In a not so much of a long time ago, in a living room maybe far, far away came the new DLC for PowerWash Simulator 2: Star Wars! It might seem like an odd combination, one is an epic space opera involving Jedi, Sith, blasters and the fate of an entire galaxy. The other is a bloke with a pressure washer trying to remove some stubborn pigeon poo from a path. Yet somehow, FuturLab has managed to make the combination work brilliantly. Developed and published by FuturLab, the DLC lets us finally answer the question: how filthy is the Millennium Falcon? Very, oh so very.
The Star Wars Pack gives you six new jobs spread across the original trilogy, taking you to locations and vehicles that will be immediately familiar to anyone who has spent an unhealthy amount of time watching Star Wars. You get to clean Lars’ Homestead, the Mos Eisley Cantina, an AT-AT on Hoth, the bridge of the Executor (in all fairness, it felt to me that it could have easily been any Star Destroyer), an X-wing and, naturally, the Millennium Falcon. There is a light story element threaded through using messages you receive whilst playing. But if I am honest, I was all about the cleaning.
I have loved the PowerWash games, me and my better half have always played them together. In the first game, we would sit together and take turns all whilst listening to The Rest Is History podcasts. Now, with it being couch co-op in PowerWash Simulator 2, it’s been even better and we have devoured all its levels. I highly recommend you do the same with your significant other. Perhaps, like I did, you will go out and buy a real power washer and blast everything you can.
PowerWash Simulator has always been about taking filthy things and making them clean, and Star Wars has spent decades giving us filthy things that desperately need cleaning. Sand gets everywhere on Tatooine. Hoth is covered in snow, ice and whatever other unpleasant substances are generated when an enormous Imperial Walker gets shot to bits. Rebel fighters are presumably not serviced by a particularly enthusiastic cleaning crew. And the Millennium Falcon has always looked like it could benefit from a good hose down. God forbid what Han got on some of the chairs.
The first job, Lars’ Homestead made me feel like I was there to clean up after its fateful end in A New Hope. That explains why it seems so clean when Rey shows up in that film she was in. I don’t have too much against the sequel trilogy, although what they did with Admiral Ackbar as a character is a crime.
Luke Skywalker blows up the Death Star, you clean his house afterwards. If you have ever heard of Tag and Bink, it’s like that.
The attention to detail is probably the biggest reason this DLC works as well as it does. FuturLab clearly understands that the appeal isn’t simply sticking a Star Wars logo on the side of a pressure washer. These environments need to feel recognisably Star Wars, and they do.
The Mos Eisley Cantina is an especially good example. It’s immediately recognisable, but it also provides exactly the sort of environment PowerWash Simulator loves. There are awkward corners, filthy surfaces, furniture, walls and countless little details that need attention. Rather than simply looking at the environment and thinking, “That’s the cantina!”, you find yourself looking at it and thinking, “That bit behind the bar is absolutely disgusting.”
The same is true of the vehicles. Cleaning an X-wing sounds ridiculous until you actually find yourself standing beside one, carefully working your way around the hull and watching years of grime disappear under the spray. The AT-AT is particularly satisfying because of its sheer scale. PowerWash Simulator has always been at its best when it gives you something enormous to clean, and an Imperial Walker is basically a giant dirty robot specifically designed to provide hours of satisfying pressure washing. The AT-AT is one of my all time favourite vehicles in Star Wars, and I was keen for that level. I did feel really stupid when I spent AGES moving the stairs around, and then finally noticed that there was a set of seats that go up and down on a winch in seconds that I could have used.
PowerWash Simulator 2: Star Wars doesn’t need explosions or combat to make cleaning satisfying. It is the simple pleasure of seeing something dirty become clean. You start with an ugly, grimy mess and gradually reveal what is underneath. With Star Wars, that effect is amplified because you already know what the finished object is supposed to look like.
You know what the Millennium Falcon should look like.
You know what an X-wing should look like.
You know what an AT-AT should look like.
So when you finally remove that last patch of grime and the object looks right again, there is a surprisingly satisfying sense of achievement.
Of course, this is still PowerWash Simulator 2. If you don’t enjoy the fundamental gameplay loop of slowly cleaning things, absolutely no amount of Star Wars fan service is going to change your mind. There are no lightsaber battles. You don’t get to fly the X-wing. You’re not going to be taking on Darth Vader.
You’re going to be cleaning his workplace.
There is something beautifully humbling about that.
I loved this DLC and if PowerWash is your cup of tea, get your podcast on and join me in cleaning up an X-Wing.
PowerWash Simulator 2 Star Wars Pack is available now for PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch
