PowerWash Simulator: Alice’s Adventures Review (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Switch & PC)

Having witnessed Alice in Wonderland spiral through more rabbit holes that I dare to imagine, it’s always a treat to know that Lewis Carroll’s cult literature is still the center of attention in so, so many iterations and forms of storytelling and entertainment. Needless to say that, being a rabbit hole that conjures weird and wonderful events of a peculiar nature, it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise to see that, in spite of all its dressings and quirky trappings, there’s even a little wiggle room for PowerWash Simulator, too. As it turns out, even the Mad Hatter isn’t particularly fond of mess, nor are the fruitful folks of Wonderland. Alas, with immeasurable grit comes a new twist, and it’s up to you, weirdly enough, to sort it out in PowerWash Simulator: Alice’s Adventures. Eat your heart out, American McGee.

At the core of this world, the usual tropes of the cult classic simulation game are still alive and kicking, as are the tools and techniques that flesh out the base game. However, with Alice’s Adventures, there’s another layer to consider—a surprisingly sprightly and colorful ordeal that just so happens to revolve around the iconic Wonderland setting lathered in copious amounts of gunk, sludge, and, in some cases, frogs. In other words, the grime has become more persistent than ever, and it’s thanks to our beloved heroine, Alice, that the once-marvelous jewel has gradually transformed into a topsy-turvy wasteland of dirt and rainbow slime. Thanks, Alice.

Anyway, to put you in the picture, Alice’s Adventures has, after several months of strafing between the lines of dream and reality, arrived on consoles and PC as a full-fledged DLC for the niche yet oddly satisfying cleaning sim. Care to hear more? Then let’s go…

Down the Rabbit Hole

Forget what you know about Alice — that curious child isn’t the saint that the Mad Hatter claims her to be, but rather, a mischievous adolescent whose goal, apparently, is to turn the idyllic world of Wonderland onto its axis. Since her arrival, the boroughs of the candy-coated kingdom have fallen into dire straits, and are now seeking to be revitalized and restored to their former glory. Surprise surprise, this is where you come in—the eagle-eyed spot exterminator who just so happens to possess all of the appropriate skills and tools to transform the funky roots of the realm into a squeaky clean haven for its unruly inhabitants. Wonderland is calling, and it’s inviting you to take a dip into the rabbit hole, mop and bucket and all.

PowerWash Simulator: Alice’s Adventures transports you to the inner fields of the titular universe—a world that touts fluorescent fields, singing critters, and a plethora of questionable yet oddly relatable characters and stories. At the core of its world, as a true homage to Lewis Carroll, you find yourself in an ongoing struggle to sweep the crags and crevices of Wonderland clean—a grubby feud that involves having to move from one location to the next, whether it’s the quarters of the Hatter’s Tea Party or the Queen of Hearts’ Royal Court, and unlocking new tools and other useful features to further aid your quest to untangle Alice’s rather sloppy work. Sure enough, it’s a simple rinse-and-repeat concept, which means, if you have slugged through your fair share of the original PowerWash Simulator, then you’ll no doubt already know what to expect here.

Queen of Cleaning

Given the fact that PowerWash Simulator: Alice’s Adventures is DLC, there shouldn’t be an enormous amount of material to gloss over with a fine-tooth comb — and yet, as it turns out, there is quite the banquet of items on its agenda. Aside from it hosting a significant amount of areas to shovel through and clean, the DLC also possesses a fairly hefty portion of fresh cosmetic items, too—new gloves, a suit, and a rather psychedelic skin for your power washing machine, to list just a few of its newly implemented assets. Granted, none of these items add a great deal on their own, nor do they justify the cost of the DLC, in general, though for bonus incentives for a much larger expansion, they compliment the piece surprisingly nicely.

What makes Alice’s Adventures all the more inviting is its setting: it’s no longer sporting the same ol’ mundane textures or monochrome palettes, but rather, a whimsical design that’s both striking to look at, as well as joyful to interact with, too. Truth be told, Alice in Wonderland was arguably one of the best choices the developer could’ve made, as the locale itself is absolutely bursting at the seams with quirky set pieces and eye-boggling color schemes. And sure, while you may not always know what it is you’re doing, or even cleaning, for that matter, it’s still an absolute blast to work through — and that’s saying something. The fact that I for one could quite easily blast water at a frog and somehow feel satisfied with such an act, weirdly, was enough to reinforce that sense of accomplishment. It shouldn’t have been that fun, but it was. Go figure.

Same Job, Different Company

The general gameplay aspects of Alice’s Adventures aren’t all that different from its predecessor: you travel from one corridor to the next, and gradually sift through the grime and other messy molehills en route to a final destination of some kind. Like before, you spend each of these trips into the rabbit hole carving into a checklist—a series of objectives that either invite you to scrub some form of object, or utilize the tools in your trusty maintenance belt to eradicate an obstacle or two. And honestly, that’s about as deep it goes; it isn’t a perplexing game, nor is it riddled with infinite layers of puzzles or overbearing plot points. Truth is, if you’re looking to descend into a game that literally spells out its purpose on its front cover with the hopes of finding something else entirely, then you might be in for a surprise.

Alice’s Adventures is, at least to some extent, the sort of simulation game that doesn’t require a level head to casually stroll through, as its challenges rarely stretch much beyond the art of tapping, holding, or scrolling through a series of buttons and prompts. Could it do with a little more depth? Perhaps. But then, for a game that is quite literally an open book, it isn’t really something that we can slate, either, for it is, in all fairness, a short but rewarding sandbox sim that asks only that you clean house and enjoy a small basket of rewards upon completion. And that’s it.

Verdict

For a mere DLC, Alice’s Adventure certainly delivers a high volume of content. Scratch that, it brings a tremendous amount of content, all of which willingly pays tribute to the acclaimed literature and its bustling art style and, well, wacky character designs. It’s all there, and perfectly ribboned in a simple yet annoyingly satisfying gameplay loop that, while not massively complicated, has all of the bells and whistles to keep you trucking forward for several hours, to boot. In addition to it featuring a simple set of mechanics and tool wheel, Alice’s Adventures also provides a generous collection of flavorful settings, including several of the iconic homesteads and beloved landmarks of the Wonderland tree. It’s a weird pairing, I’ll say that much — but it works, and I’m not about to argue with that.

When all’s said and done, the devs could’ve opted for a much smaller project, and they most certainly could’ve settled for a setting as minimalistic as, say, an office complex or a bog-standard hotel. With that being said, PowerWash Simulator traveled one step further, and instead opted for a path that, weirdly enough, captured all of the pedigree qualities of Lewis Carroll’s storybook — and then some. Perhaps it shouldn’t have worked, but the fact that I spent a handful of hours gleefully patrolling the fields of Wonderland without ever feeling the urge to part ways with the machine, really, spoke volumes about the game’s charm.

To cut a long story short, if you’re fresh off the wagon and hungering for a second wave of PowerWash Simulator, then you’d be right to consider cleaning house in Alice’s Adventures. It’s DLC, true, but an extension that somehow manages to overshadow its counterpart for all the right reasons. To that I say, well played, FuturLab — you’ve made cleaning fun again.