Dishwashing Simulator

About

Dishwashing Simulator is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Frinky and was released on April 3, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

In Dishwashing Simulator, players experience an ultra-detailed simulation of washing dishes, with survival depending on keeping things clean and managing resources. The game features procedurally generated dungeons, anomalies, base construction, and a research system, creating an emergent and immersive experience. Players must manage food, water, and agriculture to survive, all while uncovering the mysteries behind their menial tasks.

Genres & Tags

Simulation

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 588 reviews

gameplay42 positive mentions

grinding28 negative mentions

Unique and engaging gameplay that combines dishwashing with horror elements, creating a surprisingly immersive experience.
The atmosphere is well-crafted, with creepy sound design and a sense of tension that enhances the gameplay.
The game offers a fun progression system with automation mechanics, allowing players to build and optimize their dishwashing setup.

The late-game parkour segment feels out of place and is frustrating due to clunky movement mechanics, detracting from the overall experience.
Gameplay can become repetitive, and the story lacks depth, leading to a feeling of unfulfillment by the end.
Some mechanics, such as the inventory system and automation, are buggy and can hinder the gameplay experience.

gameplay
128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
58%
9%
The gameplay has a compelling core loop that combines elements of horror and automation, but many players find the mechanics clunky and the parkour segments frustrating, especially as they diverge from the main gameplay experience. While the game offers an intriguing atmosphere and depth, it suffers from a lack of content in the late game and abrupt tonal shifts that can detract from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the gameplay is seen as fun but marred by inconsistencies and a feeling of incompleteness.
- “It has an addictive gameplay loop and feeds my autism beautifully, even throws in a spook or two.”
- “The gameplay loop is honestly very fun, and has a surprising amount of depth considering the overall length of the game.”
- “Loved the gameplay loop, writing is fantastic and plays into the game so well, even enjoyed the parkour segment at the end.”
- “The main gameplay loop of washing dishes isn't interesting, but I understand the point is to build automation through conveyors, etc. However, in my opinion, you aren't given enough opportunity to do so since the game is so short.”
- “The real kicker for me was the absolute flip in gameplay that the game pulls during the escape.”
- “In order to even progress to the ending, you have to enter an entirely separate area that removes core gameplay mechanics like hunger and thirst, for an hour-long aggravating parkour.”
story
98 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
78%
4%
The story of the game is generally perceived as short and lacking depth, with many players noting it can be completed in about 3-4 hours. While some find the narrative intriguing and innovative, particularly in its philosophical undertones, others criticize it for being simplistic and predictable, culminating in a frustrating ending that detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the gameplay, which some players enjoy more than the narrative itself, leading to calls for future content updates to expand the story.
- “Solid game that broke the format of simulator games to provide a unique experience with a bizarre story.”
- “The environments in this game are fantastic; they feel dingy and creepy. The story is innovative and the sound design made me jump a few times.”
- “Big recommend if you love fun survival scary games with an intriguing story!”
- “The story was confusing and lackluster, so I'm not filled with faith that the end would feel like a real reward for such frustrations.”
- “If you make a casual effort to progress the story, it will end within three hours or less, and is hardly substantive.”
- “The plot is shallow and simplistic, listening to a voice on a phone that's urging you to escape while a spooky eye is telling you to not listen to it and just enjoy washing the dishes.”
grinding
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some enjoy the addictive nature of crafting, farming, and base-building, others criticize the tediousness of grinding for resources, particularly scrap, which can feel overly time-consuming. The balance between different gameplay elements, such as farming and fishing, is also seen as inconsistent, with some mechanics being too easy to exploit. Overall, the grinding can be fun initially but may become repetitive and boring over extended playtime.
- “Research in Dishwashing Simulator is like if you had to craft every item by hand in Factorio; it's just tedious and boring.”
- “Scrap costs for research are very high and grindy, making them really boring to get through.”
- “Good fun game for one day if you are planning on running through it, but there are a lot of scrap upgrades and I did not want to spend hours grinding for enough scrap; maybe a scrap generator would help.”
atmosphere
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
41%
14%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its well-crafted, creepy, and tense environments that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the blend of mundane tasks with unnerving elements, creating a sense of claustrophobia and suspense. While some note that the atmosphere can diminish due to sparse content, the overall consensus is that it effectively builds a captivating and immersive experience.
- “I think the atmosphere and feeling of creepiness throughout is really well done.”
