This covers an early story beat and the Vacuum Tower boss fight.

Who the Vacuum is

The Vacuum is a sentient household vacuum cleaner turned antagonist, presented as one of the “forgotten possessions” that calls May and Cody out for neglect. In the game’s framing, he’s angry about being broken, left in storage, and replaced, and he turns that resentment into a boss fight.

“You replaced me with a Turbo X 2000?”

Why players remember this boss

The Vacuum works because he’s not random. He’s a physical reminder of broken follow through, which matches the game’s bigger theme of a relationship falling apart and learning to cooperate again.

The scene also lands harder than many players expect this early, and it gets talked about for that reason.

Where the Vacuum shows up

You encounter vacuum themed puzzles in The Shed during the Biting the Dust section, where tubes and airflow mechanics teach you how to work as a pair. The boss at the end of that stretch is commonly referred to as the Vacuum Tower fight.

How the Vacuum Tower fight works

The fight is built around role switching and timing. The Vacuum attacks by launching flaming garbage projectiles, and the safe response is to read the floor shadows and keep moving.

When the vacuum tube setup becomes available, one player uses suction to collect the incoming firebombs while the other aims the hose and fires those same projectiles back at the Vacuum’s face. The opportunity comes and goes, so survival between windows matters as much as accuracy.

Tactics that make the fight easier

• Assign jobs before the tube appears. Decide who suctions and who aims, so you don’t waste the damage window swapping.
• Play the shadows, not the chaos. If you’re getting clipped, focus on leaving any shadowed area first, then re-center.
• Stay back when you can. Being near the rear makes it easier to react when the tube setup returns.
• Aim for consistency, not hero shots. Hitting the face reliably beats risky timing that drops bombs on your partner.
• Swap roles if one player is struggling. Some pairs simply do better with the opposite assignment, especially on aiming.

Co-op callouts that prevent wipes

Use short, repeatable phrases so you don’t talk over the action.

• “Shadows left” when a cluster is about to land
• “Tube soon” when the arena starts signaling the damage phase
• “Loaded” when suction has a projectile ready
• “Hold still” when the aimer needs one clean shot window

If something feels bugged

If aiming suddenly feels limited or shots won’t go where you expect, try switching who is aiming and who is suctioning, then re-approach the sequence. Players have reported role swaps resolving odd aiming behavior in vacuum sections.

Voice and presentation

The Vacuum is voiced by actor Stephen Greif, credited for the role in It Takes Two.