Housework is boring. Really boring. But you know what isn’t? Video games – even cleaning games on Switch and mobile that we can fill our precious spare time with while avoiding real-life chores. Find our list of the best choices below – grab your gloves and a mop and get polishing!
If you need some more inspiration on what to play next, we’ve got you – here are our lists of the best chicken games, farm games, baseball games, and indie games on Switch and mobile to keep you busy.
Let us sweep you away into our list of the best cleaning games.
PowerWash Simulator – Switch
Let’s kick things off with the best cleaning game you’ll ever play: PowerWash Simulator. There are a ton of cheap mobile clones, but disregard them, and get the relaxing, official version on Switch.
The game is exactly as the title says: you powerwash things. Cars, homes, the Mars Rover, the Krusty Krab – it’s all in there, and it’s fantastic. It’s a blast. Not convinced? We have a PowerWash Simulator review for you to read, too.
Unpacking – Switch (coming to mobile soon)
If organizing an entire abode’s worth of belongings is more your style than scrubbing floors, then Unpacking is for you. Go through eight stages of unpacking box after box of possessions that tell a story as you go.
The best part is figuring out a way that they look nice on the shelves and in cupboards. Go maximalist or minimalist – the choice is yours, especially with the unrestricted mode which allows you to place anything, anywhere, and still complete the level.
Open the Box – mobile
Perhaps you enjoy opening mail and packages but don’t want to continuously buy things… well, then we suggest you try Open the Box on iOS and Android.
Pull tabs, remove the tape, and unfold flaps until the contents of the box reveal themselves, then place them in a living area. While it may not exactly be a cleaning game, doing away with the packaging still counts.
House Flipper – Switch
Look, none of us can really afford a house, so you can live vicariously through House Flipper. Purchase a plot and it’s your job to clean it up and make it spick and span.
There’s grime everywhere and trash to take out, along with broken furniture to fix and radiators to revamp. Then, you can decorate how you please and sell it for a profit. In terms of overall cleaning satisfaction, House Flipper is right up there with PowerWash Simulator.
Serial Cleaner – Switch
Serial Cleaner is a little different than the wholesome and often relaxing games on this list – it involves you taking on the role of a mob cleaner, who must clean up crime scenes without getting caught.
Yep, that does involve blood splatters and bodies wrapped in tarps. Get rid of any evidence you find to throw the cops off the scent.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 – Switch
Yes, exorcizing a haunted mansion and ridding it of ghosts counts as a cleaning game. Luigi literally uses a vacuum cleaner. He’s the apparition abolisher, the spirit sponger, the phantom parlormaid… I’ll stop.
Anyway, your job is to save your friends and clean up this paranormally-tainted hotel as Luigi.
Merge Mansion – mobile
You’ve probably seen the ads with Pedro Pascal in them for Merge Mansion, and it’s not only those that make us recommend the game.
Enter the Boulton family mansion, and clean it up from top to bottom, as it’s in a sorry state of repair. To do this, you must merge similar items together to create new ones, to fulfill the requirements needed to fix up different areas of the stately home.
A Little to the Left – Switch
Laid-back puzzles are what A Little to the Left – and the new A Little to the Left DLC – are all about. You need to sort items into their correct holders, turn cups around so that the pattern matches across them, and have your work dashed away by a menacing cat’s paw when you least expect it.
The game constantly gets new updates with fresh levels for even more cleaning, sorting, and fun, so it’s definitely a good one to keep on your Switch.
Fresh Start – Switch
Look at that mess. Seems like we need to clean it up, so let’s get cracking in Fresh Start. You’re armed with a contraption that mixes a vacuum cleaner and a hose – also known as the perfect cleaning tool, if you ask me.
Pick up the rubbish, clear the mud, and make sure the earth is healthy enough for critters to survive. It’s not just cleaning and sweeping, though – there are plants to grow and animals to help as you scrub the landscape, and even some puzzles sprinkled here and there.
Do you need even more ideas on what to play, or some freebies in games you already have? No worries, check these out: here are the latest AFK Arena codes, Honkai Star Rail codes, Genshin Impact codes, and Harry Potter: Magic Awakened codes.