ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE
ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE
Game
Game2022
Serial Cleaners
Developer Draw Distance
Serial Cleaners is a stealth game developed by Draw Distance and published by 505 Games. It is the sequel to Serial Cleaner and continues the theme of removing evidence from crime scenes. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
196 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Oct 5, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
77
LovedLoved
137 positive · 41 negative
95% range 70–83%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 137 | 41 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
154 of 197 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
77% recommend · 141 yes, 41 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 182 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (361 of 466 positive).
Players praise the game's stylish art, music, and atmosphere. [1][2][3] Many find the stealth mechanics and AI too easy or flawed. [4][5][6] Some reviewers note the story and characters are weak or clichéd. [7][5][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
It's a really pretty game and I really like the concept, but I'm just not satisfied with the AI and stealth mechanics. In the very first level, I locked myself in the bathroom and vacuumed the floor. The police ran up to the door because they could hear a noise behind it, but then they couldn't get in, so they were like "welp, guess no one is there." and they walked away. You can knock the guards down by just …
- [1]
I do not understand this whole complaint about AI. This is not a realistic cleaner simulator for hardcore players, but a very atmospheric title that allows you to spend about awesome 10 hours with a great soundtrack and visuals. Strong 8.5 / 10
- [9]
Serial Cleaners is a stylish and neat little Stealth game. In reality, crime scene cleaners would play out as a cozy "PowerWash Simulator" or "Viscera Cleanup Detail", but Serial Cleaners gives us absolute adrenaline junkies that shamelessly steal bodies in front of cops! It is basically if "Hotline Miami" meets "Desperados 3". Leaving the disco 70s of the prequel, we jump into the jazz-filled 90s of New York. The …
- [2]
Really digging this game! I've played about 2.5 hrs so far. I've been playing at a pretty slow pace which has been enjoyable for me. I love the mix of art styles & textures in the visuals, and the diversity of music is great. Love the jazz and the synthy stuff. The characters are pretty interesting also- Lati rules. I am not a huge fan of all the twitchy graphics - it's distracting. I watched a friend play this …
- [7]
Decent game, however it is seem to be just of the mark. Buy it on sale The voice acting and dialog is stiff. The story doesn't really catch on The gameplay is fun but repetetive
Summarised from 34 of the 201 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Serial Cleaners sits at 77% positive across 178 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
On Metacritic, the Windows and Xbox Series X/S versions of Serial Cleaners received mixed reviews, and the PlayStation 5 version received positive reviews. Although they said the missions can become a bit repetitive, Rock Paper Shotgun said it "makes murder-cleaning a fun task that rewards patience or chaos". GamesRadar disliked how little skill was required to win on each level and said all that was needed was to patiently exploit the limited intelligence of the police as they obliviously made their rounds. However, they praised the stylish graphics and said stealth game fans may still enjoy the late game, which is more challenging. NME called it "a game full of fascinating ideas" but…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 196 · most liked firstI do not understand this whole complaint about AI. This is not a realistic cleaner simulator for hardcore players, but a very atmospheric title that allows you to spend about awesome 10 hours with a great soundtrack and visuals. Strong 8.5 / 10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought it the day it released to play with my best friend. Best friend passed away less than two weeks after. Two years and a month after I finished it for us buddy. Wish you could have seen how well I did.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Summary: In every way an improvement on the first game. Very satisfying to play, great art style, believable (if pulpy) storytelling, a pleasant variety of the core gameplay mechanics with the 4 different player characters. Vacuuming is satisfying. Difficulty ramps up slowly and appropriately. This game is the same, and the exact opposite of Party Hard. Make of it what you will. EDIT after finishing the game: On AI and difficulty: Here's the thing about SC: the game isn't punishing. It's not…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a really pretty game and I really like the concept, but I'm just not satisfied with the AI and stealth mechanics. In the very first level, I locked myself in the bathroom and vacuumed the floor. The police ran up to the door because they could hear a noise behind it, but then they couldn't get in, so they were like "welp, guess no one is there." and they walked away. You can knock the guards down by just running into them or opening doors on them. This stuns them for a few seconds and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Easier than similar stealth games, which prompted me to play a bit bolder which was very fun. Art was great. If