Game of the week: PowerWash Simulator cleans up in menial tasks genre

The world of gaming can take you to faraway places, allowing you to experience things that humanity can barely imagine. Or it can let you hose down some vinyl flooring for half an hour.

Enter PowerWash Simulator, which puts players in the shoes of a professional power washer.

It's developed by FuturLab and published by Square Enix, and it's proving to be more addictive than you might expect at first.

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While many see it as a chore, for others, cleaning can be meditative.

It is one of a growing number of games that lean into the mundane to surprisingly satisfying ends, allowing players to do various tasks as if they were done in real life. These games are called “simulators” because they simulate the experience as close as possible to reality.

The game, which was first released on the PC and Xbox in 2022 and arrived on the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 last year, is set in the fictional town of Muckingham, players begin with simple washing tasks, washing vehicles or small gardens.

With every task completed, the size of the next increases, allowing the player to invest money earned into purchasing better equipment and materials.

Serenity now

Naturally, your first question may be: why play this instead of roaming around an infinite world as a cowboy in the Old West?

Simply put, sometimes what gaming needs is a calm and quiet world. Moreover, just like doing the laundry in real life, menial tasks allow you to spend some time in your head.

PowerWash Simulator might seem like a simple game, but players still need to make choices to complete a task properly. These challenges present themselves in the form of choosing what tool to use or which chemical compound will work best on different surfaces.

It's the same feeling as washing your own car and standing back to admire the shimmering fruits of your labour.

No task is too big

Players begin with achievable tasks that quickly grow more difficult as the game progresses.

One of the best things about the game's level advancement is that things never feel like they’re getting too big, too fast. The difficulty of the task increases gradually and players can decide in what way they'll choose to tackle to task, allowing for several solutions to a problem.

Interestingly, the game does start to become more abstract and bizarre in its tasks towards the end of the game. Without giving too much away, the locales certainly become more interesting and less grounded in the familiar.

Verdict

PowerWash Simulator is an excellent addition to the many simulator games on offer. These games deliver a fulfilling and realistic experience, with some even being educational.

Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or someone looking for some relaxing downtime while listening to soothing music, this is a therapeutic experience like few games can offer.

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

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What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

McIlroy's recent struggles

Last six stroke-play events (First round score in brackets)

Arnold Palmer Invitational Tied for 4th (74)

The US Masters Tied for 7th (72)

The Players Championship Tied for 35th (73)

US Open Missed the cut (78)

Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)

Irish Open Missed the cut (72)

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Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km

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While you're here

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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme

Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates

What is the definition of an SME?

SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.

A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.