PowerWash Simulator constitutes a fairly big chunk of my video game playtime in recent years. Not because there’s a huge amount of replay value in it – though there’s nothing wrong with jumping back in for a bit of zen cleaning time while I ignore my real-world duties – but because it sported a long and very decent tail of updates and DLC content post-launch. And for the latter, it was a lot of surprisingly licensed tie-in work featuring everything from Final Fantasy VII to Warhammer 40,000, SpongeBob SquarePants and Shrek.
And now its even better, wetter sequel, PowerWash Simulator 2, has kicked off what will no doubt be a similarly monumental run of IP crossover DLC packs with something that speaks to me very deeply – Adventure Time.
As a long-time fan of the Cartoon Network animated series, the prospect of an Adventure Time video game where I can explore iconic locations in the land of Ooo is dream-worthy, and while licensed games have certainly happened they’ve never been especially good. So leave it to PowerWash Simulator 2 to offer the best version of Ooo in a video game, albeit one where the sole means of interacting is through cleaning a bunch of hyper-colourful goop off of every imagineable surface.
There’s nothing especially surprising about the content PowerWash Sim 2’s Adventure Time DLC pack. It offers five distinct stages to clean in, some very low-touch story elements via occasional texts from fan-favourite characters as you progress, and a few in-game easter eggs to spot. You’ll clean up in the interior of Finn and Jake’s treehouse, then Pizza Sassy’s situated in small corner of the Candy Kingdom, the Ice King’s castle bedroom and finally the entire exterior of the treehouse – plus one vehicle stage in the middle there with a candy kingdom helicopter and Lemongrab carriage.
With the exception of the vehicle job, a concept I’ve never particularly enjoyed in a PowerWash game, it’s a pretty decent bunch of new levels. I do wish we’d maybe gotten something more compelling than a random shop exterior for the Candy Kingdom visit, and two treehouse jobs feels like a bit much when there’s so much in this world to explore, but crucially they’re all a lot of fun to clean. The biggest boon is the presentation, which entirely changes out the base game’s pseudo-realism for a full cel-shaded look to match the aesthetic of the show. This extends to the messes you’ll clean, which are made from materials themed on the game and with story context to give you more of an impression that you’re actually going on your own little quest in the Adventure Time universe.
Even the tools here are themed, with your avatar being a Candy Kingdom employee wielding special washers (your gear from the base game doesn’t carry over, sadly) and Jake using his transformation powers to stand in as the scissor lift. And there’s plenty to see and interact with along the way, like BMO, or the Ice King’s musical instruments, or a sneaky hidden snail to find in each job. The team has gone all-in on making everything in this pack feel like part of the show, and that’s great. The bigger and more detailed backgrounds and landscapes that are possible in PowerWash 2 also make just existing in this rendition of Ooo a real treat for anyone that grew up on this show (or *ahem* still watches it regularly).
About the only thing that feels truly missing here is music. I fully understand why the PowerWash Simulator games typically don’t include music at all – some jobs are so long you’d be hearing the same tracks looped until you couldn’t take them any longer – but I feel that music is an important enough part of Adventure Time that some kind of compromise could’ve been made. Perhaps a quick title transition into each job, some fanfare at the end, or an interactive speaker or radio to play just a snippet of an iconic tune. With no music and (almost) no voices, there’s an obvious missing ingredient while you play through this DLC.
Still, you’re getting a decent enough amount of content here and it’s a nice little outing for Adventure Time fans who also enjoy doing virtual chores, so if you’re in that crossover of interest I’d recommend picking this DLC up.
Reviewed on PS5 Pro | Review code provided by publisher
Great
- A decent amount of jobs to play through
- Cel-shaded presentation is a perfect match for the theme
- Some neat easter eggs and interactibles to find
- Jake scissor-lift is inspired
Not great
- Vehicle levels are just never fun
- Lack of audio hurts the vibe a little