DLC is a wonderful thing. Brand new stories and expanded worlds can add incredible new things to an already brilliant game, enhancing it beyond what it was out of the gates, and offering more for loyal fans. Or it could just be horse armour.
When you think about recent great DLC, you may recallElden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree, which included an expansive new map, story, items, bosses, 25-plus hours of content (or 40 in my case) - let’s be real, it was essentially an additional game, and the fact that it was the first DLC nominated for Game of the Year proves that.
But after 170 hours, I’ve realised thatPowerWash Simulatoris the one game that does DLC in a truly unique way, and Shrek was what led me to that conclusion. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d be writing.
PowerWash Simulator Has A DLC For Everyone
When PowerWash dropped its first licensed DLCs in the form of Tomb Raider maps, followed by Final Fantasy 7 Remake maps, it was a welcome surprise. Suddenly, the game all about the satisfaction of cleaning things became about the satisfaction of cleaning things from our childhoods. Croft Manor, Lara Croft’s obstacle course, Cloud’s Shinra bike, the map model of Midgar, and Seventh Heaven - it was jarring, but in the best possible way.
In the following years, we received more and more officially licensed DLC packs from well-known IPs, most of which are things that people will remember fondly from so many years ago.
PowerWash Simulator Licensed DLCs:
It’s a complete mix of things that I don’t think anyone could have ever predicted, blending so many things that you’d be hard-pressed not to enjoy at least one of these DLCs on a personal level.
A Closer Look At The Things We Don’t Get To See
As I was cleaning Shrek’s swamp, which is quite the undertaking as I’m sure you’re able to imagine, I started to realise something about these DLCs: this is the first time I’ve ever really had free reign to explore Shrek’s home. I looked around, took in the interior layout, and thought about how this was a first. We see it on screen,and there have been linear Shrek games(like the PS2 masterpiece Shrek 2), but I’ve never…seen it, you know? We’ve seen Shrek’s home as he and his family live out scenes of their life, but I was crouched under his dining table trying to get the nooks and crannies - that’s just infinitely more intricate than I expected.
And this goes for every DLC pack. The vehicles of Warhammer, which we’ve only ever seen in miniature form, are blown up to colossal scales. The Mermaliar from SpongeBob, now housing Easter eggs and architecture we can really analyse. Even just the iconic town hall of Back To The Future, getting up close and personal with each and every brick.
While other games might give us extended stories, new characters, or worlds like nothing we’ve ever seen before, PowerWash continues to give us worlds wehaveseen before - but never in this way, and it’s a beautiful thing to get to experience.
