In a galaxy far, distant, there have been a bunch of lazy sods who merely couldn’t be bothered to correctly preserve their gear. No self-respecting Empire ought to go away the bridge of a Star Destroyer wanting like Shrek used it as his private swamp, and Luke Skywalker needs to be completely ashamed of the state he left his aunt and uncle’s homestead in. Frankly, it’s surprising.
This overview comes from the angle of a power-washing noob. I didn’t play the primary Powerwash Simulator regardless of eager to. I didn’t graduate from the hallowed College of “What the Fuck Is That and Why Is It So Sticky?”, nor was I skilled by the traditional power-washing grand masters. I’m merely a person with a van, a dream — that I clearly gave up on, as a result of right here we’re — and a budget-friendly washing unit. I don’t ask questions. I do selectively select jobs. You probably have the money, you can also rent… a bloke in a van who has no plan.
REVIEW AT A GLANCE
Developer FuturLab
Writer FutureLab
Reviewed On PS5
Obtainable On PS5,Xbox Collection, Swap 2, PC
Launch Date 23/10/2025
Value (UK) £19.99/ Star Wars Pack £7.99
Style Simulation
Evaluate Code Offered by FuturLab
Fast Take:
Captivatingly easy, deeply stress-free and renovating for the soul.
Anyone has nonetheless determined that I’m certified to scrub every thing from vehicles and tractors to theatres, temples and massive Imperial warfare machines. No person requested to see a certificates, carried out a background verify or questioned whether or not handing this random Scottish man a high-powered jet of water was a wise thought. They merely pointed me in direction of a number of tonnes of concentrated filth and trusted that I’d finally make it shiny.
They selected properly.
PowerWash Simulator 2 performs precisely how you’d anticipate it to. You flip in your strain washer after which transfer left, proper, up and down, slicing a path by means of layers of filth, grime and no matter unholy substances these individuals have apparently been residing in. It’s easy. It isn’t even enjoyable, per se, however it’s rewarding, stress-free and renovating for the soul.
On paper, this could not work, and but it completely does. There’s something mentally satisfying about slicing by means of a layer of filth and revealing the crisp colors, clear shapes and infrequently shiny metallic hidden beneath it. Each sweep of the nozzle supplies seen progress, and earlier than lengthy you’re utterly absorbed in a activity that sounds catastrophically boring everytime you try to explain it to a different human being.
Why within the title of the Power did I spend three hours cleansing an AT-AT from the bottom up? Why did I spend an hour restoring an Artwork Deco home and really feel genuinely pleased with myself when it sparkled on the finish? Nothing about that sounds thrilling. Actually, it appears like home tasks. But one way or the other PowerWash Simulator 2 is captivatingly easy, captivatingly silly and remarkably tough to cease taking part in.
The degrees vary from small vehicles and tractors proper as much as complete theatres, discos, temples and different sprawling areas that may take hours to scrub. The pacing is usually dealt with properly, although, as the big jobs will typically give strategy to one thing a lot smaller that may be wrapped up in 5 or ten minutes. You aren’t all the time staring down the barrel of one other two-hour dedication, even when the bigger ranges are the place the sport’s hypnotic qualities actually start to take maintain.
Many areas additionally conceal further sections behind dramatic reveals. You’ll lastly end cleansing an space, just for a hid room, folded-away roof or mysterious extension to swing open and reveal but extra grime ready to be blasted away. Typically this produces an exhausted cry of, “Oh, for fuck’s sake, there’s extra?” Different occasions it’s extra like, “Thank Christ, much more filth to assuage my soul.” In some way, each feelings can exist concurrently.
Mechanically, there are many nozzles and attachments meant to boost the method. You may equip a triple-tip nozzle that fires three jets of water throughout a wider space, or a wierd rotating turbo attachment that’s significantly good at chopping by means of cussed stains. Nonetheless, I not often discovered a lot purpose to make use of most of them as a result of the adjustable nozzle, which might be bought virtually instantly, dealt with virtually every thing I wanted.
