Powerwash Simulator 2 Review – Wash Your Woes Away

I have played the hell out of PowerWash Simulator; all the levels, DLC, and achievements. I even replayed the entire game for a psychology study. So I was absolutely looking forward to more of the chill vibes and satisfying dings when PowerWash Simulator 2 was announced. Imagine my surprise when the release was so soon after the actual announcement.

PowerWash Simulator 2 is set a few months after the events of the first game, with your player character having gotten enough success as a power wash company to move operations out of a random suburban garage and into a proper business space. Though you have had to sell almost all your old washers to be able to afford the new place, which is the game’s excuse for setting you back to square one as far as your equipment goes. Of course, given that PowerWash Simulator 2 has made changes to the existing washers to make them more distinct from each other and added a third washer to the mix with its own gimmick, it’s absolutely understandable that the developers done this.

As with the first game, you start off by washing a work vehicle. But this time it’s a moving truck instead of your company van, about twice as big as the first game’s first level, which is a nice way of saying the sequel is going to be bigger and more ambitious than the original PowerWash Simulator. There are not just more power washers, there are more levels, more level types, more equipment to mess around with, and so so many more dings.

One of the new features added to PowerWash Simulator 2 is the company building itself, which acts as a hub level and can be decorated with furniture bought from the in-game store with Power Wash Points – a secondary in-game currency used for cosmetics and furniture – which can be arranged however you want around your home base (once you give them a thorough washing, that is).

After your tutorial mission, PowerWash Simulator 2 doesn’t waste any time introducing one of its new tricks: multi-stage levels. The way these work is that you can only clean a certain portion of the level at first, after which another section will open up, revealing more stuff to clean. For example, the level that introduces the concept has you cleaning what seems like an elaborate sitting ledge, only for it to pop up and reveal it’s a hi tech hideaway public toilet. And when you finish cleaning its interior, it opens up to allow you inside to finish cleaning the interior.

Another big addition to PowerWash Simulator 2 is that there’s more equipment. In addition to the improved scaffolding which has ladders on the side for faster ascent, there’s also the abseiling equipment, which allows you to move up and down a wall as easily as moving around on a floor. This is introduced in a level where you must clear a highway billboard, which is also a perfect exemplifier of one of the new types of washer, the flat surface cleaner. This brings me handily to the way that PowerWash Simulator 2 has handled its equipment differently from PowerWash Simulator.

In Powerwash Simulator, there was a single direct line of power washers that were all essentially linear upgrades from each other, with an undisputed “best” washer at the end of the line. You could also spend your money on additional nozzles, length extensions and soaps to make cleaning certain surfaces easier. PowerWash Simulator 2 on the other hand changes the two brands from the first game into two distinct washer lines, one with a wider of area effect but less dirt cutting power, and one with the opposite effect. The two lines also have different capstone nozzles. One of them has the three pronged nozzle from the original game, while the other line with more cutting power gets a double rotating nozzle that just cuts through the grime in a pair of overlapping circle patterns. And the third washer type is hyper specialized for cleaning flat surfaces like floors and walls, perfect for use with the abseiling device.

The developers have also changed how soap works dramatically. In the original PowerWash Simulator, soap cost money and certain soaps worked better on certain surfaces. It was entirely possible to use it wastefully, and if you misused it, you were out of that money. In PowerWash Simulator 2, however, soap doesn’t cost money, instead you just have a limited supply of it available at once, though it does refill once you wash it off. Also, if you apply it over something that’s already clean, it vanishes automatically.

Speaking of washers, money, and resources, you can buy and, just as importantly, sell your washers and accessories at any point, even mid level. So you can choose to buy a washer for one mission, sell it and use a different one the next, and sell off your lower grade washers once they become redundant. Of course, the game does eventually give you enough cash to buy all the washers, but it’s nice that you’re not stuck with anything and you don’t have to limp along with the weakest washer for several levels if you want to jump straight to the top tier like in the first game.

For those of you wondering about the story, it’s just as absurd as in the first game. The corrupt mayor has somehow gotten back into power and is running a “best city” competition for all the various locales of Caldera County, the overall setting of the series, mostly as a distraction from the hare-brained and very dangerous plan you inevitably must stop. This plot takes you to and see you clean all sorts of wild places and things, from a giant billboard to a flying motorcycle.

My only real complaint about PowerWash Simulator 2 is that, while it has multiple control schemes, I couldn’t remap the buttons freely, so I couldn’t set nozzle rotation to right mouse click, for example. But I otherwise adore this game and cannot wait for the announcement of more levels or even DLC. If you liked the first PowerWash Simulator at all, go get this one. You won’t regret it.

Tim reviewed PowerWash Simulator 2 on PC with his own bought copy. This review is based on the version of the game available at the time of writing and our score will not be changed.