PowerWash Simulator first launched in 2021, introducing thousands of gamers to the unexpected joys of wielding a powerwasher.
I don’t think anyone expected such a game to take off like it did, but after hundreds of positive reviews, social media posts, and YouTube playthroughs, it’s become one of the highest-rated simulator games on the market, so a sequel just made sense, right?
PowerWash Simulator 2 does exactly what the first game did but better, and you can catch our review of the game right now. I, myself,learned more about the new gameplay changes and what makes a PowerWash game tick, speaking to FuturLab lead designer Nick McCarthy.
Advert
First, I wanted to know if the developers at FuturLab were as surprised as us to see PowerWash Simulator take-off like it did, or whether they suspected they had a break-out hit on their hands.
“No, definitely not,” began Nick, “We knew that we had something there with the mechanics, we knew that this was something special, something satisfying, that we thought would connect with people. But I do remember in those early days, us trying to figure out whether this was gonna be a game that people played between games.
“Of course, in retrospect, that was a little naive of us. We should have realised the power that an incomplete, dirty thing can have.”
As you might have gathered, PowerWash Simulator was imagined to be a game you’d pick up for half an hour or so in-between your current AAA playthroughs, so FuturLab was surprised to see gamers playing through the entire campaign and sticking around for some of the challenges.
Advert
When asked what he thought made the first game such a hit with fans, Nick believed the core appeal lay in it doing one thing, but doing it really well.
“It's an interesting one, right? … I almost compare PowerWash to the sort of classic, simpler era of games where they just have this really good, cold mechanic … That kind of setting to just sort of jump in, play at their own pace, enjoy it however they want to, putting some music on, putting a podcast on, playing with a mate, whatever they want to do,” he told me.
Post-launch support kept the game firmly in our libraries for many years to come, with new DLC expansions arriving this year even. This additional content led to FuturLab’s team growing exponentially which ultimately informed the decision to go for a sequel.
“We have more people, new ideas, just more expertise. We were sort of barreling through all of that DLC content and it very quickly became apparent that there was a bigger step up that we could do here,” said Nick.
Advert
As for what development on the sequel entailed, I was told the team at FuturLab wasn’t looking to revolutionise the winning formula. Instead, it was merely “looking to evolve it”. The aim for PowerWash 2 was to take everything that had been loved and learned up to that point and create an “across the board improvement to the experience” and after playing it for myself, I think it does exactly that.
PowerWash 2 packages together a 38 mission campaign along with improved visuals, physics and a variety of new tools for players to add to their cleaning arsenal. One improvement I’m particularly fond of is how the game now guides you to uncleaned surfaces towards the end of a job through waypoints, making that last 1% of dirt needed to complete the level much easier to spot. Nick said this feature is optional though, so if you preferred how it was in the first game, you’re all set.
My main concern with the game prior to going hands-on was whether all this new gear would dilute the experience and clash with the overall vibe the first game presented so well. At its core, PowerWash Simulator was a simple game, with a simple mechanic so there was never any need to reinvent the wheel.
Advert
“Yeah, this is something that we were very conscious of coming into PowerWash 2,” started Nick. “It was really important to us that we made sure that players had access to tools that were familiar to them.”
When it came time to add new gadgets and appliances, the team strove to ensure that it didn’t conflict with the freedom of approach that was so important for the first game, as ”there's different ways that you can turn something from dirty to clean”. A lot of inspiration for the new additions was taken from real-life powerwashing examples, such as time-lapse videos and general cleaning appliances.
“PowerWash 2 was all about just bolstering and expanding upon those mechanics without taking away from what we had in the first game. So players can go into PowerWash 2 and wash things in a way that's completely familiar to them and enjoy it and without changing their style too much.”
Something I absolutely adored about the first game, and I know it’s something the fans loved too, is the sense of progression you got from completing each job. Starting out on small cars and back gardens, the scale got progressively larger and there was even a bit of mystery and lore thrown in too. For PowerWash Simulator 2, I was hoping that sense of scale hadn’t been forgotten and while Nick didn’t want to give too much away I could tell he shared my same enthusiasm for how wild a simple hobby like powerwashing could get.
Advert
“We liked that balance of keeping things grounded, just making you feel like you're a sort of humble worker, while there were these bigger things going on in the background … things do definitely get a bit wacky.”
Last but not least, PowerWash 2 has more emphasis on multiplayer than the previous game, something that was seemingly decided on very early into the game’s life.
Nick said, “In the first game, you could sort of play your way through the career and you could have your assistant come along with you. In this one, we've tried to improve upon that by just allowing for shared progression … you're both earning and playing through [the career mode] simultaneously.”
Split-screen has also been added, all with the intent of giving players more ways to play together, with Nick saying, “We've seen the fun people can have playing together, it's such a nice thing for even us internally, just when we get together and play the game and just get to chat about it, it's nice.”
PowerWash Simulator 2 improves on the first game in practically every way, and there’s already more on the way via the game’s roadmap.
White it was a surprise to many how successful a game about powerwashing could be, it makes much more sense when you see how passionate the team at FuturLab is on creating a simple but compelling gameplay experience you can enjoy with friends.
PowerWash Simulator 2 is out right now, 23 October, for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Topics: Interview, Features, Xbox, PlayStation, PC, Steam, Nintendo