Tapping left and proper on the D-pad adjustments the width of its stream, permitting me to slender it for extra concentrated strain or open it as much as cowl big arcs throughout partitions and flooring. With that in hand, I used to be in a position to deal with each job simply as effectively as I felt I’d have accomplished with the separate nozzles. I’m certain there are significant variations buried within the numbers someplace, and maybe if I had carried out managed experiments and devoted my life to the honourable pursuit of pressure-washing science, I may need found them.
I didn’t.
It’s to the sport’s credit score that it by no means forces you to make use of any of the specialist gear, although. You possibly can refuse to purchase something, proceed utilizing the default washer and nonetheless finally make it by means of. Positive, you may need to spend 5 minutes spraying the identical cussed patch forwards and backwards till both the filth or your sanity lastly offers in, however persistence alone will get the job accomplished.
The one further instruments I used with any consistency had been the cleaning soap nozzle, which helped take away a number of the extra cussed stains with out spending half a working day attacking them with plain water, and the splendidly ridiculous floor cleaner. This can be a large rotating disc that may be connected to flooring, partitions and ceilings, permitting you to wander round in circles whereas it cheerfully scours every thing beneath it. It’s the form of machine you see janitors in motion pictures mysteriously seem with after which, moments later, equally mysteriously disappear with.
As you full objects inside every degree, little funds land in your checking account and step by step construct sufficient of a fortune to buy new gear. Strain washers progress from mild to medium, heavy and finally skilled, with the soar between every tier offering a noticeable enchancment in energy. There are additionally two competing manufacturers, with one supposedly favouring uncooked blasting energy whereas the opposite affords barely extra protection, however I by no means felt that the distinction was pronounced sufficient to essentially care. The transfer from one gear class to the following mattered; the emblem printed on the facet didn’t.
I’d have favored the manufacturers to own extra distinctive strengths and weaknesses, though admittedly there would possibly solely be so many thrilling methods to distinguish one machine that fires water very arduous from one other machine that additionally fires water very arduous. Because it stands, I normally purchased whichever one occurred to catch my eye and received again to the essential enterprise of eradicating filth.
Alongside the conventional money used to buy sensible gear, you additionally earn PowerWash Factors, a separate forex that may be spent on cosmetics and furnishings. These assist you to purchase new skins on your washer, your van and even your self, though most of it felt largely pointless from my perspective. Take the van, for instance. It’s a distant object within the background that you simply would possibly look directly throughout a degree as a result of the remainder of your time is spent staring forlornly at a layer of grime so thick that archaeologists are starting to show up and ask you to cease disturbing the location.
The Dwelling Base is one other solely optionally available addition that I very not often entertained. The concept is that you could journey again there between jobs, pet your cats and spend PowerWash Factors on furnishings, which you then hilariously should energy wash earlier than putting down. Nonetheless, I by no means discovered a lot purpose to return. It’s basically an area you’ll be able to enhance and use the map to pick out your subsequent vacation spot, however I might additionally hit proceed, select the following job and soar straight into it. I’m certain some individuals will get pleasure from having a bit of headquarters of their very own, and it’s a good addition for them, however it did nothing for me.
I’m right here to energy wash issues. That’s my solely function in life.
The areas themselves are in the end the place PowerWash Simulator 2 works its magic. They’re various, imaginative and usually strike a great stability between giant, satisfying surfaces and smaller, extra intricate particulars. The sport is at its finest if you find yourself making fixed, seen progress: dragging the nozzle throughout a dirty wall and watching a clear line seem behind it, or stripping years of grime from a automobile one brilliant metallic panel at a time.
I’m right here to energy wash issues. That’s my solely function in life.
