It is time to get clean in Janitor Bleeds

When I was in my teenage years, it was very frequent that I’d find myself on a Saturday to be beneath the fluorescent lights in a musty smelling arcade at the pier. I spent so much money on both the House of the Dead shooting game and even the classic Killer Instinct. So surprising know-one after coming across the trailer for Janitor Bleeds, I instinctively needed to know a lot more about the game the sentiment came flowing back.

Janitor Bleeds combines the retro world of the arcade with the iconic low poly world of the PS1 era. While I understand it won’t be to everyone’s taste, especially for the graphics, I must say the overall atmosphere is incredible. You can clearly see the time taken to design the arcade as a whole and more refined detail in the other arcade cabinets on display. Janitor Bleeds takes us to a strange world where you’ll find an arcade after a car crash. Signs point to this being the only place with people nearby, yet there’s this nagging feeling almost like something isn’t right and is drawing you in. That something is an Arcade adventure of a Janitor. But is this just a distraction for something far more sinister?

The trailer (above) reminds me of Pony Island, where a haunted arcade cabinet has sinister intentions. The music heard throughout solidifies that feeling to me. Is it cursed? Is it haunted? You’ll have to find out wandering the arcade while collecting coins (assumingly to play the games). It seems we will not just have a mystery as to what is going on within the arcade as we will seemingly be pursued through the aisles of cabinets by a glitching creature that will affect our vision.

The atmosphere to me is very alien in nature, constantly putting you on edge, combined with the music, really emphasises the threat and unnatural position you’ve been put in. With what looks like blood on the walls warning to not play the game, to the muck and grime that seems to be everywhere, the emphasis on the creep factor certainly seems there. I’m very excited to see more of this style. Janitor Bleeds releases this week on April 7th. Our review for this exciting new indie title will be available then, so you can check out our thoughts before you enter the arcade for yourself.