you want harder, play Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The premise is great on paper, but the game itself isn't very good. Feels like it's constantly torn between being a semi-serious stealth game and a wacky game of tag in which you're being chased by bumbling idiots disguised as policemen. Since there is no scoring system and you're not rewarded for pure stealth, you can finish a level by running around, disrespecting the AI at every turn, completing the objectives, leaving the area, and the game will pat you on the head as if you've…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A game that'll make you go "meh". First I'll mention the positives the game 20 levels that are interesting to look around even if they're all a tad to small. That's it As for the negatives... The AI is incredibly stupid which makes the game extremely easy. The cops saw you running with a bloody body? Oh dont worry just run around the corner and they'll forget you ever existed. The story is told through random memories but nothing of note happens in any of them so you never begin to care…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am sadly rather disappointed in this game.. I think I would have refunded it, but my timer had 2.3 hours when I officially decided it was not going to get any better. I love games like Viscera Cleanup Detail, most puzzle/escape games, and I enjoy stealth mechanics.. that with all the positive reviews on this game really sold me. But its just... boring. It's cute, but the characters feel really shallow and the premise ends up not being that fun. You don't actually do much 'cleaning'.. you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game sounds great on paper but the game is boring. Since I played and loved the first game, I thought I would love this even more. I like this kind of art design a lot. Game becoming 3d also sound good. First, movement is problematic. This problem was present in the first game too but that game was 2d so, it had more simple level design. Second is the awful character design. In this game we have 4 different characters that we play their stories. It doesn't sound bad at first. However, the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game thinking it would be something similar to Shadow Tactics or Commandos. However, Serial Cleaners is a greatly different game that has it own perks and problems. + Unlike Shadow Tactics typa games where you have to merticulously click on the correct spots if you want things to work, this game doesn't require the player to be very precise, hence it allows smooth gameplay using controllers, which I love. - In fact, don't even play this game without a controller; movement is so…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The police just stand there? really? It suppose a stealth game... police view range is too short...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loved it to the point that I 100%'d it. It scratched that real time tactics/stealth itch although it's a fairly different and much simpler game than, say, Desperados, Shadow Tactics or even Hitman. Mostly all you do is avoid cops, hide bodies and clean blood. The four characters with different abilities help diversify the basic gameplay loop, but the repetition is real. Awkward animations and bad AI can be excused due to the game being presented as a PS1 era game and it does that really well,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When your movement system is a mess, don't put chase battles into your game. I enjoyed the game and bought the DLC, but the chase at the end was really annoying, and being chased by enemies with wide attack ranges with completely unresponsive characters was like dancing with one leg. Also I think the feature of this game is sneaking, please don't get the focus wrong.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The atmosphere in this game is amazing, and the characters are very interesting. Unfortunately, the terrible AI has put me off this game. I was vacuuming behind a locked door, and one of the cops heard it, but when they saw that it was locked, they just shrugged their shoulders and went back to their patrol. There's also seemingly no concern for bodies disappearing and blood being cleaned. If they actually see you, they chase you for like 5 seconds. Also, if you can knock down and throw things…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☑ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☑ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☑ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☐ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Serial Cleaners Review: So Close, Yet So Far Serial Cleaners has such a great concept: cleaning up the crimes of others. But It ♥♥♥♥♥ up and falls short of its potential. The Core Issue: Gameplay The idea of cleaning up crime scenes is intriguing, but the way it is executed makes for such a boring repetitive, and annoying game. You're cleaning up crimes while the cops are still at the scene. This makes no sense narratively, but I understand it adds a challenge. The problem is that this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really digging this game! I've played about 2.5 hrs so far. I've been playing at a pretty slow pace which has been enjoyable for me. I love the mix of art styles & textures in the visuals, and the diversity of music is great. Love the jazz and the synthy stuff. The characters are pretty interesting also- Lati rules. I am not a huge fan of all the twitchy graphics - it's distracting. I