- “Fantastic game, one of the best games I've experienced in recent memory with regards to atmosphere-building.”
- “Fun game wash dish repeat; it has crafting, constructs your base and production line, then you encounter monsters and a creepy atmosphere with puzzles and secrets to uncover while managing water and food.”
- “It is a really neat concept, because the relative safety of your room and the mundane job you have both serve to accentuate the unnerving atmosphere down below.”
- “It succeeds at creepy atmosphere!”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players finding them underwhelming and lacking realism, while others appreciate the retro-horror aesthetics and immersive sound effects. Occasional graphical hiccups are noted, but they do not significantly detract from the overall experience. Despite the criticisms, the visuals contribute to the game's unique blend of simulation and horror elements, appealing to a niche audience.
- “First off, the graphics, they're unbelievable.”
- “Tbh, the game was very enjoyable and appealed to both the relaxing aesthetic of the general sim games while appealing to the survival horror aspect.”
- “I won't spoil much here, but it's a curious game that blends lethal company, voices of the void, and the best of liminal space aesthetics into one.”
- “Its got some good stuff going for it, and I was looking forward to playing, but the parody-sim novelty wore off fast. The retro-horror aesthetics and wandering gameplay are underwhelming and overdone, and the ragegame platforming is clunky and annoying (in the bad way, not the fun way - maybe the respawns are too slow? I don't know).”
- “From the moment you step into the unexpected room, you're greeted with not much realistic visuals and sound effects that immediately draw you into the task at hand.”
- “First off, the graphics are unbelievable.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences frequent glitches and buggy physics, particularly with controls and item mechanics, which can detract from the overall experience. While some players find the concept enjoyable, the instability often feels frustrating, though there are indications that the developers are actively working on patches to address these issues.
- “There's some glitches here and there that get annoying.”
- “Genuinely fun concept, but the controls, item glitches, and item mechanics feel like you have to fight the game to get anything to function.”
- “Physics are quite buggy at times, especially with crates, but it seems the developers are already patching that.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a strong emotional experience while engaging with the game, highlighting moments of laughter and tears, as well as a sense of dread and survival. The game's ambience and design effectively immerse players in a survival scenario, making them feel genuinely invested in their journey, despite some minor gameplay glitches. Overall, the emotional depth adds a compelling layer to the gameplay, enhancing the player's connection to the experience.
- “I laughed, I cried, I fished scrap metal out of a toilet.”
- “Early on in playing it, I was extremely pleasantly surprised that it was actually a very good game. The gameplay loop speaks a lot to the good game design that went into it. The best part of it has to be the ambience; it's one of the few survival games that really made me feel like an actual survivor, rather than just doing chores. Having to go down into the depths to get more food and other resources has a very fun horror element to it that makes you both dread going down for more while being essentially forced to early on, making you wish to get to the point where you don't have to as much, which I liked a lot.”
- “I laughed, I cried, I fished scrap metal out of a toilet.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is multifaceted, allowing players to engage in various activities such as base building, farming, and factory management, which can lead to distractions from the main horror elements. Players find themselves immersed in optimizing different aspects of gameplay, from aesthetics to resource management, creating a rich and engaging experience. However, this abundance of options may also detract from the core horror experience for some.
- “I enjoyed the horror part, until I got distracted by the base building and enjoyed that, then I got distracted by the farming, then the fishing, then the aesthetics, then my optimal box placement, then the story, then what monsters look like, then the ball, then the hole, then the monsters again, then factory optimization, then more dish washing. Oh my gosh, the dishes go ding, and drying is a thing too! How to make that optimum?”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is derived from its well-balanced difficulty and intentionally janky physics, which create amusing moments without becoming frustrating. Players appreciate the lightheartedness that enhances the overall experience.
- “The difficulty was just right, and there was just enough jank to the physics to make it funny but not annoying.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
50%
While the game does not have expected content updates, the potential for mod support could significantly enhance its replayability by introducing new themes, foods, and gameplay elements.
- “The potential for mod support, including more exploration environment themes, foods, and plates, could significantly enhance the game's replayability.”
- “The variety of gameplay options and the ability to customize experiences make this game highly replayable.”
- “Each playthrough offers unique challenges and experiences, ensuring that players will want to return for more.”
- “This isn't an EA game, and public statements indicate further content updates aren't expected. However, the dream of mod support (more exploration environment themes, more foods, more plates, etc.) would probably extend replayability by an order of magnitude.”