Dishwashing Simulator

About

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 Play through the game's story or campaign solo

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 658 reviews

gameplay44 positive mentions

grinding32 negative mentions

The game offers a unique blend of mundane tasks and horror elements, creating a surprisingly engaging experience.
The atmosphere is well-crafted, with creepy sound design and procedural dungeons that enhance the tension.
There is a satisfying gameplay loop involving dishwashing, exploration, and automation, which keeps players engaged.

The ending features a frustrating parkour segment that feels out of place and poorly designed compared to the rest of the game.
Some mechanics, like the automation system and inventory management, can be clunky and lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
The game is relatively short, and many players feel it lacks depth and content for extended play.

gameplay
136 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
59%
9%
The gameplay is a blend of survival mechanics and automation, featuring a core loop that many find addictive and engaging, despite some clunky controls and repetitive tasks. While the initial gameplay is enjoyable, players express disappointment with the abrupt ending and a final parkour segment that feels disconnected from the main experience. Overall, the game offers intriguing mechanics and atmosphere, but lacks depth in late-game content and automation features.
- “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.”
- “Great core gameplay loop that I'm sure will be more refined as time goes on.”
- “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
110 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
78%
4%
The game's story is generally considered intriguing but ultimately short and predictable, taking around 3-4 hours to complete. While some players appreciate the unique and bizarre narrative elements, many find the ending unsatisfying and the overall plot lacking depth, often feeling disconnected from the gameplay. Despite its brevity, the story has potential for expansion, and players express hope for future content updates to enhance the narrative experience.
- “There is an actual story here that is fairly well written.”
- “Solid game that broke the format of simulator games to provide a unique experience with a bizarre story.”
- “A phenomenal combination of a story-driven experience layered on top of fun, replayable mechanics.”
- “The story is hardly there and entirely bland; I genuinely thought it was going to turn into an SCP game just 10 or 15 minutes in, and though I was slowly convinced otherwise, the feeling that it could have easily been one never, ever went away.”
- “If you make a casual effort to progress the story, it will end within three hours or less, and is hardly substantive.”
- “The ending story-wise is very generic, almost approaching 'but then you woke up and it was all a dream'.”
grinding
32 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 farming, fishing, and crafting, others criticize the tediousness of tasks like lining up conveyors and the slow progression in earning money and scrap. The initial fun can diminish after several hours due to the repetitive nature of grinding for upgrades, leading to a sense of boredom as players feel the need for more engaging mechanics. Overall, the game offers a variety of activities, but many feel that the grinding elements could benefit from better balance and efficiency.
- “The conveyors are difficult and tedious to line up, and even when you do so perfectly, dishes still get stuck.”
- “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.”
atmosphere
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
39%
11%
The game's atmosphere is consistently described as creepy, unsettling, and well-crafted, effectively enhancing the gameplay experience. Players appreciate the tension and fear it evokes, with many noting the successful juxtaposition of mundane tasks against a backdrop of ominous elements and monsters. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature, making it highly recommended for fans of eerie and immersive environments.
- “The atmosphere is fantastic, the mysterious, spooky atmosphere, the satisfaction of making money off of your dishes, it was all very fun, and I highly recommend this game for anyone with similar interests.”
- “Fantastic game, one of the best games I've experienced in recent memory with regards to atmosphere-building.”
- “The atmospheres of each map are extremely creepy and unsettling.”
- “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.
- “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? idk).”
- “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, they're unbelievable.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences notable stability issues, including frequent glitches and buggy physics, particularly with item mechanics and controls, which can detract from the overall experience. However, the developers appear to be actively addressing these problems through patches. Despite these challenges, the core concept remains enjoyable.
- “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 developer is 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 that enhances the gameplay. The game's ambience and design effectively immerse players in a survival scenario, making them feel genuinely invested in their journey. Overall, the emotional depth adds a compelling layer to the gaming experience, despite some minor technical glitches.
- “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.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game offers a strong replayability factor through its engaging story and enjoyable mechanics, though the lack of expected content updates may limit its longevity. However, the potential for mod support could significantly enhance replayability by introducing new themes and elements.
- “A phenomenal combination of a story-driven experience layered on top of fun, replayable mechanics.”
- “This isn't an EA game, and public statements indicate further content updates aren't expected, but the fever dream of mod support (more exploration environment themes, more foods, more plates, etc.) would probably extend replayability by an order of magnitude.”
- “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.”
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 varied experience. Overall, the optimization encourages exploration and creativity, enhancing player enjoyment.
- “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 largely derived from its intentionally janky physics, which adds a comedic element without becoming frustrating. Players appreciate the balance between challenge and amusement, enhancing the overall experience.
- “The difficulty was just right, and there was just enough jank to the physics to make it funny but not annoying.”