Monster Mop Up Review | This is an Incredible Amount of Poop
My mission with this review is to use the word poop as much as possible. Because..poop.
Monster Mop Up from developer Terahard Ltd and publisher Yogscast Games is a multiplayer clean up sim where you must save cute little monsters from the human world and clean up the evidence afterwards. And by cleaning up the evidence I mean cleaning up the poop and the stains made from the poop. And there’s a lot of it.
As a newly appointed Custodian at the Ministry of Monster Concealment, your main job is to polish and clean every corner of human locations to completely wipe out the presence of Ragamuffin that have gotten stuck there. Ragamuffins are cute little fuzzy monsters that get frightened and poop EVERYWHERE. Thankfully, you’re equipped with a variety of tools to deal with not only the little monsters themselves, but the mess they create…with their poop.
The first tools that you’ll start out with in the game are a monster trap and mop. Your monster trap is what is used to capture and save Ragamuffins. I always did this first thing before even thinking about starting with my cleaning. This is because Ragamuffins panic when they see you and will begin bouncing around whatever room they’re in, creating more mess. If you grab them with your hands, they’ll also poop nervously, again creating more mess. Before you start your level you’ll be able to see how many Ragamuffins are at the location so you can plan to find them before the hard work starts.
Your mop is used to clean up the poop stains of the Ragamuffins, but first you’ll probably want to get rid of all of the poop. (Use of the word poop update: 9 times). Believe it or not, Ragamuffins poop in different ways and different shapes. There’s some normal looking poops then there are poops that are GIGANTIC and poops that explode into tinier poops, poops that bounce, poops that defy gravity - it’s a poop nightmare, really.
In the beginning, before you unlock the vacuum, you must pick up each individual piece of poop by hand, throwing it into the fireplace located in each location. There is only one fireplace so transporting hundreds of poops to it can sometimes be incredibly repetitive and annoying. There are boxes scattered around the level that you use to transport multiple poops at a time, but because of the physics-based movements of the game, this can often result in a huge spillage of poop. (21 times).
Once you do unlock the vacuum though, cleaning up poop is a complete breeze and then you can move on to mopping things up. Your mop is used to clean up the stains left from the poop and it’s pretty easy to clean it all up. Every few strokes of your mop you’ll have to clean it in a bucket of water. Eventually, your bucket will also get dirty and need to be replaced. Unlike the beloved Powerwash Simulator, Monster Mop Up doesn’t force you to get every single drop of poop stains around the level in order to get credit for cleaning the area. You do, on the other hand, have to get every single piece of poop which can cause some frustrations especially for those who want to 100% every level.
After each level you’ll earn money which can be used to upgrade your tools or expand your base home where your saved Ragamuffin buddies hang out. Upgrades include things like, your mop pushing objects less, covering more area with each swipe, your bucket of water will spill less easily and much more. You can also buy furniture to make your home base more comfortable and inviting.
Monster Mop Up clearly takes a lot of inspiration from 2015’s Viscera Cleanup Detail and that’s not a bad thing. Both games manage to be fun while also adding little bits of frustrating physics challenges that make you almost quit, but keep coming back for more. It’s a delicate balance that the team has managed to master here. That isn’t to say that there aren’t some thing I think could be improved upon, like only having one furnace and the levels getting repetitive after a while, but I’ve still played nearly every level to 100% completion because there’s something about it that just makes you CRAVE cleaning up every last poop and poop stain.
And just for good measure: poop, poop, poop.
Final use of the word poop: 34 times, 35 if you count the one in the title, 37 if you count the two below.
Breakdown
Game: Monster Mop Up
Developer: Terahard Ltd
Publisher: Yogscast Games
Availability: PC
Game Length: 10+ Hours
Reviewed on Steam Deck
Final Thoughts
Monster Mop Up is a silly little clean up game that’s perfect for fans of Viscera Clean Up Detail or even Powerwash Simulator. Cleaning towards the beginning before you’ve upgraded your tools can be a bit infuriating and having no indication of what’s left to clean can be straight up frustrating. Its gameplay is fun, but having only one thing to clean up (poop and poop stains) gets pretty repetitive by the time you complete the final level. I have a feeling if you jump into the game with friends you’ll have a much better time than if you try to tackle the mess yourself.