‘Powerwash Simulator’: My Unexpected Comfort Game

I often spend my gaming time as “low impact” as possible. Think Kobe on some of those last playoff runs saying he was only dunking if necessary (Hi, Emeka Okafor). So, when I come home from a long day of wishing I was doing anything but what I normally do, I often settle into games that don’t require a whole lot of thought. The exceptions, of course, being the games I get to review and write about. PowerWash Simulator has quickly become one of my go-to “Don’t think about it” games.

I’ve always made a point to download whatever PlayStation tosses out as the free games for the month because, you know, free. I was aware of the Simulator games, but never paid them much attention because I was always playing something else to clear my mind. But, when I fired up PowerWash Simulator for the first time, it immediately became clear that this game was for me.

RELAXATION SIMULATOR

The first few jobs given to me in the game gave me a weird sort of peace. I sunk into my chair and got into this insane rhythm of switching nozzles and cleaning solutions. As the jobs got larger, so did my level of chill. I’d take a section or two per session and looked forward to that telltale “CHA-CHING” and flash of blue that let me know I had cleared all the gunk.

I recently finished a large skate park job that took about three days to finish. Cutting through grime with unnecessarily powerful streams of water that would peel my skin like a banana in real life felt great. And that’s despite the fact the initial sight of all the dirt is striking. After a while, though, it became easier to plan what I wanted to attack first.

It’s crazy to me that a Simulator game would have me in a chokehold the way it has. I can’t even really put my finger on what about it makes it a good game, but it absolutely is. There’s an obvious thought from the devs about what makes this game the perfect clear-your-mind game. They make sure to make finishing the jobs as easy as possible. You’re not tasked with perfectly cleaning the surfaces. And that makes a difference when you’re cleaning a ridiculously large area.

Feeling power-washed

The fact that there are continued updates and additions to the game is pretty cool. The devs do a great job of keeping PowerWash Simulator interesting through these partnerships. From the standpoint of giving me something else to take my mind off of things, I’m glad this game exists. It’s become my go-to for full-blown disassociation. And given how things are currently, it’s a pretty important piece of my life.