Ok, hear me out…

PowerWash Simulator is not a Game of the Year or anything, but it’s so fun and relaxing that it absolutely deserves a spot here.

In PowerWash Simulator, as the name and cover imply, you are a cleaner for hire and are tasked with cleaning various buildings, vehicles and even theme park attractions. Equipped with your trusty pressure washer (and a ladder, as well as other equipment for reaching higher places), you must get into every nook and cranny of whatever you’re cleaning in order to get 100% and move on to the next job.

The feeling of fully cleaning an object and hearing the in-game “DING!” is incredibly satisfying and even addicting. You can spend hours in this game doing the same thing over and over again without noticing.

PowerWash Simulator is also a perfect game to play while listening to a podcast, audiobook or video essay, since once you’re in “the zone”, it requires very little of your attention.

The game also has surprisingly captivating lore, involving an active volcano, the corrupt mayor’s cat and even aliens. I won’t spoil how this all ties together, but I promise that it does. While doing each job, the character who hired you will tell you about their life, what you’re cleaning and random tidbits about the town.

There is also a VR version of PowerWash Simulator for the Meta Quest, but in my opinion it’s not as good as the “flat” version of the game. In addition to being horribly optimized, actually having to move your arms to wash something is not as relaxing as it may seem. At that point, you might as well just actually pressure wash something in real life.

In conclusion, if you like cozy games or are just looking for something different and fun to play while multitasking, I absolutely recommend checking PowerWash Simulator out. It’s available on every major console and PC.