3/5 ★ – peacebrendanp's review of PowerWash Simulator.

I don't know why I have played this game as much as I have. After over 45-hours of playing pretend to clean virtual objects, I am about ready to move on. Or, at least spend much less time playing the game. This game scratches a particular itch that not many games scratch. The game gives you a task to complete, and direct results to track your progress. The game feels good, and you're literally just washing dirt off of different objects and places. I completed the main campaign that the game tasks you with, and I worked through a handful of DLC campaigns. The DLC offers some challenges in other worlds and settings that might feel familiar, such as Spongebob or Tomb Raider. Or, Shrek. Anyways, these DLC chapters add a fun filter over the normal levels (to be clear, the DLC provides their own levels, and they are substantial). The game is not without it's flaws. While the main concept is simple and fun, the game borders on tedium at times. There are some things that are so intricate to clean, that it feels really annoying to even begin the task. Some angles needed to fully clean an item are also frustrating and impossible. And, towards the end of a level, there will be some items that are left to be finished cleaning, and you will not even see a visual speck of dirt, even when using the "dirt vision" button. Thankfully, the game is usually forgiving when it comes to cleaning most things. The progress and upgrades also left something to be desired. There isn't much to put your money towards, especially after you get all the washer upgrades. Aside from some cosmetics for your character, there isn't much else to work towards. Even with the washer upgrades, I ended up only really using one or two different nozzles to work through the different levels. I know they are making a sequel, so I would hope that the different nozzles have more viability. This next point is a little nit-picky. For a game that came out in 2022, I would have maybe hoped for a little bit better water and dirt "physics." I think it would have also helped with some of the tedium, and just made the game more fun. When I say "physics," I guess I mean, I wish the water dripped, and maybe made tracks in the dirt. Or, even having a soap available to help wash through dirt would be fun. I just wish the game felt more dynamic, and that there was more tools at your disposal to work through levels. The story is absurd, and not a positive or a negative. You're not playing this game for the story. And, it's pretty forgettable. It's silly when you're paying attention. It's unobtrusive, which is what it should be for a game like this. I wanted to play this game to kind of turn my brain off, and it did exactly that. It turns your brain off, and gives you a task to complete. It feels so silly to fully critique this game, as it's about power-washing, and it delivers in that regard. I do wish the game felt more dynamic, or that there was more upgrades to work towards. Either way, looking forward to the sequel. I will probably play this game off-and-on over the next couple of weeks. But, for the most part, I'm writing this review to give myself permission to move on, if I so feel like it. The game is starting to feel more tedious, but I still have this weird drive to work through the rest of the DLC levels. We will see if I manage to do that, but whether I do or not, my score and opinions will not change. Plays great on Steam Deck too. Update (04/28/2025): I continued playing the game throughout the rest of the month, and while I don't have too much more to add, I wanted to comment on the DLC and reiterate a point I made earlier. Since writing my original review, I have put in an additional 35-hours into this game playing through a lot of the DLC. The DLC really scales the levels up; environments and objects that need to be cleaned are bigger and more intricate to wash. For someone wanting to play more of this game, that can be a good thing. Obviously, this game definitely got it's hooks in me, but with that increase in intricacy, comes an increase in tedium. It feels really overwhelming to clean some of these environments, which took a lot of the enjoyment out of the game. Some DLC levels have more interesting aspects than others. Some levels feel just too large. Because of this increase in tedium, I ended up lowering the score a bit to better reflect how I feel about the game. However, this game is a perfect podcast game, and while I love listening to a podcast while power-washing through some of these levels, I'm ready to move on with my time. After 76-hours, I have forced myself to quit this one by uninstalling. This game is a perfect example of a "time-killing" type of game, and while there is definitely a place and time for those games, I would have preferred to still feel like I am working towards something greater (like in Stardew Valley). Console Played On: PC (Steam) / Steam Deck (SteamOS) Game Played Prior to Reviewing: 03/2025 - 04/2025 Review Written and Published: 04/09/2025