The Best Cleaning Games & Simulators, Ranked

As players seek a virtual escape from the real world, simulator games have only become more and more popular. Whether gamers want to explore the roads in Euro Truck Simulator; nestle up in a new town in Stardew Valley, or sit back and relax in Lawn Mowing Simulator, the gaming landscape nowadays has it all.

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With all of these different simulators also comes the newly rising cleaning genre, taking players through an assortment of different ways to tidy up, wash away stains, and enjoy the everyday tasks that many often don’t favor so highly in person. With that in mind, here’s a look at the best cleaning games and simulators out there, based on how in-depth the cleaning mechanics are, how much content there is, and any added extras that make them stand out.

6 Serial Cleaner

Stealth Cleaning Action

• Platforms: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Xbox Series X and Series S
• Release Date: September 22, 2022
• Genre(s): Action game, Stealth game, Indie game, Simulation Video Game, Adventure, Strategy
• Developer: Draw Distance

Expanding on its prequel, Serial Cleaners delivers gamers a unique top-down way to clean up and explore its abundance of levels, hiding away the evidence of differing murders and crimes. As a stealth-action game at its core, much of the gameplay requires sneaky maneuvers and avoidance of police or other characters around the open areas, removing blood stains and bodies without getting caught along the way.

The story is just as rich too, playing as four cleaners, each working for the mob in 1990s New York. With their own unique styles and personalities, players will learn of their individual stories and that of other characters, all while strategically cleaning up the messes made at each scene they work on. While a great entry into the cleaning genre, Serial Cleaners is overall a little more simplistic and prioritizes stealth over in-depth mechanics.

5 Viscera Cleanup Detail

Clean Up After Crazy Disasters

Launched back in 2015, Viscera Cleanup Detail found a lot of popularity in its more out-there cleaning concepts, with players taking control of a space-station cleaner that just so happens to be dealing with more out-of-the-ordinary, extraterrestrial messes. Mopping up the aftermath of horrific sci-fi horror events, haunted evil homes, and more, this job is not your regular cleaning situation.

Wielding just a mop and a bucket, players will explore these open areas and scrub away the remains of bloody puddles and corpses, making sure not to make any new stains by regularly collecting fresh water buckets and rinsing off their mops. While simple, the game’s extravagant themes and multi-player abilities have seen it reach audiences far and wide, delivering something unique in the cleaning simulator world. With such a unique concept and added multiplayer fun, Viscera Cleanup Detail is a great cleaning gem, just a little older and with a few differing cleaning mechanics.

4 House Flipper

Clean and Renovate Houses

Through its prequel House Flipper and its newest release House Flipper 2, the one-man renovation game has evolved with plenty for players to clean up and tidy regardless of which game they pick up. As players are assigned different house-flipping projects, they’ll find themselves working across the town at varying locations, tearing down walls; cleaning and adding furniture; picking up litter; washing away stains and spillages; painting walls and so much more.

Within each of these clean-up projects, players will revamp a building back to its former glory, expanding their own skills as they do so. Through an advanced skill tree, every new job will allow for upgrades to your cleaning, painting, demolishing skills, and more, always making the next venture that bit easier. With such an expansive amount of things to do, House Flipper is an excellent entry into the cleaning genre, just feeling a little more focused on the renovating aspects over the more easy-going tidying and cleaning.

3 Unpacking

Neatly Unpack Into Different Homes

While players won’t be scrubbing away stains or mopping floors in Unpacking, they will be organizing and unboxing beloved items throughout different cherished homes. In this cozy, story-rooted cleaning gem, players are treated to a delightfully slow change in pace, progressively unpacking boxes of personal belongings and moving into an assortment of different locations.

Watching from afar as their character grows older; hangs onto old teddies; hides away previously sentimental photographs and more, snippets of story elements shine through in every new location, all while the player gets full control of where they want each new unpacked item to find its new home. Sit back, relax, and find a calming escape in Unpacking. As a really soothing game to pick up whenever, Unpacking is one of the best cleaning games out there, feeling totally unique in its gameplay but limited by its repetitive nature.

2 Powerwash Simulator

Deep-Clean Powerwashing

Perfect for players who have ever dreamed of washing away layers of grime and mud from homes, trains, theme park rides, or anything in between, Powerwash Simulator certainly delivers. With multitudes of levels covered top to bottom in thick stains and grotty dirt, it’s the player’s job to push their powerwasher to the limit and make these run-down locations once again feel brand new.

With story elements on each job, as well as money earned and new supplies and upgrades to dig into, there’s a lot more than just simple power washing to dig into. Put those expensive new powerwashers, fast-action cleaning products, and ranged nozzles to action, all while journeying through the bizarre tale of a town filled with new things to clean. With so many levels, a great story, and a really intense cleaning action, Powerwash Simulator stands tall as a solid entry into the cleaning genre.

1 Crime Scene Cleaner

Clean Up After The Mob

Delivering players a refined cleaning simulator with a mass of depth to explore, Crime Scene Cleaner truly shines as one of the greatest cleaning experiences out there. Working on behalf of the mob, players are tasked with cleaning up murders at differing expansive levels, washing away blood, disposing of bodies, and picking apart evidence that might be rather incriminating.

Through multiple differing cleaning tools – the mop, the sponge, and the powerwasher – the gameplay always remains fresh and fun, requiring players to make use of each different item for their varying needs. An elaborate skill tree also keeps progression exciting, allowing for helpful upgrades like dual-wielded sponges or a more resilient mop. The story elements and open-map designs (with plenty of secrets) are also some of the most unexpectedly exceptional elements of this gem, crafting a great experience for sitting back, relaxing, and doing some dirty work. It’s no surprise that Crime Scene Cleaner shines as the best cleaning game out there, delivering so much to do in an excellently refined package.