but in Viscera Cleanup Detail you brush quietly in the Background in front of you. 10/10-"Keeping Humanity Sanitary!"
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Early Access Review Viscera Cleanup Detail is a plaster simulator after an alien invasion. It's a lot Of fun to eliminate the Remains Of People and Aliens xD Stellenmeans the Game is also a bit sinister: Darkness, Blood and Intestines and not forgetting the Gloomy atmosphere created by the Soundscape. In Places, Viscera Cleanup Detail is still a little buggbeg. Zb when you throw an Arm or etc into the "Biohazard boxes," the Body Part sometimes gets together with the Box, which then dances around and completes everything with Blood ^^ But as I said, these are smaller Bugs, but the Game convinces and is just Fun:) I would definitely recommend this Game:D
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
The Game was in my Library for about 2 Years without me installing it let alone played. But this January I got over and tried it out. I was surprised, you really have a lot of Content, few have probably played all The Official Maps curly the Community Maps. The Task sounds simple, clean the Rooms until they are completely clean, and flatter the Garbage into the Fire. So Much so good, but that there are also hose holes that you need to repair, Or Toilets that need a new seat, plant Buckets that need new Seeds, Alien Embryos that need new breeding lights, Graffiti that you need with a Special Poison Need to Soak, Boxes, barrels, even signs to stack, Money that has to be lifted, that you have to write Death reports in order to get over the magic 100%, Many Eastereggs that can be found AND a Story are installed in the whole Maps. I didn't expect That. The Developers have not forgotten the Game even after Years and regularly release Updates, this Year a lot of new Content is to come! You don't have to be quick with the whole thing, so if you're looking For an Adrenaline rush, you're rather wrong here. At The moment you should have the 100% in about 70-80 Hours, but since more comes as mentioned even more, this Figure will probably also correct upwards. The two "DLC" games available from Viscera were planned as individual Games that you don't have to buy the entire Game right away, even if they are also included in the Main Game. These give you the Opportunity to simply see what the whole thing actually is for little Money. I can recommend the Game to anyone who gets involved in the ulcchy Task of the Game.
Read more...