Every so often, a game comes along that has a really simple premise but is also somehow hard to describe. The type of game that, if your friends asked what you’d been playing lately, you’d find it both too easy and impossibly hard to explain. ACUVAC is one of those games, and it’s absolutely brilliant.

ACUVAC: A Suck and Blow Adventure, currently in development by solo developer Curdle Games, is a a bizarre little game in which you play as what can only be described as Noo Noo’s psychotic cousin as he works in a career that doesn’t quite match his personality. It’s equal parts genius and frustrating, but entirely impossible to dislike.

Vacuuming is harder than it looks

In ACUVAC, you play as a blue vacuum cleaner tasked with cleaning up various spaces and completing certain goals. It’s an incredibly simple premise, and it seems to adopt the addictive qualities of games such as Power Wash Simulator and House Flipper, because entering a filthy space and transforming it into a clean and organized space is endlessly satisfying. 

ACUVAC starts out with that same anticipation, but things quickly descend into complete and utter chaos. 

You see, in ACUVAC, you’re not only in control of the vacuum cleaner itself, but also fully in control of the infuriatingly disobedient and rebellious vacuum hose. Each is controlled with a different controller stick, and you need to make your thumbs coordinate their movements lest you get stuck on your back like a very noisy turtle or smash all the windows. 

Even if you start a level with the best of intentions, hoping to completely overhaul a messy space and leave it sparkling, you’ll quickly realize that’s not likely to be the outcome. One of the biggest reasons for this is the strength of suction that this vacuum seems to possess. It’s great at picking up the small pieces of trash lying around the place, but it’s also entirely capable of picking up the bed, sofa, and TV.

You try sucking up an oreo that rolled under the couch while the vacuum tries to pick up the couch itself. It’s more difficult than it first appears. 

How does a vacuum load a dishwasher?

That sounds like the beginning of a terrible household appliance-based dad joke. I can assure you that it’s not, but if it was, the punchline would be something along the lines of “absolutely horribly”. 

In the main level of the ACUVAC demo, one of the side goals is to load the dishwasher using dirty plates scattered around the apartment. This seems easy enough, considering your vacuum can both suck and blow, but these plates are bizarrely delicate and breakable. One wrong move and you end up with nothing more than a pile of ceramic shards that serve no purpose whatsoever. 

Long story short, you need to be gentle with the kitchenware, but even then, you might find yourself unintentionally acting as though you’ve accidentally stumbled into a Greek wedding and you’re trying to act the part.

I love being a terrible cleaner

Believe me, I went into this with all the hopes that I would leave the apartment in a much better state than I found it. I wanted to go in there, remove all the rubbish, and leave it feeling like a five-star hotel suite. 

That didn’t happen. 

Instead, I found myself giving up my tentative hopes of cleanliness and instead leaning into all of the chaos that ACUVAC has on offer. I started flinging the furniture around, actually aiming for the windows, and purposefully smashing the crockery so I could earn some quick points towards my cleanliness score. 

And that, I think, is where the joy of ACUVAC is found. Letting go of your self-imposed inhibitions and causing absolute mayhem is a freeing feeling, regardless of whether it’s virtual or based in real life, and ACUVAC offers that freedom by the trash bag. 

According to the Steam page, ACUVAC is inspired by games such as Katamari Damacy and Octodad: Deadliest Catch and, having played the demo, I can definitely attest to those inspirations being felt within the game. Chaos reigns even if you have the best of intentions and do everything with the utmost care, and it ends up being less about cleaning and more about complete and utter destruction. 

ACUVAC: A Suck and Blow Adventure is set for release on August 20, 2025. If you can’t wait that long and want to experience the chaos for yourself, you can download and play the demo right now.