PowerWash Simulator 2 Review – Washing Your Worries Away

PowerWash Simulator 2 Review

It is time again to suit up in all rubber, lace those non-slip boots, and grab your trusty blaster. PowerWash Simulator 2 has returned with all-new features, updated graphics, and even more kitties.

Both published and developed by FuturLab, PowerWash Simulator 2 picks up shortly after where the original game ended. After a complex and fascinating tale with missing cats, a giant merman statue, a volcano, and a strange temple, Muckington has finally settled down. In the early hours of the game, the giant jewel has gone missing from the merman statue. The beam of light that coursed across the sky has disappeared. Peculiar things are happening again in town, and you’ll uncover them with your trusty powerwasher and adorable cats in tow.

Wacky Adventure, Relaxing Gameplay

It’s great when a sequel picks up where the previous entry left off. Seeing the consequences and narrative progression continue helps the player engage immediately – provided they were there for the first journey. I greatly enjoyed the first game, finding it engaging, charming, and silly in a quirky way. I am happy to see these elements return as the story continues, but for those who are unfamiliar, the story might be a bit jarring. The merman statue had slipped my mind, so to see a picture of it pop up on screen was a surprise. I remembered the story, but those who don’t know what happened might be thrown off.

I’m glad the narrative could appear both in dialogue and visual features. Stages like the amusement park offer clear nods to the levels from the previous PowerWash Simulator. Text messages from the citizens return, popping up in the corner of the screen as you clean stages. Previously, these texts were pretty small. If you were focused on the job at hand, it was easy to miss what was said. That could be story points or some simple jokes. This time around, for PowerWash Simulator 2, messages have been redesigned and increased. The messages pop up on screen without being overbearing. Being able to enjoy those messages much more easily only amplified an already delightful experience.

Stark Improvements

PowerWash Simulator 2 takes everything that works from the first game and improves on it. It’s already a zen-filled, relaxing experience to play. Using a power washer with unlimited water to clean up the messes the people of Muckington find themselves in. Players can spend their hard-earned cash to get more powerful washers and new attachments. The stronger the washer, the more effective it is. You’ll definitely notice the difference as you upgrade to stronger nozzles. If you’ve played the last game, you’ll know that FuturLab already nailed the physics and presentation of the water as the dirt is cleaned off. What makes PowerWash Simulator 2 stand out so much more is the new cleaning features.

Soap used to be a purchase with in-game currency. It was a consumable and came in a variety of styles for different problems. I never used it, preferring to take the time with my tools instead. This has been completely revamped and improved with PowerWash Simulator 2. Now, with a simple button press, you can swap to an all-purpose soap sprayer. It costs nothing at all; it’s a feature you start the game with. After a few levels, you’ll find very tough stains to deal with beneath the regular dirt, and this soap sprayer just makes it infinitely easier to clean. Speaking of dirt, the help feature defaults to highlighting those pesky dirt stains in orange, but the option to change the color helps a ton. I find orange blends into a lot of the brightly colored features of PowerWash Simulator 2, so I prefer having mine set to green.

Another big selling point for PowerWash Simulator 2 is the introduction of the scissorlift. Stools, ladders, and scaffolding help with much larger stages, and the scissorlift is a huge addition. What I didn’t expect to truly love was the inclusion of the abseiling. Large vertical surfaces are now not only significantly easier to clean but also to traverse. The controls for both the abseiling and scissorlift are incredibly smooth, and even the scaffolding has been improved. It is easier to climb with more room to maneuver. PowerWash Simulator 2 feels like FuturLab listened to every comment the fans had and improved on the experience in exemplary fashion.

Scissorlift and Abseiling are Game Changers

Having played the DLC packs for PowerWash Simulator, I felt that the base game was missing more interactive features within the world. PowerWash Simulator 2 rectifies that with new physics features, such as a rocking chair to clean, and so many others. Opening the back doors of a van to clean inside. Turning off the brushes of a street sweeper. Definitely the emergency public washroom stage that sinks into the ground when not in use. These kinds of features, while small, make the stages of PowerWash Simulator 2 so much more memorable

Multiplayer is yet again a feature of the game, but this time around players will be able to customize their own powerwashing business. As you progress through the campaign levels’ you’ll unlock very dirty pieces of furniture to clean. Once purchased, you can head downstairs to the garage to clean it up and then place it in the lounge to decorate your business. When inviting other players over to play, they will be able to experience your decorating style. In typical PowerWash Simulator fashion, I’m sure we can expect a plethora of new stages and decorations to come.

If there is one thing I wish PowerWash Simulator 2 would have added it would be a soundtrack. It wouldn’t need to be anything powerful or booming, just something in the background. Some stages are incredibly large. They easily take over an hour to clean, usually much more. Much like real life, I think the experience could benefit from just a little background noise other than the sound of water blasting everything clean.

No Tunes

PowerWash Simulator 2 takes everything about the previous game and simply makes it better. What was already a captivating, charming, zen-like experience has been made even better with improved graphics, larger stages, and a number of fantastic QOL improvements that the fans had hoped for. New features like the scissorlift and abseiling make for subtle yet engaging improvements to the gameplay.

PowerWash Simulator 2 is available on Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. For more information, check out the game’s official website.

**PS5 code provided by the publisher**