Cleaning Up! - Review - PS5

There’s a particular kind of satisfaction in restoring order to chaos, the kind of mess that would make a real cleaner sigh, roll up their sleeves, and mutter “where do I even start?” Cleaning Up! takes that feeling and turns it into a full‑blown power fantasy, letting you blitz through filth, clutter, and grime with tools so efficient they’d make a professional jealous. What begins as a simple tidy‑up sim quickly reveals itself as a surprisingly playful, occasionally absurd, and consistently soothing loop built around the joy of transformation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPrZJvxVNTc

At its core, Cleaning Up! is all about momentum. You enter a space, sometimes a messy apartment, sometimes a bizarre themed location and immediately fall into a rhythm of sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing, and blasting away dirt. The DualSense does a lot of heavy lifting here, giving each tool a distinct feel. The vacuum has a soft rumble, the brush has a scratchy vibration, and the pressure sprayer has a punchy kick that makes it feel like you’re peeling grime off the world. It’s not realism the game is chasing; it’s texture, and it nails that sensation of “just one more patch” that keeps you cleaning long after you meant to stop.

The variety of environments is one of the game’s quiet strengths. You’re not just tidying the same suburban rooms over and over, you’re bouncing between quirky, themed spaces that lean into light comedy and gentle absurdity. One job might have you clearing out a hoarder’s flat stacked with junk to the ceiling; another might drop you into a spooky mansion where the dust seems older than time. There’s even a job involving an ancient temple, complete with treasure and traps, though the game never turns these settings into puzzles. They’re playgrounds for your tools, not obstacles to overcome.

What really keeps the loop engaging is how fast everything moves. Trash disappears instantly, grime melts away in seconds, and clutter collapses into neat piles with a single button press. The game wants you to feel powerful, efficient, and unburdened, a cleaner with superhuman throughput. That speed is a deliberate design choice, and it’s what makes the game so relaxing. There’s no timer, no fail state, no pressure. You can take your time or blitz through a level in minutes. Either way, the game rewards you with a satisfying “job complete” splash and a shower of currency.

Progression is light but effective. Completing jobs earns cash and prestige, which unlock better tools and cosmetic outfits. The upgrades matter, as a stronger vacuum or wider mop head genuinely speeds up your work, but the system never becomes a grind. You’re not chasing deep skill trees or complex builds. You’re just making your tools feel nicer, faster, and more fun to use. The cosmetics add a bit of personality, though they’re mostly there for flavour rather than expression.

Where the game stumbles is in its longevity. The core loop is cozy and satisfying, but it’s also extremely simple. After a few hours, you’ve seen most of what the game has to offer mechanically, and the repetition starts to show. The environments stay charming, but the tasks themselves rarely evolve beyond “clean everything until it sparkles.” For some players, that’s exactly the point, it's a meditative, low‑stakes escape. For others, the lack of challenge or deeper systems may leave the experience feeling slight.

Still, there’s something undeniably appealing about the game’s breezy pace and cheerful tone. It’s the kind of title you boot up when your brain wants something tactile and soothing, not demanding. The short job structure makes it perfect for dipping in and out, and the snappy feedback loop makes even a five‑minute session feel productive. It’s a comfort game, a digital equivalent of tidying your desk when you don’t have the energy for anything else.

On PS5, the game runs smoothly, loads quickly, and makes great use of the controller’s haptics. Visually, it’s clean and colourful rather than detailed or realistic, but that fits the tone. The exaggerated messes and cartoonish clutter give the game a playful identity, and the bright, upbeat soundtrack keeps the mood light.

Cleaning Up! isn’t trying to compete with deep simulation titles or physics‑heavy cleaning games. It’s a cozy, fast‑paced, feel‑good experience built around the joy of making things neat. It’s short, simple, and occasionally repetitive, but it’s also charming, satisfying, and surprisingly hard to put down once you fall into its rhythm.

Pros

• Extremely satisfying cleaning mechanics with great DualSense feedback

• Fast, snappy loop that makes every job feel rewarding

• Charming variety of themed environments

• Light progression keeps things moving without overwhelming

• Perfect for short, relaxing play sessions

Cons

• Very simple — lacks depth for players wanting more complexity

• Repetition sets in after a few hours

• Short overall runtime

• Cosmetic and tool upgrades are fairly shallow

Cleaning Up! is a game that knows exactly what it wants to be, a breezy, feel‑good cleaning fantasy built around momentum, colour, and the simple joy of making a mess disappear. It doesn’t chase realism or complexity; it leans into speed, tactility, and the satisfaction of watching chaos collapse into order. When you’re in the flow, clearing grime with super‑powered tools and feeling the DualSense buzz under your fingers, it delivers a kind of low‑pressure comfort that’s hard to find elsewhere.

It’s also a slight experience, one that runs out of surprises long before it runs out of charm. The repetition is real, and the simplicity won’t land for players craving depth. But taken on its own terms as a cozy, cheerful palate cleanser it succeeds. Cleaning Up! is the kind of game you keep installed for those evenings when you want something gentle, tactile, and quietly rewarding, a small but satisfying escape into a world where every mess has a perfect, sparkling end.

XPN Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (SILVER)

Cleaning Up! is available now!