A few years ago, my friend Paul introduced me to a game that I honestly did not think I would still be playing today, and that game was Powerwash Simulator, by the very talented team at FuturLab. Now I have played some interesting Simulator games in the past before from things like House Flipper, Hunting Simulator, and even one where you play as a Lawnmower but never one where you clean houses and other objects. Now this game has been a life changer for me, being the game, I go to when I need to relax or I just want to do a bit of casual cleaning, and when I say you can clean almost anything I am not kidding. Powerwash Simulator has now graced itself onto more platforms from PC where I first played this gem to the consoles and now VR. Yes, you heard me right you can play this beauty on the Meta Quests and my god is this one of the best experiences of VR gaming.
Powerwash Simulator VR takes everything you know from the PC and console ports and adds the feature to be able to do what you want, move the way you want, and add the flow of relaxation as you now control the power washer the way it was intended. I have been playing this game on my Meta Quest 3 now for a month and have completed so many jobs and cleaned things from an entire fire station, I have cleaned an entire skate park and even a children’s playground. Powerwash Simulator even gives you the chance to clean things like SpongeBob SquarePants house and different locations in Bikini Bottom; if that’s not up your cup of tea then how about the DeLorean from Back to the Future? The endless possibilities are ranged, and I mean you can clean pretty much anything.
The Sim That Gives You That Dream Clean
Gameplay and Mechanics
Powerwash Simulator VR starts the same way as the original ports, you own a power washing business, you have your blue van and uniform, sent out to explore Muckingham and rid the city of the grime and filth. You are provided with a power washer, a handful of different-sized nozzles, extensions to help reach dirt further away, and soaps for different grimes such as rust on metals, etc. Powerwash Simulator VR introduces a lot more features where you can clean objects more fluently that were unable to be done on the other versions for example in the PC and console editions you would have to climb up the ladder to get a bit on the side of a object that you just could not get due to the angle moving the mouse of joy sticks all over the place hoping it hit the spot. But not in the VR version, you can now move your hands and turn in any direction you choose, and I honestly found this to be a huge improvement as it made cleaning so much easier than using the ladder and steps to get to a bit, I missed which was so simple yet unable to reach on the other ports.
You have the freedom to do what you need to clean the objects, and this makes it more precise and accurate honestly, I found this version so much more enjoyable I could be on it for hours and not even realise that half the day the day was gone. I don’t know what it is but the idea of cleaning with a power washer is oddly satisfying for men thanks to this game. Who doesn’t like seeing the before and aftereffects of what you cleaned in a sped-up motion just makes it all worthwhile don’t it? Every level is different, as you progress you will unlock new locations for you to clean, some small and some large; I cannot lie some have taken me a good few hours and the VR version has actually shortened that. Want to clean a car? You can! How about a merry-go-round? You can! You can clean from buildings to vehicles, and even structures, and as you explore, you’ll unlock lore and interesting stories surrounding the people of Muckingham.
The possibilities are truly endless. You have many modes including career, free play, and specials which include things like the Croft Manor from the Tomb Raider series and even bonus jobs so why not clean a Mars Rover and challenge mode, you will never run out of things to clean. Want to clean with one of your buddies? Well, you can just enable coop and you and your friend can tackle the grime together in career mode you can play up to 2 whereas bonus and free play is up to 4 so all your friends can play. Just like in the other versions of Powerwash Simulator, allows you to attach different nozzles and extensions, the only difference in this version is the fact you can attach them yourself which was such a cool feature to add. One thing I enjoyed about this version was blocking out the real world and feeling like I was the power washer even writing and drawing on the surfaces was much more fun than trying to write hello using the controller or mouse. Now you have a toolbelt which you will find your equipment on which will hold your nozzles, soaps, and extensions. If you struggle a tutorial mode is also available whenever you need help learning the controls. If you go into your tablet on the game and enter the shop you can spend your hard earned money on things like clothing to give yourself the perfect look. Modifications which lets you customise the power washers and extensions. Equipment where you can purchase the newest attachments and accessories to kit out your power washer. Cleaning Liquids will help you pick the perfect soap to attach to your soap nozzle and get the most effective results. Then the main one is the Power Washers where you can get the the best power washer you need to complete your job, from small home units to the big industrials powerhouses so save that money as you are going to need it.
Leave No Gnome Unturned
Graphics and Sound
Powerwash Simulator VR has a few slight differences with the graphics fidelity being not as crisp as you will find on the other ports. to start off you will notice certain objects in the distance will lose resolution more than they do on the PC and console ports, but to be fair unless you know or look for these things it was barely noticeable, and this is mainly due to the power of the headset rather than the game itself and you will find this in pretty much in all games ported to the Meta Quests such as games like Arizona Sunshine. The water effects still look realistic as does the way the dirt disappears from the surfaces, again the resolution or fidelity won’t be as high as they would be for the other versions. The sound quality is pretty much the same as in any of the other ports so no huge difference there this adds to the realism that Powerwash Simulator is trying to create. You can choose to change the water volume just like in the other versions this includes the tone and reverb mix. The UI and Feedback can also be adjusted from the volume of the UI to the Non-Diegetic and the Ambience tone. The Ambience volume and reverb can also be chnaged and this also includes the music.
Mr. Muscles Eat Your Heart Out
Motion and Settings
Powerwash Simulator VR comes with a price as does any VR experience and that is the motion which can be altered for those who cannot handle the smooth moving around. In the settings you can choose between teleport and smooth motion, this helps those with motion sickness and anyone who is not comfortable with walking in the VR There is also the setting with rotation. You can choose between smooth turning or snap rotation which instead of spinning around you can choose to snap 90 degrees. If that hasn’t helped the ability to have a comfort vignette enabled which every time you move a black box will appear around the screen which helps with anyone with motion sickness with moving. Personally, being a huge fan of VR and growing immunity to motion sickness in these types of games, smooth motion and turning makes this game feel more realistic than snap and teleport but that is just me, the settings are in place to give you the same virtual experience as everyone else. There are a lot of settings to choose from including the handedness of what hand you prefer from right handed to left. You can adjust the size of your toolbelt from the height depending on the height you are at when you play such as sitting or standing or just being short or tall. The size of your toolbelt can also be adjusted in the settings or if you prefer you can turn it off completely. The VR has options to change where the HUD follows such as body, head, play space or hand.
Final Thoughts
Powerwash Simulator has become one of my all-time favourite games to play when I need to unwind and I was absolutely honoured to have been given the opportunity to review Powerwash Simulator in VR. Thank you to the amazing developers at FuturLab and the amazing team I have met over the years. These are the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with including the Associate Marketing Manager Jess, thank you for changing my life with this game, Powerwash Simulator will also have a special place in my heart, and I cannot wait to see what you guys will create next, if you haven’t played Powerwash Simulator than you are truly missing out on a truly remarkable experience. The VR experience is only currently available to Meta Quest but you can still play the PC and console ports of the Powerwash Simulator which will still give you everything and more. This includes Steam, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S also included with Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch so what you waiting for grab your gloves, grab your masks and get ready to save Muckingham from the lifetime of muck.
GAMERHUB RATING: FIVE (out of FIVE) JOYSTICKS
(Thanks to Jess and the FuturLab team for the review code!)
