PowerWash Simulator 2 introduces a new tool that makes washing mud from a billboard more enjoyable than ever

Since its reveal I've been asking myself if you can iterate on something like PowerWash Simulator enough to reasonably justify a sequel, and I don't know why I'm so surprised the answer is yes, absolutely you can. It's great, and I'm obsessed with some of the new toys FuturLab has given us in PowerWash Simulator 2.

When it comes to any sim willing to pat me on the head with a validating "good job," count me in. I don't know which societal failure to blame for that, but PowerWash Simulator is among the best at it. Every time I finish cleaning a surface, I'm rewarded with a satisfying ding. Sometimes there's a bunch of different dirty surfaces close together, and then I get several dings in quick succession. It's riveting stuff.

That was a thing in the first game, but PowerWash Simulator 2 adds a big, circular surface cleaner, the Swirlforce Surf Ace, for maximum good job dings on flat surfaces. It's all the satisfaction and thrill of getting a new kitchen appliance as an adult, but instead of shoving it into a cabinet and forgetting it, I'm driving all over town and looking for excuses to use it.

I bought the new tool just as I reached the billboard job in career mode, which happens to be the best time to splurge since you're cleaning a giant flat surface. Like all projects in PowerWash Sim, jobs are broken down into task lists dividing individual items you may count as a whole into smaller, more manageable checklists. The billboard has a task for every part of the frame and artwork, listing details down to individual letters in the advertisement.

The surface cleaner turns the job into a rapidfire symphony of tiny, chiming accomplishments. Ding, the frame is clean. Ding, the stars in the art are clean. Ding, a letter is clean. Ding, you're so good at blasting dirt off things.

It sounds a little goofy when I'm forced to articulate the thrill of a new cleaning attachment, but I swear it's a meaningful change I could feel from the moment I freed my first cartoon animal from the roadside advertisement. Progress is faster than it would have been in the first game, and I stopped twice to upgrade my new tool before the job was done.

It fixes a problem I didn't know I had with the first. The big flat surfaces are boring to clean, and they're slow going when you try to cover more space with the old nozzles. Getting in there and clearing the grime off of intricate little parts is where I had all my fun in the original PowerWash Simulator. The job-well-done neurons just don't fire when I have to clean large, samey stretches of floor.

Those less complicated messes are way more satisfying when you don't need to make two or three passes over the same spot. Sometimes the attachment gets a little wonky and misses a bit of dirt, but it's still a major upgrade over using any of the old wide-angle options. It was the first power washer I bought every accessory for, and I have no regrets so far.

I'm still cleaning up the last few levels, but I can't see myself going back to the first game. The new power washing kit has me spoiled, and no matter how sad I am about losing access to grimy Croft Manor and the other weird DLC destinations, I'm only taking jobs from PowerWash Simulator 2. If Lara wants her house cleaned again, then she can call me from the sequel.