watched a friend play this before I did, and I have to say that watching it vs. playing it feels totally…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Feels a lot like the first game, which is good. The addition of different techniques (through added characters) is good, too. The acting in the cut scenes is pretty painful to sit through, put it's pretty minor compared to the main gameplay. Not as hardcore stealth as some games, but it feels challenging. The graphics have an interesting Xbox/PS2 era feel. Good music and art style. About a third of the way through, looking forward to playing more Am currently playing exclusively on my Steam…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33025671-Missi-the-Achievement-Huntress/] Please see my curator page for more games that are well worth your time Approximate amount of time to 100%: 10h Estimated achievement difficulty: 3/10 Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1 Is there a good guide available: You don't need a guide Multiplayer achievements: No Missable achievements: Yes, cleaning up all the blood in each level is missable Grinding Achievements: No DLC-Only achievements: Yes,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →too much flashing screen and no option to turn it off. unplayable for me
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can't say that I'd recommend this sequel. Visually, it is very good and acts as a lovely evolution from the style of the first game. However, it falls flat on its face when it comes to the gameplay. Despite being able to save constantly after every trip to the cleaner's car, it still feels like I am tackling the game for a football/soccer ball, and keep in mind that I'm not very good at sports so I'm often sent back to the last point I saved. Despite having their own abilities that should…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great sequel with good twists and turns. Can be a bit glitchy, but given the jump from 2d to 3d I was impressed.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Chill, charming, self-aware, with good voice acting, a cool art style, and interesting characters. Minor issues with the controls, but caught myself smiling all the way thru. Only thing missing is a procedural mode for continued play after the campaign is over. Solid game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Spent the entire day working away to playthroughs of Serial Cleaners and the music tracks are all so good!!! [I'm briefly reminded that balancing and remixing for a listening experience will always be different from the in game context and takes extra work to put together an official soundtrack.]
positive · AI labelView post →Its a good game I suppose (the artstyle is amazing), but the original serial cleaner game is much better and cheaper. I feel like in this game, it being in 3D instead of 2D like the first one is a downside when it comes to gameplay. It just doesnt feel as speedy fun (vague sentence but im not sure how else to say it.) It also has too many controlls to do the same kind of actions so getting into it is a lot harder.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really love stealth/tactical games and this looked kinda cool, but after completing a few missions, I have to say it's quite boring and a disappointment. I have to carry each body/limb/evidence one at a time back to the disposal point? Can't even stealthily kill enemies? The stealth in this game seems very basic and repetitive so far, without a lot of tools or environmental factors to help you complete objectives.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I kinda expected something more along the lines of Shadow Tactics or Commandos. This is not like those at all really. Each character has their special ability but it's never really needed for anything. The AI is about as dumb as you can get. A cop was suspicious enough of me to pull a gun and chase me, but I close 1 door and he turns around and goes back to his same old path like nothing happened. Feels like I wasted my money unfortunately.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →eyyy this a new yorker game about new yorkers doing new yorker thing ey
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Serial Cleaners is a stylish and neat little Stealth game. In reality, crime scene cleaners would play out as a cozy "PowerWash Simulator" or "Viscera Cleanup Detail", but Serial Cleaners gives us absolute adrenaline junkies that shamelessly steal bodies in front of cops! It is basically if "Hotline Miami" meets "Desperados 3". Leaving the disco 70s of the prequel, we jump into the jazz-filled 90s of New York. The story is told through 4 playable characters as they reminisce at the end of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you liked the first game and you want more? You will probably enjoy this. Updated graphics new characters and plenty to clean up. Wanting a fresh game to pick up without any idea of the first, or any taste for a sneaky clean up sesh? You probably should pass on this one, play the first one and if you enjoy it then give this a lick. If you want a more detailed explanation you can scamper down and read more, but that's the basics if you aren't craving long winded caffeinated ramblings. What…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR - Gameplay is awesome, story exists. Would recommend on sale. Would love a sequel that focuses less on story and more on building your cleaner crew. what you bring with you, loadouts, etc. Give me Xcom but Serial Cleaners. Serial Cleaners is a classic stealth game with a new spin. Instead of killing guards and stealing secrets, your sneaking past cops and hiding bodies. The gameplay is top notch, I love loading into a level, getting the lay of the land, and then trying to clean up the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cool little stealth game. The cut scenes are a bit cringe and the music a bit bland, but if you like some slower paced stealth its a good indie game. Seems like a good amount of maps as well and is a unique game. Reminds me a little bit of hitman and justice sucks.