Video games allow us to escape reality. you’re able to be a world-renowned street racer or lead a squad of heroes into battle in a high fantasy world. However, one thing you cannot escape is the value of cleanliness, and it applies in the real world just as much as in some video games.
Many games choose to forego life’s essentials, but others have it as a mechanic, sometimes with hilarious implications.
With this in mind,here’s a list of games where it pays to be cleanor other creatures rely on you for their hygiene needs.
9Deadly Premonition
Just Call Him York
Deadly Premonition
Deadly Premonitionis a divisive title and very much like Marmite.You either love or hate it, and there’s nothing in between. If you’ve never played,Deadly Premonitionis a bizarre detective game withsurvival horrorelements.
The game makes the list because it hastime managementmechanics that affect the main character. You play as Francis York Morgan, who requires sleep and food at regular intervals. There’s a hygiene system, and you’ll notice York’s facial hair becomes messy and unkempt if you don’t shave.
In fact, evenYork’s clothes become dirty, which affects specific missions and scores. Cleaning yourself is rudimentary inDeadly Premonition, but you must remember to do it. The mechanic also returns in the sequel with missions tied to it.
8My Tamagotchi Forever
An Evolution Of A Playground Craze
Key Information
Bandai Namco
Release Date
March 2018
Virtual Pet keychains were a viral craze once upon a time, with crude visuals and basic yet addictive gameplay. For the uninitiated, you mustkeep a pixelated critter alive by managing its health until it inevitably dies or leaves home. The most popular brand of Virtual Pet was Tamagotchi.
My Tamagotchi Foreveroffers the same gameplay loop, although it now has tons of extra features and vastly improved graphics as a mobile title. There’s even an AR mode so you can see your pet at home.
Naturally,cleaning your pet is a big part of keeping it healthy, with major consequences for neglecting it.
Sadly, the mobile platform also brings its own brand problems, including agross subscription serviceand a torrent of adverts. Still, it could be a good time-sink if you’re on the go.
7Planet Zoo
The Authority In Zoo Simulators
Planet Zoo
Planet Zoois arguably thebest Zoo simulator on the marketand one where you can spend hundreds of hours creating and micromanaging the animal sanctuary of your dreams.
Naturally, cleanliness and hygiene are a big part of that.If you neglect your animals, they will suffer for it, and it can lead to health problems.Fortunately, your Zoo Keepers are always on hand to help, and you can request cleaning for specific enclosures.
Surprisingly, your enclosure layout is essential if you want clean animals. If your Zoo Keeper can’t get to the poops, they can’t do anything about them, so it pays to have a little forethought when you’re designing paddocks.
Poor hygiene at the zoo can have a negative impact on your animals' well-being, and it’s something your demanding guests will complain about.
6Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Only In A Kojima Game…
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Even the most grizzled veteran fighters like to be clean as much as anyone, andMetal Gear Solid Vturns it into a gameplay mechanic.
Snake may be a legendary badass, but that’s no excuse not to wash. In fact,you’re incentivized to use the shower at Mother Base frequently as it offers several tangible bonuses.
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You earn a small maximum health boost after a shower, and your duration in ‘Reflex Time’ is increased. You’ll also have an easier time ‘recruiting’ soldiers with the Fulton system.
MGSVis stacked full of easter eggs, too, with some directly tied to your cleanliness. Without delving into spoilers,if you want to see more of Quiet, consider some soaponce in a while.
5Animal Shelter Simulator
An Underrated Simulator
Games Incubator
PC, PS4, XB1, Switch
March 2023
If you want a petsimulatorbut don’t want to suffer through the ‘features’ of mobile gaming,Animal Shelter Simulatormay be right up your alley.
Animal Shelter Simulatoris a remarkable game where you look after rescued cats and dogs. The unique twist is that you’re rewarded for helping the animals find their forever home based on their suitability for adoption and finding the proper household for them.
Naturally, nobody wants to rehome a stinky stray, andcats and dogs have different cleaning and hygiene requirements. For example, brushing is tied to cat hygiene, while dogs just enjoy the process. Animals need a clean home, too, so expect to get your hands dirty in the yard.
Hygiene is justone part of the puzzleinAnimal Shelter Simulator, but it’s a rewarding and surprisinglycozy gamethat anyone can enjoy.
4Death Stranding
I Still Don’t Get This One
Death Stranding
Death Strandingisanother gem by Kojimato make the list and offers aunique approach to cleanlinesscompletely different fromMetal Gear Solid.
You can shower, pee, and poop inDeath Stranding, and while the rewards aren’t as far-reaching asMGSV, you do have an incentive to look after yourself.
Safe House facilities collect bodily fluids that can be fashioned into EX Grenades. You can use these unconventional weapons to lure BTs away from areas so you can sneak by unopposed. Honestly, I prefer more conventional weaponry, but it’s a cool feature nonetheless.
Even if you don’t want the grenades, it does stop Sam pleading with you to wash, so it’s worth it in the long run.
3Nintendogs + Cats
Tamagotchi, Nintendo Style
Nintendogs + Cats
Nintendogs + CatsisNintendo’s attempt at a virtual pet game, and it is far more advanced than your typical standalone title.
Nintendogslets you keep your very own adorable puppy. You can take it for walks and even teach it tricks! However, just like in real life, you must care for your best friend’s needs.
If you want the best cleanliness,you must brush your pet’s fur and periodically bathe them. If you neglect your pet, it will start to get visibly dirty.
Eventually, your pal will become flea-ridden without the proper care, and you can even see the little monsters hopping around on their fur.
Cleanliness isn’t just cosmetic inNintendogseither, asyou will always lose points if you take a dirty dog to competitions.
2Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Old School Hygiene
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2offers players anincredible medieval open worldto explore andstaggering attention to detail. The game may be set in the 15th century, but that’s no excuse to neglect your hygiene, and there could be long-lasting consequences if you do.
Combat and exploring are messy business inKingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and you’ll quickly become dirty and bloody as you traverse the world. That grime isn’t just for show either, andif you look and smell like you just came out of the sewers, NPCs will treat you as such.
Bad hygiene hurts your Charisma and can be so detrimental thatyou can miss entire quests!Fortunately, you may bathe in bathhouses and wash your clothes with soap in ponds.
You have all the facilities to stay clean, but it’s something you must manage unless you want a reputation.
1The Sims 2
The Defacto Life Simulator
The Sims 2
The Simsis arguably the mostwell-known and influential ‘life simulator’on the market. Honestly, I usually never get much further than building a cool house in these games, but almost every aspect of living is covered, including hygiene.
Hygiene is a basic requirement or ‘motive’in allThe Simsgames, and you can manage it with frequent showers and toilet breaks. Naturally, if you neglect showering, your Sim starts to smell and may be rejected by other Sims, which has a knock-on effect on their mood.
Different Sims games have different takes on hygiene, but the basics, likebathing, washing hands, and brushing teeth, are all surefire ways to keep your Sim happy. The later games even offer lifetime rewards you can use to slow the decay of your hygiene meters.
I’ve recommendedThe Sims 2specifically becauseit’s the one I’ve spent an irresponsible amount of time on, but every game has its perks.
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