Cozy gaming and water ASMR is the perfect recipe for quieting the mind and relaxing. Power Wash Simulator is exactly what it sounds like. You are a hired service, commissioned to clean up the mess. Between the visual progress and zoning out listening to the soothing spray of the pressure washer nozzle, this game is a constant stream (pun intended) of dopamine.
Take a quick lunch break and admire the scenery. Carnival rides, homes in the woods, and ancient desert civilizations all need to be cleaned.
If you stand too close to the windows while cleaning this shoe house for some Little Old Lady, you may hear the ominous sound of her kids talking and moving inside. Admittedly, that creeped me out at times. This is the closest to "scary" as this game gets, and even then it's more creepy.
While cleaning you occasionally come across some fun graffiti. Use the white nozzle (lowest setting) to spray off the surface dirt to expose these Easter eggs.
Up until this point I was ignoring my in-game phone notifications. Because of my visual disability, I often miss information that pops up in one of the corners of my screen in any of the games I play. By the time I see the notifications they would be clearing off the screen. There also didn't seem to be a way to respond to these messages so I thought they might just be fun facts. Once I got to the desert the story really presented itself and it was fun to know that there was actual lore.
That's right, I said it...LORE! The fate of the world and an alien and/or ancient civilization depends on me! At least that's the story I got from it. I'm sure it says it on the developers page. In any event, I did it!
Even after I finished Career mode, there were so many more side jobs to be done. I logged over 130 hours in playtime, and that's an honest number.
Shrek DLC
I highly recommend the Shrek DLC for any hardcore fans out there. I watched a marathon of all 4 Shrek movies while cleaning different POIs. Long after the movies were over I was still happily cleaning away.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Colorful graphics, but not overstimulating. The water spray hitting different materials is satisfying, with my favorite being the water dripping down metal
Occasional sounds coming from inside a building or ambient noises from nature are the only competition for the white noise of the water. However, it would be nice to have the ability to play music, find tracks, purchase audio players in game the way you can with skins and clothing.
Keyboard and controller compatibility, but I played on keyboard which is standard.
As a gamer with a visual disability it would be nice to have a mode that allowed for the highlight feature to contrast the background.
The laid back gameplay is exactly what you look for in a cozy game, but I did find at times I wanted to listen to music or interact with the gnome statues (rotate and place rather than just picking up and dropping). Also, every item you clean has a dollar amount. Whether I'm 80% or 99% done, I want to be able to finish the job and accept the loss of the dollar amount rather than drive myself crazy trying to find a tiny spec of hidden dirt. Let it count towards Reputation points and future earnings. Completionists will 100% it anyway, while a more casual gamer is not going to care.
PROS / CONS
- running water ASMR
- cute graphics
- gnomes
- cozy game play
- PLENTY of jobs to keep you occupied for casual or obsessive gameplay
- 100% completion or nothing
- no soundtrack
- what's the point of custom clothes?
- accessibility
