Powerwash Simulator 2 Launches: Everything You Need to Know About the Sequel!

Is there really a demand for another PowerWash Simulator game? Some might argue against its necessity, possibly those who haven’t experienced the original and fail to grasp its charm. They might skeptically ask, “What’s the point of the game? You just clean stuff?”

(Interestingly, other hobbies aren’t subjected to such scrutiny. No one questions, “You just run in circles in a park for five kilometers?” or “You just kick a ball around?”)

Indeed, that’s essentially what you do. You aim your hose at various dirty objects – be it a small house, a massive monster truck, or Lara Croft’s expansive mansion – and wash away all the grime until it’s gone. Each completed task is met with a satisfying “ding,” a sound that seems to trigger a dopamine release in the brain. Besides the sound of the water and the occasional clank of a metal ladder, that “ding” is one of the few sounds you hear. The game provides a profoundly calming, satisfying, and captivating experience. I absolutely adore it.

My adoration for this game led me to play PowerWash Simulator for a total of 24 hours, 6 minutes, and 33 seconds in 2023 on the streaming platform Twitch, earning me a Guinness World Record for the longest time spent playing the game.

I wouldn’t recommend it, though. As much as I enjoy the game, the novelty begins to fade after about 20 hours. I recall things getting strange around 4am. The vibrant primary colors of the children’s playground I was cleaning started to blend into a psychedelic whirl. My vision blurred, my fingers throbbed with pain, and I felt a sudden, intense irritation towards the local council for neglecting the climbing frame.

I persevered with the encouragement of my Twitch community, who reminded me that there was indeed a world outside the game. However, I experienced flashbacks for months. Sometimes, as I lay in bed, I could swear I still heard the ceaseless hiss of the jet spray, and I feared I had developed tinnitus. To this day, I struggle to walk past a playground slide without inspecting it for signs of mold.

Ironically, I didn’t feel like playing PowerWash Simulator for quite some time after that marathon session. But picking up the sequel reignited the thrill of eradicating the last trace of encrusted dirt from a shiny toilet bowl. Pure bliss.

This new installment seems slightly more lenient in terms of cleaning every speck of dirt. It also introduces a new target icon that highlights missed spots, making it less frustrating to complete missions.

And of course, there are new things to clean. PowerWash Simulator 2 includes 38 missions, featuring items such as an airship, a mobility scooter, and a shopping mall. New tools include a surface cleaner for efficient floor polishing and a harness system for rappelling down buildings. There’s a broader selection of soaps and nozzles, plus a new home base where you can display your trophies. This feature is especially appealing if you’re the type who likes to showcase achievements prominently, such as hanging your three Guinness World Record certificates right where the delivery driver will see them when you open your front door.

While none of this marks a dramatic shift from the original game, nor is it likely to convert skeptics, PowerWash Simulator 2 delivers exactly what its fans desire: new objects to clean, additional gadgets to use, and more of the same gratifying, uncomplicated gameplay. There’s even the option to occasionally sketch a crude doodle in the dirt for laughs. In these troubled times, this might be just the game we need.

• PowerWash Simulator 2 is available now; £19.99/$24.99