Playing PowerWash Simulator is like using a colouring book. It is something mindless to keep your hands and a very specific part of your brain busy while you are doing something else such as watching a show or listening to a podcast. I never intended on finishing this game but I’ve had a challenging month, and it turned out to be the perfect white noise that I needed to get by. It has a very similar, soothing feeling to the paint-by-numbers game that I play on my phone when I want to pass time without engaging my brain.
+ (Non-)realism
Upon cleaning my first van I felt slightly irritated. Bugged by the fact that this is not how cleaning works. I am a very systematic person. I have a set way that I wash my dishes, and that is because cleaning is annoying and awkward and putting things in water doesn’t = clean. So imagine my confusion when this game allowed me to clean the windows of the vehicle before I did the roof. How could that be? Everyone knows the dirt would come off the roof and re-dirty the parts you have already cleaned. This is against the laws of cleaning nature and I had a hard time accepting it.
I finished up my now squeaky clean van and got to work on a huge garden. Slightly overwhelmed, I started on the fences and worked my way around. But then while I was doing the fences, I may as well do the floor between them. But I hadn’t done that bench yet so I should probably do that too. And that’s when it clicked. If this game had real life cleaning physics, it would simply be unbearable. It would go from an alternative to colouring in, to an absolute chore simulator. I thanked the game dev gods that it wasnt me making this game, petitioning to make it realistic. We can all thank the gods that I had 0 creative input into this game and that they instead took fun and convenience into consideration. These unrealistic alterations enabled a compulsion to do things in any order that made sense to me in that very moment without consequence, and once that unlocked, it was beautiful.
+/- The Compulsionism
I found my rhythm by the end of the game. Go around the edges of things, then do the betweeny parts. The only problem with this – how do you ever stop? Everytime I splash a bit of water onto a new section, I feel like I have signed my soul to a soapy devil and I am now committed to finishing this piece. Do the edges, splash onto the next area, sign a new contract, rinse, repeat. It is very hard to stop. Some times it feels less out of enjoyment and more out of some kind of a duty. Of course, this isn’t a problem with the game, this is entirely in my head and if anything, it shows good game design. Not being able to put a game down is, the majority of time, a goal in making a game, and usually the sign of a successful one.
– Bugs
I had a couple of bugs while playing. One time I got stuck somewhere unable to move. Then there were multiple times where my ‘show me the dirt’ button wasn’t working. Thankfully all of these were solved by either leaving then re-entering the level, or restarting the game. Nothing too major, just little annoyances, but I could never tell when they were going to happen.
+/- Navigation
The menu is generally laid out well. It is really easy to jump between levels in seconds should you need to. It is designed as a tablet which works well with the theming of a mobile business. You can use the menu button to get a list of things like ‘Shop’ and ‘Settings’. That was all very clear. What wasn’t as clear to me was how to change your clothes. Throughout your cleaning career you are constantly opening your equiptment tab to change the length of your machine, so often that you cease to actually see the menu. What I didn’t notice is that within that tab there is a clothing tab. I only found out after a Google search because I was near the end of the game and desperate to try on my new gear. I never actually figured out how to change the skin of my Power Washer until I purposefully reloaded the game to figure it out specifically for this review. It is a triangle on top of a tab and it is so easy to miss. Again, only minor things but they feel worth mentioning.
+ Game Modes
Career mode is the bulk of the game. You will receive texts from clients offering you jobs. Near the beginning you can often choose between two or three, but by the end it becomes one at a time. As you complete jobs you will earn stars which will unlock upgrades in the shop, and money that will allow you to buy said upgrades. When you are done with career mode you can use free play mode to redo previous areas with all of the shiny equiptment and unlimited soap supplies. Also, there are special levels that contain 4 novelty scenarios to clean. I wonder if this is going to be added to over time. Co-op mode is an option if you want to clean with your friends, or just clean your friends. Finally, there are challenge modes, including time challenges and water usage. I tried and failed a time challenge three times before I hung up my powerwasher. I am no speed cleaner but they are there for others if you are up for perfecting your power washing technique.
+ Story
Wait.. This game has a story? Actually, kind of! As you play through career mode you will recieve funny texts that may or may not be related to the job you are doing. Admittedly, I was so absorbed in my podcasts (Bonfireside Chat in case anyone was wondering) that I didn’t read them for most of the game. As I got to the final third or quarter of the game, things begun happening and the messages were catching my eye more and more. At this point, I was ready to stop playing, thinking that I had had my fill. When I started flagging I went to trusty Google to see how many levels were left, and seeing some of the titles of said levels gave me a bit of a second wind. True enough, I was then committed and had to see it all the way through to the end. I had to know what would happen. The game has a fun tone and it really works in its favour.
+ The little things
There is something so joyful about seeing something you have previously cleaned show up on a level. One example is seeing vehicles you have previously cleaned in the background of your current job. It happens more as the game goes on and consistently gave me a little dopamine boost.
+/- It’s a time sink
Looping back around to the intro, you can spend a lot of hours in this game. On one hand, fantastic. My time is filled without allowing in creeping thoughts or problems. Just keep washing, just keep washing, just keep washing, washing, washing.
On the other hand though, where the hell did my time go? So many hours… down the drain (hur hur).
Final thoughts
I think that is all that I have to say about PowerWash Simulator! Overall, I finished the game. Considering I cleaned every inch of this world, I still feel ever so slightly dirty that I put so many hours into it. The truth is, it is so much easier than cleaning in real life but has a similar satisfying effect. The trouble is, you then stand up from your computer and realise that there will always still be cleaning to do in real life. It served me well, but I am pretty happy to be hanging up my Prime Vista PRO for good.
UPDATE: It was not for good. I picked the game back up for the Tomb Raider DLC and cleaned the entire Croft premises on one screen while taking an online photography course on the other. If I ever need to recall facts about composition I need only place myself in the Trophy Room of the manor. Need information about lenses? Take me to the garden maze! Possibly an unconventional use of a mindless game but I can’t deny its effectiveness on my inattentive ADHD brain.
+ (Non-)realism
+/- The Compulsionism
– Bugs
+/- Navigation
+ Game Modes
+ Story
+ The little things
+/- It’s a time sink
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