Powerwash Simulator 2 – Adventure Time DLC (PC Review)
Summary: The first DLC for Powerwash Simulator 2 is an ambitious, nice homage to Adventure Time more flash than substance.
3
Powerwash BMO
It’s here: the first DLC for the well-received Powerwash Simulator 2. The folks at Futurlab went all in on its first add-on, welcoming the crew from Adventure Time along for the ride.
If you’re a diehard fan of Finn, Jake, BMO, the Ice King and others… and an owner of Powerwash Simulator 2… consider this DLC a must‑buy. Even more so, as it’s barely a dollar a level for these five DLC levels, arguably quite the bargain for a licensed add‑on.
Adventure Time loyalists will get a kick out of tickling BMO with water, movable penguins (versus the usual garden gnomes), and a Jake‑shaped scissor lift. There’s also oodles of Adventure Time references everywhere, including the usual text‑message chatter of its stars during cleaning cycles.
Simultaneous confession: I’m a Powerwash Simulator loyalist but am yet to watch a single episode of Adventure Time. Hence, this review is more about the content than dedication to the license it’s drawing from.
As far as a Powerwash Simulator DLC goes, Adventure Time is perhaps Futurlab’s most ambitious. The entire presentation is redone in a Borderlands, hand‑drawn style… which – while cool – doesn’t match the visual atmospherics of the show (from my mid‑review YouTube foray). Still, it’s ridiculously cool to see the Powerwash Simulator elements – from washers to lifts, ladders, etc. – all re‑represented in this alternative manner. This aesthetic makes the Adventure Time DLC stand out in the best of ways.
In tandem, Adventure Time DLC limits use of washers to one traditional washer and the surface disc. Meaning, anything unlocked in other modes is inaccessible. I respect that there are limited art properties Futurlab could unleash in literally an entirely new presentation mode. Still, this limitation is a slight disappointment (especially if you’ve unlocked the highest‑level washers). At least the base washer is in the commercial moderate‑to‑heavy‑duty variety, all attachments included (so not a grind to remove stubborn dirt, ice, etc.) Moreover, anything completed in the Adventure Time DLC does apply to overall cash cache. So that’s good.
Speaking of surface grime, Adventure Time’s DLC features an array of weird stuff to remove, ranging from ice to confetti‑like spray. Presented in the stated cartoon style, this yields a cool result in seeing it flying off while cleaning.
While I dig the new take on Powerwash Simulator, Adventure Time DLC falls a tad short in execution. First, level design is questionable. Too much grime hides in nearly impossible‑to‑reach angles in the weirdest of locations, and on weirdly tiered heights inaccessible by most vertical helpers. This equates to levels taking too long to clear, and excessive discovery in locating the source of the problem at the dreaded 99% completion rate.
Moreover, and despite Adventure Time’s fun graphical approach, there’s simply too little interaction and things of interest in its DLC levels. Sure, it’s neat to tickle characters and mess with the Ice King’s musical instruments, but nothing really keeps your interest beyond the Adventure Time homages. Thus, this DLC equates to some of the core game’s most monotonous levels (eg the Farm).
Finally – and from a logistical perspective – Adventure Time DLC is wonky in technical execution. I had a bear of a time getting it recognized by the core title. (Even after unlocking, Steam failed to acknowledge the DLC in my Library despite it showing up in Properties.)
For the love of god: do NOT reinstall the game in hopes of remedying the problem. This literally produced a failed cloud sync with the main title, resulting in losing 30(!) hours of saved progress and associated content in an already completed Powerwash Simulator 2. I spent an additional 1.5 hours trying to recreate and manually add a previous save within Steam’s Desktop mode but couldn’t (due to how Powerwash Simulator 2 handles its saves). Thus, if you’re considering purchasing this title, pretty please manually save your Powerwash Simulator 2 core game from the pause menu first and then often. And do not re‑purchase the DLC if the Store DLC page is drunk jiving.
Final Thoughts
If you’re an Adventure Time fanboy with Powerwash Simulator 2 on your PC, this is an affordable DLC lot with a cool graphical presentation. Others, however, may want to pass due to its technical challenges and questionable level design.
About the Author
Paul Stuart A gamer for over 30 years with 400+ reviews across four sites literally spanning the globe, Paul Stuart has an unhealthy obsession with Assassins Creed, God of War, and all things Lord of the Rings.
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