It is preposterously satisfying.

It's in Steam early access, but appears largely complete, with everything seeming to work like it should; I suspect the gameplay functions are finished, and what they're working on now is mostly adding more jobs (there are already quite a few for what is technically a demo) and equipment (e.g., there's a blank in the store for a washer tier above "heavy duty", but nothing available in it yet).

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

A "Let's Try" playthrough, in case anyone wants to see more.

dbrandon

With a pressure washer.

I'm 97% sure archaeology is not done that way.

In other news, the game has a developing story, which is not immediately obvious during the early missions. Your character lives in a town called Muckingham, which is a suburb of a larger urban area. Because there is a very prominent volcano at the far edge of the skybox, that urban area is called Caldera City, which amuses me every time I see it mentioned in game, since that's the name we made up for the capital of the UF version of the Fire Nation (its name is never mentioned in the actual show).

Caldera City's mayor lives in Muckingham. Or he did before he ran away for obscure reasons that may have had to do with being about to get caught for some sort of fraud, right after hiring the player character to clean his party barge. That job came after you cleaned the town's monster truck, because of course the town has a municipally owned monster truck. It's themed after the mayor's pet cat Ulysses, who has been missing since before the game began and is the subject of much rumor and consternation among various local officials, all of whose offices have been abused by the mayor in the search for his missing pet.

Also, there is a carnival in town in which the various attractions are operated by competitors, all of whom seek to acquire a competitive edge by having those attractions professionally cleaned before the start of the upcoming season. Pressure washing an entire Ferris wheel singlehanded is quite a job, even with a six-story-tall set of scaffolding and a mysterious immunity to falling damage.

This game has a bizarre amount of depth for what it is, and the gameplay remains weirdly satisfying.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

I have to admit I am mildly curious about trying it, but it is very satisfying to read a book and relax while your girlfriend plays a white noise generating game and makes happy little observations about the stuff she's doing.

...!
Stoke Mandeville, Esq & The
Victorian Ballsmiths
"Nobody Want Verdigris-
Covered Balls!"

My only real gripe (beside the auto-save headache) is that after a certain point you have to decide if finishing career mode is worth...well, finishing career mode. In the early to mid game you're working to save up enough money to buy the next washer and its accessories, but then there's a bit of a gap between finally buying the best washer and getting its last big upgrade. The story is good and the sense of accomplishment feels great, yet I admit I did consider just walking away for a bit after I lost an evening's worth of progress.

And that brings me to my one recommendation to anybody thinking about checking this game out years after it was the New Hotness: The key to avoiding feeling overwhelmed as the levels get bigger is to break them into bite-sized chunks and then work your way through those chunks. The first truly daunting level for me was the playground, which I tackled by making sure all the outlying bits were done before tackling the main structure. Another tip is to do as I said above and put on something to provide background noise, because you'll be able to stave off frustration a bit longer if you've got something to laugh to or hum along to while you're working.

Now I'm left to wonder if I want to tackle the bonus levels, since none of the special levels available right now really look worth the price of admission.

--------------------------
CdrMike, Overwatch Reject

Last night I played PowerWash Simulator while listening to vtubers who were chatting while playing PowerWash Simulator.

-IA.

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