Menial task of cleaning in a video game? Sign me up! That’s basically what Undusted: Letters from the Past is — dusting things off while uncovering the stories behind them.
You play as Adora, who returns to her long-neglected childhood home and starts scrubbing the place clean. As she works, she rediscovers forgotten heirlooms and memories tied to her parents. The overall vibe leans melancholy. What’s the mystery?
Gameplay mechanics: think Powerwash Simulator but with dust instead of dirt. Unlike Powerwash though, Undusted lets you go the full 100%. You can stop at 99% to complete each stage, but I’m a 100%-or-nothing type of gal. Getting that last bit of dust hits different.
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The demo starts with a rusty key you need to clean to unlock the house. The tutorial walks you through everything — changing angles, rotating the object, the works. It’s super thorough and surprisingly robust for a demo. Once you hit 60% clean on an item, you unlock ‘Hints’ that highlight the remaining dirty spots (again, very Powerwash). You also unlock different tools along the way, like a sponge or a cloth for fragile surfaces like glass.
The demo includes three items to clean, with the third being Adora’s father’s pocket watch. This one dives deeper into her strained relationship with her mother during her teen years, and by the end, I really wanted to keep going. I need to know more. And clean more.
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Undusted: Letters from the Past is shaping up to be a thoughtful, tactile experience with just the right amount of dust and drama.
You can try the demo now on Steam and wishlist it to stay in the loop on its release.