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PC controls are bugged and I can't even play the game, I am stuck on the tutorial and can't even move.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Decent game, however it is seem to be just of the mark. Buy it on sale The voice acting and dialog is stiff. The story doesn't really catch on The gameplay is fun but repetetive
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I consider Serial Cleaners to be a side-grade to the original game. I generally liked the unique character mechanics (sans Bob's blood slide) once I got used to them, and the cleaning mechanics felt good overall. On the other hand, the stealth mechanics felt distinctly worse, particularly in regard to the cops. Making bodies heavier (compared to the first game) was a good change as it made moving them feel like more of a risk, and the introduction of limbs and throwing big evidence was a change…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too easy to attract police attention, and the gameplay often boils down to the same routine: getting spotted by a cop way outside your line of sight, running in circles to break line of sight, hiding in a corner until the alert level drops—then repeating the same cycle.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not sure why, the premise of the game is fun but the actual gameplay is really not compelling :[
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Serial Cleaners isn't the most elegant or realistic stealth game but man does it have a sense of style.
neutral · AI labelView post →Cleanup Detail is definitely more involved since you have to replace mop buckets, pick up giblets, incinerate those giblets, and mend bullet holes, while with Powerwash its point and shoot, sometimes with special cleaner to go faster on bits. Then there's Serial Cleaner and the aptly named sequel Serial Cleaners, which makes everything a bit more frenetic as it becomes a stealth action cleaning game.
neutral · AI labelView post →Bobby still has not invested in a Kitchen Gun
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Serial Cleaners is a game that for whatever reason I never finished, but it kept coming to mind over the past couple years. I returned to it to complete it, and it really is a diamond in the rough. Draw Distance must have poured everything they had into this game.
positive · AI labelView post →If you liked the chaotic whimsy of the first game, and thrived in the controlled mayhem that you constantly found yourself in, prepare to be heavily disappointed: Serial Cleaners is nothing like that! Instead of one character, you now have four at your disposal. However, you don't actually have a choice, as characters are tied to specific missions. There are a few (three or so) missions, where you can actually switch between two of the four characters, but that switching is optional, and may…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The gameplay has been reworked to make it much more serious, with same the graphic style of the first game. Gameplay: Serial Cleaner is back, but without the groovy vibe and zen gameplay of the first. Everything has been changed and redone. It's a totally different game but it's still very good. We have a game that takes place 20 years after the first and we now have 4 netoyeurs. Each of them has a different style and that makes a different challenge in the game, much less Zen but much…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bottom line the game wants me to suspend my disbelief where I clean a crime scene with police there. The trailers show cops chasing but I feel like that's what happens when you get caught. But they are there from the start and I'm supposed to vacuum or moving a dead body when they JUST saw it. It's an insult to police and human intelligence and I just can't suspend my disbelief that much. I originally thought this was more like a relaxing powerwash kind of game where I clean up a mess but I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really enjoyed the first, but had a lot of difficulty enjoying this one. It felt shallow and really lacking in depth. The new characters are complete stereotypes which could be fine, but we're delving into their backstories and supposed to empathize and like them when even at the end they're still basically cardboard cutouts. Their stories are bland, saw the "twists" coming, and just interrupted the gameplay too much in a way the original didn't. Improvements on the original: - The AI is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoyed the original Serial Cleaner and thought the upgrade in graphics would make this a nice upgrade. I was wrong... The controls are just bad. They weren't the best in the original but with it being 2D, it wasn't as noticeable. The added graphics and details makes it harder to see where you're trying to go as well. There's no indication for where guards can and can't see you so by the time you're too