Sometimes, although, a degree will tip a bit of too far in direction of the fiddly facet. Pipes, railings, bolts, equipment and awkwardly recessed sections can drive you to hunt for tiny patches of filth which might be solely reachable from one very particular angle. More often than not it’s merely a gentle irritation. You reposition your self, swap nozzle or climb a ladder and finally get the job accomplished, however it could actually interrupt the stress-free circulation if you find yourself caught attempting to fireplace a jet of water by means of a niche roughly three millimetres extensive.
Shifting the bigger items of kit might be annoying as properly. Ladders, scaffolding towers and scissor lifts might be picked up and carried round to assist attain awkward areas, however positioning them whereas standing at floor degree makes it tough to guage the place the highest will find yourself. The sport additionally has an irritating behavior of turning an object pink and declaring it can’t be positioned someplace with out making it remotely clear why. Transfer it a couple of inches, even perhaps again in direction of the very same patch of floor, and out of the blue every thing is okay.
Some form of devoted placement mode would have helped enormously, maybe permitting the digital camera to tug again right into a top-down or isometric view whilst you moved the item instantly. It may need been much less real looking, however it might have been significantly extra helpful, and wrestling with invisible placement restrictions is hardly the head of genuine pressure-washing simulation.
Surprisingly, PowerWash Simulator 2 even has a narrative, and an honest one at that. To the sport’s credit score, nevertheless, it’s also solely optionally available. As you play by means of the degrees, textual content messages from numerous characters seem within the bottom-left nook, whereas occasional environmental particulars feed right into a hidden background narrative of bizarre mysteries, conspiracies and more and more unusual goings-on.
I can’t spoil any of it right here, and there’s a good likelihood you would play by means of all the recreation with out noticing a lot of it anyway. You may ignore each message, proceed fortunately spraying cleaning soap and hold slicing by means of the filth to uncover no matter vibrant treasures are buried beneath. Nonetheless, do you have to resolve to concentrate, the story is genuinely fairly entertaining and provides one other little reward past watching a progress bar steadily crawl in direction of 100%.
Personally, I used to be normally too busy role-playing as a bloke for whom all of that is a wholly regular working day. I don’t query who hires me; I merely flip up and do the job. I don’t care that I’m cleansing an enormous four-legged Imperial warfare machine. That’s not my drawback. I don’t care that the bridge of the Star Destroyer I’m washing has in all probability been chargeable for numerous deaths. Once more, not my drawback. I’ve no questions concerning the odd temple that has a secret staircase going right into a basement the place a smartphone resides on an altar.
Rebels, Empire, firms or a pleasant aged couple who haven’t cleaned their patio since 1976: I serve whoever pays the bill. You level me in direction of the filth and I’ll make it tremendous shiny.
The Star Wars Particular Pack follows the identical primary philosophy. It doesn’t dramatically alter the gameplay or add some revolutionary new mechanic; it merely supplies six extra issues to scrub, besides these items occur to be iconic areas and autos from a galaxy far, distant. The pack contains Luke Skywalker’s childhood homestead on Tatooine, an X-wing, an AT-AT, the Mos Eisley cantina, the bridge of a Star Destroyer and the Millennium Falcon, all recreated with a powerful quantity of element.
There’s something inherently amusing about seeing these legendary items of Star Wars historical past diminished to a different depressing cleansing contract. The contextual story surrounding every job is enjoyable as properly, though there may be much less of a grand conspiracy and extra of a proof for why every thing has been left in such a disgraceful situation. Why does the Millennium Falcon seem like it was sunk within the swamps of Dagobah for 500 years, dredged up, dropped again in for one more 12 months after which painted with seaweed? As a result of Lando Calrissian borrowed it from Han Solo for a job and didn’t deliver it again in fairly the identical situation.
Comprehensible, actually. Now we have all borrowed one thing from a pal and returned it wanting like Shrek did a line of pepper, sneezed throughout all the factor after which deserted it in a lavatory.
