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0 The latest game published by Yogscast Games is called Monster Mop Up, a new cleaning sim developed by the team at Terahard Ltd. I’ll assume the role once again of a cleaner as I mop, vacuum, and capture little monsters that are causing havoc. If you’re on the lookout for another cleaning sim, and like the sound of Monster Mop Up, then you can purchase it on the Steam store here for £12.79. There’s also a demo available.
Nothing like some secret spring-cleaning!
Gameplay
When it comes to cleaning we get four tools to do the job: our hands, mop, vacuum, and a trap. Like other games, you will mainly be cleaning up areas that have been dirtied by someone or something. In this case they’re called Ragamuffins; small, cute, fluffy creatures that are usually asleep and scattered around the level. Sneaking up to them will provide you the chance to grab them or lay a trap. Either way is fine, but grabbing them causes the creature to panic, and in turn poop. That’s right, in Monster Mop Up, our task is cleaning up the poop, and poop stains, of these little guys. Once captured, taking them back to the closet you spawned from will collect them.
Now onto the cleaning. We use the mop and bucket to clean the colourful stains left behind. Over time, the bucket will become dirty and must be changed via the same closet, but there are more efficient ways instead. By using a magic water orb with a bath or the bucket itself, you create a water source that never dirties. This makes cleaning way easier, even more so when it comes to bigger levels with multiple floors. Once a level is clean and finished, the player receives a gold reward and their overall rank, with F being the lowest, and S being the highest.
Your home
Before picking a level in Monster Mop Up, you can explore your home. Some areas will be blocked off until you’ve paid the required gold. Within each room, there is a tablet from which the player can purchase furniture and other decorations for their home. Also, here are the Ragamuffins that kinda just sit there… and make noise. If you don’t wish to use your money for decorations, then in the first section of your home is a locker with upgrades. Some will be locked and are found in the house itself, while others are located in some levels while cleaning. These upgrades typically improve cleaning, while others will give you better movement, such as a double jump.
Graphics & Audio
Colourful and bright, Monster Mop Up’s aesthetic is whimsical and magic, with a hint of Splatoon. The textures are shiny and impressively clean (no pun intended), and overall very pleasing to look at despite the brightness. I also like the sheen that flashes over areas/items when they’re fully cleaned, which is a helpful indicator. Ragamuffin traps and their poop also have sparkly blue particle effects, making them easier to find amongst the chaos. The Ragamuffins also make little snoring noises and squeaks that help you find them, which is nice.
My only gripes are that I wish there was some way (maybe even through upgrades) to show which room had mess left in them when you were almost done, and the music got very boring and repetitive quickly. I could be mistaken, but it sounded like the same looped music track. I found it better to play my music instead.
Longevity
I spent 7 hours on Monster Mop Up and still I haven’t finished all the levels (think I have a couple left). Each level can take roughly 20 minutes to finish, and all are replayable to earn more money to better decorate your home. Although, the decorating side isn’t really for me. You are able to turn off the monster capture part of the gameplay before each level, just in case you prefer to just clean.
Final Thoughts
Although it’s not the most in-depth cleaning sim I’ve played, it does well to still be a fun game to relax with. Collecting the Ragamuffins, and creating their own little areas in your home, help provide some breaks from cleaning. Gameplay is smooth, and I didn’t have any major bugs happen, however, the level called The Collector seemed to not award me the S rank. Even though I’ve cleaned and removed everything that was needed four times. I found the maps becoming a little too samey (besides the levels you do revisit) which leads to Monster Mop up needing more variety.
All in all, the game is simple, fun, and a great game to start for your own little ragamuffins. So it gets the Thumb Culture Silver Award. It would have been gold, but like I said it’s simple and lack some unique look levels.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
Looking for other suggestion, then why not check out my thoughts on Crime Scene Cleaner?
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