close, it's too late. It's hard to outrun guards so it's pretty much a death sentence…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This being my first ever cleaning game, it brought a lot of joy to me! The gameplay is super addicting and the music is pretty nice as well. If you wanna try something out of the ordinary, I highly recommend it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →INTERVIEW OF CARL BRIMMER BY KINGS COUNTY DETECTIVES (26.09.2022) Detective Kopinsky: Let's start again Carl. You want to tell us that there is a game called 'Serial Cleaners' that you bought last week, finished in ~12 hours and because of its overwhelming atmosphere you started a career of 'serial cleaner' on your own? And that is why our guys caught you on Brooklyn Bridge with vacuum in one hand and limb in another? Carl Brimmer: Yes, yes, YES! You are finally getting it! Detective…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nothing to see here officer. Just doing some cleaning.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was about to uninstall the game after the second mission because I was too frustrated at the game mechanics. But I decided to calm down and try again, and I beat said level. And then I got good at cleaning and I got good at deceiving. And finally I beat the game. I had a lot of fun figuring out each level, there are a lot of them and they don't feel samey at all. That along the mechanics of the different characters was definitely the highlight. I don't get the mixed reviews to be honest.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lads, this is a gem.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today’s Black Video Game Character: Latisha “Lati” Thomas (Serial Cleaners)
neutral · AI labelView post →I initially started this using a keyboard and it was... rough... isometric pov and wasd are not good friends! I also restarted twice, once b/c I definitely missed a blood spot on my first scene with Lati, and the second time b/c The Germophobes achievement did not seem to be tracking, at least until I exited the game a couple of times, the full play-through probably took me about 20 hours. The artwork is really good, it's visually interesting and the soundtrack is fantastic, really enjoyed it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is something so satisfying with this game when you clean up all the blood spots and that feeling of outwitting the police whilst in the process just adds to the fun. The additional characters that you play as while doing the story mode of Serial Cleaners adds a new element and different game play, like throwing limbs at the cops to knock them out, jumping over things and crawling through vents. If you enjoyed Serial Cleaner, you will love this game and if you fancy a game just a bit…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Extremely stylish game with fun stealth gameplay. The mechanics encourage bold moves -- I initially was really timid in pulling off risky maneuvers, preferring to wait in place for a full minute than go for it, but that was just a recipe for frustration. The enemy AI is really forgiving. That can be an issue for people wanting more challenging stealth gameplay, but personally I think the difficulty level was satisfying for someone newer to this genre. The game is also visually gorgeous with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this, ended up loving it so much i completed it in a few days and immediately bought the DLC, and it was 100% worth it. Definitely recommended.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice sequel to a "Serial Cleaner" stealth game. Aesthetics is spot on, as well as music. Interesting idea to add different characters with different playstyles, it would be even better if it would be possible to do the same level with different cleaner.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'll start off this review saying my overall experience with Serial Cleaners was actually a bit of a disappointment. Strange way to start a positive review, but thats what I came away with once I finished it. Will the game blow you away? No. But its fun. The game totes a lot of really appealing art. I love the low poly style and the slew of effects they use to give everything a retro vibe gives this game a unique charm. While this is the case for the majority of the game, I did find there…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a prime example of where the sequel is actually better than the original. Game play, story, controls- all of it is is massively improved. I love all of it but at heart it also remains true to its roots. Your goal is to clean up crime scenes and make the evidence disappear without being caught yourself. A mix of puzzle and strategy as well as testing your sense of timing, This game is a great choice for fans of RPGs, Puzzles, or Strategy. The themes as you should be able to tell from…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short game, on the final act now after 13 hours. I'm finding this game super fun, but if you're looking for a "realistic" stealth game this might not be for you, however if you're looking for a relatively short and somewhat challenging game with great art direction and style this is for you. The music is great and I love the game's atmosphere and presentation, this I would say is the main reason for playing the game. The writing is a little clunky at times, but the story had me interested in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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