Serial Cleaner vs Follow the meaning
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Serial Cleaner
Step into the 1970s as a professional crime scene cleaner. Your mission is to discreetly remove evidence after mob hits without being detected by patrolling police. This stealth action game combines strategy, quick reflexes, and a funky retro aesthetic.
- Crime scene cleanup
- Stealth mechanics
- Environmental puzzles
- Retro 1970s aesthetics
- Funky 70s soundtrack
- Challenging gameplay
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Serial Cleaner is an action-stealth game set in the vibrant and gritty 1970s, where you play as a professional crime scene cleaner. Your job is to clean up after mob hits and other criminal activities without getting caught by the police, who are always on the lookout. The game blends humor, strategy, and fast-paced action in a unique way that challenges your tactical thinking. Serial Cleaner is all about balancing quick reflexes with smart planning. You need to stay unseen, time your movements, and use the environment to your advantage while cleaning up the mess left behind by criminals! You play as Bob Leaner, a regular guy who moonlights as a cleaner for mobsters, picking up odd jobs to earn money. Bob lives with his mother, and between taking her to bingo nights and doing chores, he gets calls from his shady underworld contacts to clean up after their messy work. The game embraces a funky 70s aesthetic, with bold colors, stylish minimalist art, and a soundtrack that evokes the period’s funky and jazzy vibes. It’s both lighthearted and gritty, offering a unique tone that stands out from more serious stealth games. Gameplay Overview: * Crime scene cleanup: Each level in Serial Cleaner is a crime scene where you must remove all evidence (bodies, weapons, blood, etc.) and make your escape without being spotted! You’ll need to sneak around, dodge police patrols, and time your actions perfectly to avoid detection. * Stealth mechanics: The game focuses on stealth. The police officers patrol the area, and it’s your job to study their movements and take advantage of blind spots to clean the scene staying unseen. If they spot you, they’ll give chase, and you’ll need to escape quickly before being caught. * Create your solutions: Each level can be approached in different ways. You can use distractions (like knocking over objects or turning on equipment) to lure the police away, hide bodies in certain spots, or even hide yourself in tall grass or closets. Adapt and use your environment to your advantage! * Challenging and Replayable: As you progress, the levels become more complex with additional mechanics like tighter spaces, more aggressive police, and more evidence to clean up. It's up to you to replay levels to improve your scores and times! Key Features: * Retro aesthetics: The art style is heavily influenced by 1970s pop culture, with bright, saturated colors, geometric shapes, and a minimalist design. This visual style helps the game stand out while giving it a nostalgic feel. * 70s soundtrack: The soundtrack perfectly complements the 70s vibe, with funky and jazzy tracks that keep the mood light yet intense, even during high-stress situations! * Real-time changes: As you clean a scene, the bloodstains you remove disappear, and the more bodies you collect, the fewer are left to deal with. This gives a satisfying sense of progression as you clear the crime scene, but also increases the tension as the police can stumble upon these changes if you're not careful.
Follow the meaning
Unravel a surreal mystery on a peculiar island town where citizens lose their memories after visiting the Hospital. Use wit and lateral thinking to uncover a sinister conspiracy, guided by local gossip and a point-and-click adventure.
- Hand-drawn art style
- Surreal worldbuilding
- Atmospheric soundtrack
- Twisted mystery plot
- Point-and-click gameplay
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A desperate letter summons detective Paul Trilby to a peculiar island town, divided by a wall and ruled by a Hospital. Regular citizens get admitted and then return without their memories. A sinister conspiracy is afoot. Can you get to the bottom of this mystery? Use wit, curiosity and lateral thinking to puzzle your way towards a solution, helped by the local citizens you meet along the way. Remember that there is always a grain of truth in the local gossip. Follow the Meaning is a surreal, hand-drawn, point-and-click adventure inspired by classic titles like Samorost and the Rusty Lake series. Features ■ Hand-drawn art brings the offbeat world to life ■ Whimsical worldbuilding with a sinister undertone ■ Atmospheric soundtrack by Victor Butzelaar ■ A twisted mystery that awaits your diligent inspection ■ 1.5 hours average playtime
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Serial Cleaner at 4.5 against Follow the meaning's 4.3. Follow the meaning's advantage is chart position (#102 vs unranked) and price ($2.99 vs $4.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Serial Cleaner costs $4.99 and Follow the meaning $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Serial Cleaner holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47 and 91 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Serial Cleaner's written reviews are positive against 78% of Follow the meaning's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly daily. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Serial Cleaner | Follow the meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (47 ratings) — better | 4.3 (91 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.6% of reviews | 77.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 47 | 91 — better |
| Update frequency | Daily | Daily |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #102 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 696 MB | 286 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Plug In Digital | Second Maze |
Customer experience
Serial Cleaner
Follow the meaning
Bugs and requests
Serial Cleaner
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Follow the meaning
Reported bugs
3 issues- Game crashes on launch
- Unresponsive controls
- Localization issues with Italian dialogue
Requested features
3 requests- Ability to replay or revisit completed levels
- More detailed instructions and guidance
- Improved cat-finding mechanics
In-app purchases
Serial Cleaner
No in-app purchases
Follow the meaning
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Serial Cleaner free?
Is Follow the meaning free?
Which has better reviews, Serial Cleaner or Follow the meaning?
Do Serial Cleaner or Follow the meaning have ads?
Which is updated more often, Serial Cleaner or Follow the meaning?
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