PowerWash Simulator Steam Deck Review
Hi, my name is Greg and I’m addicted to PowerWash Simulator. If you would have told me a couple of months ago I would be playing a game about cleaning dirt, I would have said you were mad. If you were to also tell me not only would I be playing a game about cleaning dirt but I’d also have a favourite coloured nozzle, which is yellow by the way, I’d be worried about where my life is headed, but yet here we are.
PowerWash Simulator is pretty self-explanatory when it comes to gameplay, a client gives you a job to clean something and that’s exactly what you do. The method of cleaning is left entirely up to you and you’ll start with your Power Washer and a few attachments allowing for different levels of pressure and coverage. There’s no right or wrong way to clean and you are not directed to use any specific attachment, it’s all down to you.
I can’t describe the satisfaction that cleaning a house, car or even a Fire Station that this game has given me, there’s something very ‘zen’ about the whole experience. It’s slow-paced and methodical which I know won’t be for everyone, I have a feeling you will either love this game or not see the point in it at all.
PowerWash Simulator starts with your character starting their business, your first client is yourself and you are cleaning your sign-written work van.
Each job that comes in get’s progressively more intricate and you’ll be awarded Stars as full as cash as you complete jobs, with a maximum of 5 starts being dished out per job. As you progress and complete more jobs, you’ll be able to purchase improved Power Washers, nozzles and cleaning liquids, with more items becoming available depending on how many stars you have in total.
While cleaning, a total percentage is shown in the top left-side corner showing your progress, this usually increases fast at first but slows to an almost grinding halt as you enter the 90%+ and have already cleaned all the obvious areas in a map and you will have to search high and low to find the remaining areas to clean. Luckily, you can always access your tablet that shows each part that needs to be cleansed along with its percentage completed, this becomes integral on some of the later career maps.
Along with the percentage is an indication of what type of material you are cleaning, Stone, Metal, Plastic etc. You can upgrade your powerwasher to use various types of Cleaning Liquids which are the quickest way to clean certain materials. For example, Plastic cleaning liquid will have plastic areas pretty much cleaned on contact and these liquids can be purchased at any time from your tablet, however, they are limited in stock and will be replenished as you earn more stars. While these liquid cleaners are fantastic, they run out quickly, so I suggest saving them until you encounter a particularly tough job.
Jobs get progressively more challenging as your progress through the career mode with some of the larger ones taking me over two hours to complete, this may sound tedious but it’s actually quite relaxing. The majority of my time with PowerWash Simulator was spent on the Steam Deck, this meant I could relax while listening to podcasts, or catching up on some youtube passively in the background, it is the perfect game to play while your brain is somewhat disengaged and the dopamine hit you get when finally cleaning a rather nasty area is unmatched by other gaming experiences.
The only bad thing I would say about PowerWash Simulator is sometimes the dirt and grime are hidden a little too well. Often, I found myself scouring the map at 99% complete looking for the tiniest patch of dirt, even with the ability to disclose remaining filth using a D-pad button to make it a bright orange, sometimes it just couldn’t figure out where the last bit was. I would have to select the final item in the tablet and find the flashing selected item only for it to look perfectly clean. I’d have to clean it thoroughly until I heard the sweet ‘ping’ of completion sound. Perhaps options to change the disclosure colour would have been a nice addition and probably would have helped in these situations.
PowerWash Simulator features Cooperative multiplayer which may be a nice option for some. I have a strict method of how I like to clean in-game and playing with someone else would cause nothing but arguments. My partner was so impressed with the gameplay that she decided to buy her very own copy.
We did attempt to play cooperatively, however, we couldn’t get the game to start on her laptop without it defaulting to the integrated graphics, after many hours of troubleshooting we couldn’t seem to fix this and from what I could see online we were not the only ones having this problem. We eventually gave up and both opted to play the game on our Steam Decks.
Being published by Square-Enix has led to some fantastic crossover content from some of Square-Enix’s IPs. The first DLC pack released is a crossover with the Tomb Raider series and it’s none other than Lara Croft’s Mansion, which is absolutely huge including not only the house but also all the fountains etc around the property. After you clean the manor, you then unlock the ability to clean the famous Obstacle Course and Quad Bike from the games.
The second, and newest crossover is with Final Fantasy 7 known as the Midgar Special Pack which features a total of five unique jobs, including the Iconic Hardy-Daytona, the Airbuster and Scorpion Sentinel Bosses and even Tifa’s Bar Seventh Heaven which even features a lot of the characters weapons which are all in need of a good cleaning.
I’m really hoping for future Square-Enix collaborations as I would love to see a Nier Automata Crossover and I think the various robots would be a great fit.
Conclusion
PowerWash Simulator might just ruin your life but in a good way. I spent well over 50+ hours playing through just the career mode and I am left wanting more. I fear I’ve become somewhat evangelical about the game spreading the good word about PowerWash Simulator and so far I have ‘converted’ at least five previous non-believers to the church of PowerWashing. That said, I can see how the game wouldn’t be for everyone, you are either going to love it or hate it and I’m pleased the say I am the former.
9
Steam review code kindly provided by Square Enix