I do want the pack had often leaned additional into Star Wars’ darker humour. I’d have fortunately cleaned a suspicious pink smear from beneath the foot of the AT-AT after it crushed some Insurgent scum, and sprucing Darth Vader’s armour again to its correct shiny black end looks as if an apparent missed alternative. I additionally wouldn’t have complained if the builders had let me clear the bones of Luke’s aunt and uncle, though that final suggestion won’t match the cheerful, stress-free environment they had been aiming for. Cowards, frankly.
As an entire, although, it’s a good jaunt by means of Star Wars lore and the areas of the unique trilogy. It isn’t essentially overflowing with extremely obscure deep cuts, and there may be clearly much more from the franchise that might have been included, however at £7.99 for six new jobs, it looks like a good quantity of content material for the worth. Many of the ranges are enjoyable to work by means of, faithfully recreated and crammed with recognisable little particulars and references. And I like that they caught to the unique trilogy.
The main exception is the Millennium Falcon, which grew to become significantly extra irritating than the remainder of the pack. The ship is of course lined in panels, vents, equipment, touchdown gear and numerous tiny nooks and crannies, all of which have to be cleaned from the right angle. That design is trustworthy to the supply materials, however it additionally means the extent spends far an excessive amount of time forcing you to seek out tiny patches behind pipes or inside gaps moderately than letting you make these broad, satisfying sweeps throughout a floor.
It will definitely began to really feel much less like PowerWash Simulator and extra like precise power-washing work, which is unquestionably the best insult I can provide it.
Nonetheless, except for the Falcon’s fiddliness, I loved the pack and am to see the place future DLC goes. The unique PowerWash Simulator grew to become well-known for one way or the other convincing a rare number of licence holders to let gamers blast their most well-known creations with pressurised water, together with SpongeBob SquarePants and Warhammer 40,000. Ought to the sequel finally get anyplace close to that very same degree of selection, I stay up for switching off my mind and cleansing all of it.
Sadly, the PS5 model additionally has some disagreeable efficiency issues. With autosaving enabled, I skilled extreme frame-rate drops every time the sport appeared to avoid wasting, with efficiency briefly collapsing into what felt like the only digits. In addition to wanting horrible, the stuttering affected the controls, inflicting my goal to jerk throughout the floor and go away random clear traces wherever the spray had bounced.
Disabling autosave made a dramatic enchancment. The worst stutters grew to become far much less frequent and the sport usually felt a lot smoother, though it didn’t utterly clear up the issue. Bigger, extra difficult ranges might nonetheless endure from occasional body drops, with the Millennium Falcon as soon as once more being a very good instance.
Turning off autosave additionally creates the apparent danger of dropping a major quantity of progress ought to the sport crash or one thing else go unsuitable. The workaround definitely helps, however gamers mustn’t have to decide on between steady efficiency and the reassurance that a number of hours of digital cleansing won’t out of the blue vanish.
In Conclusion…
In the end, I’d argue that PowerWash Simulator 2 is barely even a recreation at this level. It’s meditative remedy for the soul. Often, we play video games to have enjoyable, problem ourselves, take a look at our reflexes or even perhaps assume actually arduous about one thing, however once I was taking part in PowerWash Simulator 2, I used to be intentionally occupied with nothing. I’d normally put a podcast on within the background, level the nozzle at one other layer of mysterious filth and easily swap my mind off.
It’s the form of recreation you sit down with for 20 minutes, solely to have a look at the clock three hours later and marvel the place the night went. You haven’t saved the galaxy, defeated an historical evil or outsmarted a rival participant. You might have merely pressure-washed an previous theatre, a tractor or an infinite Imperial warfare machine till it sparkled.
You haven’t actually accomplished something, and but you come away feeling relaxed, calm and refreshed, as if you’ve gotten spent the night tidying up your individual mind as a lot as the sport’s world. PowerWash Simulator 2 mustn’t work. Nothing about shifting a jet of water forwards and backwards throughout a wall sounds compelling, and but right here I’m, dozens of hours later, already questioning what else wants cleaned.
It’s captivatingly easy, captivatingly silly and renovating for the soul. However will it encourage me to lastly clear my precise home? Hell no.
