Newly launched developer Valadria, and publisher Acclaim (yes, the publisher that helped launch such titles as Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, and Turko. Yes, THAT Acclaim) have banded together to release a fun, retro game called Pixel Washer.  

While not necessarily breaking new ground, à la Mortal Kombat or Turok, Pixel Washer takes the reins of the popular ‘washing simulator’ genre, adds its own flair and a retro dash of paint, making it stand out in a sea of soap suds and spray guns.  

Enough talk, let’s get into it!  

Immediately, the game loads with a retro, arcade ‘insert coin’ style. It’s flashy, the soundtrack is MIDI-tone and the colours all pop inside their pixelated shells.

Once you hit New Game, you load into a top-down view of an adorable little piggy and his pixelated house. Mission objectives pop up overhead, which in this case read something along the lines of “Find your purpose”, to which you guide the pig outside to discover his water-sprayer device. You return inside your pig house and, alas, some of your items and possessions are covered in mud! Shock, horror!

A simple left-click and hold of the mouse begins the flow of water, as the pixelated dirt disappears into obscurity. It then becomes a rinse-and-repeat (no pun intended) method for finding mud-soaked items, washing them, and being rewarded financially and… emotionally?

It really does bring an elevated sense of both joy and completion once the mud has been washed away, arguably more so than the famed Powerwash series.  

As you travel around in your Pig Mobile (think of Harry’s Dog Van from Dumb and Dumber, but pig) from one cleaning job to the next, various options, items, and challenges will present themselves. These can range from new spray guns, abilities, and keyboard shortcuts (pressing C to allow the water gun to constantly shoot, which you have to hold down left click, was an absolute game changer!)  

As of this writing, there are only 8 maps to play, all uniquely different in style and cleaning approach. From cleaning drones, to cleaning a game of card memory (making up dirty cards with their twin doubles) and having the only solution to cleaning said cards is to match them up correctly, was a fun spin on a heavily soaked genre (again, no pun intended. Okay, fine, slight pun intended).

Controls are clean and functional, reflecting the retro style the game pays homage to. As previously mentioned, left-clicking and holding the mouse allows you to spray at your leisure, whilst pressing C will have the gun autofire until the button is released. Other guns/modes are unlocked the further you play, but they still operate with the same execution. To traverse faster, left-shift is your sprint, and the W, A, S, D keys will have you moving about the world.

By far, the standout of the game has to be the graphics. Though not looking in any way, shape, or form to copy with the high-end detailed graphics that Powerwash Simulator deliver, Pixel Washer authentically recreates an arcade game that really does feel like you’re playing an arcade game at home. Seriously, the urge to just have some coins on your desk as you play is incredibly tempting.  

Each new cleaning job/map has its own style, approach, and creative direction for how you clean each location. One location is never the same as another, each providing some fun, be it somewhat cozy, feelings to the task at hand.  

The sound tag teams with the graphics here to complete the full circle of in-game harmony, if you will. Arguably doing a ton of the heavy lifting throughout the entire game, nonstop from main menu to credits, the audio is crispy, accurately recreated for its retro approach, and not overly done in that negative ‘best go to the option and turn this down’ feel.

Every selection is complemented by a little positive noise; the water-on-dirt noises are subtle and cute, whilst the movement of the piggy and pigmobile is enough to make anyone smile.  

Pixel Washer is a fun, cozy game with a retro vibe and a ton of heart. If you enjoy the washing-simulator genre, but also are in the mood for an arcade-style fix, then this game has it all. It really was a shame that so few levels were available, as you could very well end up losing hours of time in this game.

Thankfully, based on screenshots on the game’s Steam page, it looks like more maps/items to clean are in the pipeline, which gives hope that this game will have a stellar list of locations and items that need your mud-cleaning expertise! 

Written by: James Fraser-Smith