Not shotguns, but pressure washers. Put some flowers in your water cleaners. Do the cleaning, not the war. In short, sentences of circumstance, when we are preparing to write the review of Powerwash Simulator, are wasted (like water in the game). The new videogame developed by the British studio FuturLab and published by SquareExnix officially released on consoles on July 14, after it premiered for PC last year. But what is Powerwash Simulator? And above all, how is it?
The game looks like a cleaning simulator in first person. We could therefore define it, coining a new videogame term, such as un FPC (first person cleaner). Does it seem strange to you? Well it is. But remember: never judge the tastes of others. There are those who enjoy arming themselves with a shotgun to headshot the enemies and those who prefer to arm themselves with a pressure washer pump to wash away stubborn dirt.
Actually Powerwash Simulator is much more than a simulator. It is a real rendezvous with thoughts, a relaxing game that gives us back all the satisfaction of a shining object (without the physical effort of manual cleaning).
The Powerwash Simulator review: let’s go clean the world
At the time of launch, the game presents us with various game modes, very different from each other. By choosing the Career, for example, we will be the head of a fledgling cleaning company and we will have to satisfy the requests of our customers. We’ll start by making our van shiny, arm yourself with one basic pressure washer and various eyelets to adjust the power of the jet. All missions can be carried out also in co-op, thanks to online multiplayer.
The different missions, which have no time limit, will allow us to refurbish objects, vehicles, homes and even entire areas, obtaining in exchange for the money to spend in the game shop. This will offer us enhancements, more sophisticated eyelets, cosmetics, soaps and cleansers. The latter will make it easier for us to work on subsequent missions in the dirty city of Muckingham.
Other modes are instead disconnected from the story of the game (which reveals new areas and areas of Muckingham, as well as a strange mystery of a missing cat) allowing us to dedicate ourselves to cleaning our favorite objects. This is the case with the Zen mode. For hardcore cleaning lovers there is also a timed mode, in which we will have to fight the countdown of a clock, in addition to dirt, to clean an object in the shortest possible time. In this case, forget about the relaxing aspect and get ready to wage war on those unbearable mites.
The gameplay: put the wax, remove the wax
There is a kind of masochistic satisfaction in seeing a dirty and encrusted object. The satisfaction that, with a good job, something wonderful could come out of it. This is the pulsating engine of Powerwash Simulator that, with few commands and simple gameplay mechanics, gives us an entire city to clean up, to the sound of jets of water that make the stains disappear to give us bright colors and a better world. The game allows us to choose the power of the jet and equip ourselves with extensions to clean the less accessible areas. The presence of tools such as ladders also gives us the possibility to choose how and where to start our cleaning process.
Through a special command (right arrow of the D-pad) they will come to us highlight the areas that are still dirty. As simple as it is, this mechanic avoids the risk of making the game frustrating and boring, obsessively looking for the last inch of encrustation. Through a tablet we will also have the picture of the situation, to understand where we are with the general cleaning. Larger areas will offer greater rewards, and it will be necessary to establish an action plan to optimize cleaning times. However, time does not seem to be a problem at all: the real peculiarity of Powerwash Simulator lies in its calmas also confirmed by the videogame tagline: “Release the pressure”.
A very pleasant “Ding”Will warn us when a certain section has been completely cleaned, while around it will be possible to interact with other objects (have you ever tried to push a balloon up a slide with a jet pump?). Finally, once the mission is complete, a simple kinematics will summarize how we moved during the cleaning.
The Powerwash Simulator Review: Summing Up
In essence, we can only approve of such a daring game that, while everyone else pushes on the accelerator to deliver frenetic gameplay, it brings us back to the tranquility of the passing time. Cleaning is also and above all a way to unplug and, as the game suggests, release the pressure. An appointment with your own thoughts, with flowing water and chirping birds in the background.
The freedom of action is almost unlimited, like the hidden areas of dirt to be cleaned. Not missing then a small but substantial one strategic component: choosing the right eyelet. Wider jets will cover larger areas, but cleaning will be brief. On the contrary, the use of detergents (which, however, are consumed) will give us a better result on smaller areas.
If you are looking for a pastime, a way to disconnect from the hectic life and frantic games, you will love Powerwash Simulator, a videogame that demands nothing and that doesn’t take itself too seriously. In addition, the game is available on the Xbox Game Pass catalog. At this point all that remains is to repeat together our motto with a pacifist taste: “Not shotguns. But pressure washers “.
PRO
- Variety of items to clean
- Available in the Xbox Gamepass catalog
- Different zones and areas
- Simple and relaxing game mechanics
- You can clean the Mars Rover too!
- Cleaning is nice, but it’s more so in co-op
VERSUS
- Some areas are very large
- At times it can be repetitive
- Lacks true storytelling (but we’re talking about a simulator after all)