Ah, fall is here!! The weather is cooler, the foliage is colorful – oh right! The leaves are falling, and I have to rake. Never fear, here’s a game, Leaf Blower Co., that’s a lot more fun than actually raking leaves.
The Backstory of Leaf Blower Co
Well….there really isn’t a backstory. You make your living by removing leaves for clients. It’s as simple as that.
I often need a lot of handholding when I begin a game. Not with Leaf Blower Co. The instructions are crystal clear and concise. I knew exactly what to do. When new mechanics were introduced, the instructions were similarly clear and concise.
The Gameplay of Leaf Blower Co
I haven’t played a lot of leaf-blowing sims, but I love how this one has a clearly marked, brightly colored square around the trash can where the leaves have to go. I only had to get the leaves within that square, and they ended up in the can. I also loved how I heard a nice chime whenever I got 25%, 50%. 75% and 100% of the leaves into the can. It was very satisfying.
Leaf Blower Co. has created an option in the settings which allows me to have a circle displayed showing exactly how many leaves I have left to gather. Sometimes they were hard to find, which gave me a fun challenge. The game can’t be too easy, can it? I can also adjust the strength of my leaf blower right away, which is nice.
The soundtrack is a lovely soft jazz, and the leaf blower is silent, unlike many in the real world! There’s a satisfying sound of leaves blowing around that’s quite realistic. There are some easter eggs hidden in the game, too! Of course, they are leaf and tree themed!
My character is able to jump and run. I especially appreciate the running since sometimes I had a bit of yard to travel across. After a while, I am given a new tool – an old-fashioned rake. It comes in very handy when trying to get hard-to-reach leaves, like those stuck in corners. I was also given the ability to easily move my leafblower left and right, which makes the game much more pleasant.
After a while, I had to charge my leaf blower at a charging station. I expect in future levels my charges will last longer.
How Are the Visuals?
Lovely!! This is a very well-polished game! The houses are realistic and colorful. It’s a neighborhood I’d like to live in for sure!
Some Interesting Things in Leaf Blower Co
I encountered a rainy day. My leaf blower didn’t work as well then since the wet leaves were too heavy. So I was given a shredder or leaf vacuum. It’s a bit slower to use than the leaf blower, but it’s a valid option on a rainy day! The shredder is also handy for removing leaves from tight corners. Just suck them up! The shredder gets full after a while, but all I had to do was walk into the brightly colored square by the trash can, and it was emptied. Sometimes I produced large trash bags full of leaves. They have to be walked to a waiting dumpster. Just like real life!
In the full game, I will be able to shop at the mall for skins and clothes. I know a lot of players will like that option. Also, later in the demo, I was given the option to change the camera angle. That added a lot to my enjoyment of the game.
Leaf Blower Co. has campaign levels and free play ones. The campaign levels allow me to advance; the free play ones are just for fun! I chose my jobs from a handy bulletin board in my garage.
As the gameplay progresses, I will get a wider variety of tools to use. I assume that by the end of the game, they will all fit on this wall.
A Cool Playground Level
I really appreciated the visuals of this playground after leaf-blowing a couple of regular suburban yards. The colors are bright and vibrant, and the play equipment looks very realistic. I can almost hear the children laughing!
Leaf Blower Co. levels have primary and secondary objectives, which are clearly displayed on the right-hand side of the screen. I really like that because I don’t have to go looking for what to do next – it’s right there in front of me!
Another aspect of the game which I haven’t touched on yet is the ability to use paint to either decorate or add graffiti to walls. One of my objectives in the playground level was to repaint the mural. I equipped my paint sprayer and then pressed a button within the circle to use that specific design. Each player will paint the mural in the way they choose. I think that’s neat!!
A Couple of Really Fun Levels
I was unfamiliar with the actual game called Cash Cleaner, but Leaf Blower Co. has one bonus level which pays homage to that game, apparently. It’s a really fun level!! There are 4 tasks, all centered around money laundering. I was to blow a bunch of money into a fire, blow-banded $ 100 bills into a drying machine, blow boxes onto pallets and make some graffiti.
The portion where I had to blow the banded bills was interesting. They didn’t blow the same way as the individual bills since they were heavier. Clever! I loved how this level had arrows to direct me towards my tasks, too.
Leaf Blower Co. also has a Halloween level full of spooky music, ghosts, pumpkins, skeletons and even a graveyard. Some of the fun activities in this level are righting tipped headstones and “leaf blowing” pumpkins and bones! The bones make an interesting clattering sound as they bump into each other. I love that level of detail. During this level, I was given a weed burner, which was really fun to use on pumpkins! Lastly, Leaf Blower Co. has an arachnophobia toggle in the settings of this level for those who really don’t want spiders in their games! I thought that was a nice touch.
Final Thoughts
Leaf Blower Co. is developed by Lift Games, which is a two-man team based in Ireland. This is a superb, very polished game demo! I can’t think of anything that would improve it. I played the demo for 1 ½ hours and could have gone another hour easily.
After you complete a level, you can replay it in free play mode as often as you want. You can try different techniques to move those leaves around each time you play, and you can also change the weather conditions. That gives Leaf Blower Co. a lot of replay value. If you like power washer and leaf blower games in general, I’d recommend you give this game a try. It’s a really good one!
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