PowerWash Simulator 2 Hands-On Preview: In the introduction of our hands-on with PowerWash Simulator 2, we were all told that the sequel was more interested in being an “evolution rather than an evolution.” That is to say, if you’ve played the original game, you’ll quickly understand the basics of this game.
As the name would suggest, PowerWash Simulator 2 is very much more of the same, and that’s by no means a bad thing. If you spent hours washing and cleaning the streets of Muckingham over the last few years, your adventures will be able to continue in this new game.
New additions emphasise growing what was already present in the original game, and creating a stronger foundation to grow from in the future. Environments are more dynamic, and the all-important cleaning feels better; it feels like the future is bright for powerwashing aficionados across the county!
PowerWash Simulator 2 Hands-On Preview – Getting Down and… Clean?
Arm Yourself (Again)
In building on what made the original game such a success with such a devoted audience, the sequel ostensibly does the same while upping the scale in small but meaningful ways. You’ll still be thrown into some of the filthiest environments that you’ll come across in games, and you’ll still be tasked with cleaning them down.
The core loop of PowerWash Simulator 2 is almost identical to the first game, and that’s by no means a bad thing. There’s a comfort in familiarity, and I very quickly found myself settling into the groove that I had on my first trip around Muckingham.
That isn’t to say that there aren’t some new elements on show here. These new aspects do a good job in initially increasing the ways that you can tackle various jobs, while not overcomplicating the core of what makes the original so good. Such additions include a floor mop, a soap-dispenser, among others that we weren’t allowed to see during our hands-on session. This speaks to a relative increase in dynamic interactions with the environment, allowing you to carve out your own approach to some particularly mighty jobs down the road.
Cleaning the Way
You’ll still be cleaning some things that you will have been used to. In my hands-on session, I got the chance to play a handful of campaign missions that presented a healthy variety of objects to clean. While you do have the standard offerings of a car and a pretty swanky Art Deco house, you do have options that demonstrate a decidedly more ambitious scope.
As demonstrated by the public toilet mission, there are multi-stage cleaning jobs that require you to finish one segment before moving on to the next. The result is a far more intricate and engaging approach to cleaning that has you exploring a changing environment as you go. It’s all well and good exploring a house, but it’s more exciting if that house rewards you for your core mission.
There are also missions that give you access to specific types of vehicles in order to allow you to reach greater heights and clean where you couldn’t before. In my time with the demo, I struggled to actually get to grips with how they worked precisely, but I imagine this will be a developed aspect of the game that, once again, increases the potential for exciting places to clean.
I’m excited to see what other kind of set pieces might be down the road in the full release, especially with a renewed emphasis on scale and exploration with the environments. This comes alongside the addition of fully synchronous co-op play and the ability to steadily build your own home base across the campaign.
These were features that were unfortunately not open for exploration during our hands-on preview, but promise to further the appeal of this sequel. What’s more fun than cleaning a toilet alone? Cleaning a toilet with friends!
Sparkling New
Another point of focus for PowerWash Simulator 2 is in the subtle updates to the visual style, which manage to draw the very best out of what you’re cleaning. Generally, the game still adopts a pretty light cartoonish aesthetic, which is massively benefited by some great effects from your cleaning. Water leaves a slick sheen against windows as you wipe them and soap effortlessly washes away and gives a brilliant contrast.
There’s no denying that the visuals of PowerWash Simulator are a big contributor to the satisfaction that the game aims for, so it was nice to see some extra detail being put into the effects of cleaning, more than just running water off of dirty buildings.
While our hands-on preview only gave us a small taste of what new stuff might be hiding in PowerWash Simulator 2, that taste is enough to solidly say that this will undoubtedly be worth the jump for players who have already spent hours cleaning down all kinds of weird and wacky places.
If anything, I expect this game to get even weirder and adventurous with where you can go. By the end of its life, the original PowerWash Simulator had somewhat solidified itself as a fascinating amalgamation of all kinds of properties and IP, and I found myself eagerly thinking about how much those could evolve with this new foundation.
Make no mistake, this is an evolution rather than a revolution, but that evolution is strong and has been polished to a glistening shine for new and old players. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what this sequel might offer down the road, and I can’t wait to see where it might end up going.
PowerWash Simulator 2 is due out later this year on PS5.