DrainSim

About DrainSim

DrainSim is a single player casual simulation game. It was developed by codePeas and was released on March 3, 2026. It received very positive reviews from players.

DrainSim: The City Won’t Dry Itself The floodwaters have taken over — streets turned to rivers, basements drowning, whole neighborhoods cut off. No one is coming to save the city… except you. Armed with pumps, shovels, rakes, and the trusty plunger on your belt, you’ll fight back against rising water one street at a time. What is DrainSim? DrainSim is a simulation and strategy game where …

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+15

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Reviews

92%Audience ScoreBased on 1,481 reviews

story35 positive mentions

optimization12 negative mentions

Highly satisfying and relaxing water physics with very realistic fluid dynamics.
Multiple creative ways to solve puzzles and drain flooded areas, adding strategic depth and replayability.
Well-optimized and visually impressive with immersive environments and good level design.
Active developer, frequent updates, and great potential for future expansion.
Game is enjoyable for casual and more competitive players, with timed challenges and leaderboard support.
Engaging story elements and humorous radio lines add charm to the game experience.

Currently short with limited number of levels, leading to quick completion and lack of long-term content.
Tools and controls can feel clunky or awkward, such as hose connections, inventory management, digging and climbing mechanics.
Some levels involve tedious waiting for water to drain completely, which can become repetitive and frustrating.
Occasional bugs and glitches like water behaving inconsistently, disappearing tools, and game crashes.
Performance issues on some hardware especially with large amounts of water or on certain platforms like Steam Deck.
AI voice acting in early versions was criticized by some players, though it has been replaced by human voice actors.

story
146 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24% positive mentions, 73% neutral mentions, 3% negative mentions
The story is engaging and enjoyable, featuring a humorous mystery character and well-integrated radio broadcasts that tie the missions together. While missions are varied and fun with some clever twists, the overall narrative is simple and lightly presented, offering a satisfying but brief experience with only about 8-9 missions currently available. Players are eager for more missions, tools, and expanded content to deepen the story and enhance replayability.
- “I like the storyline of the mysterious man with a plunger on his belt.”
- “The narrator does a great job tying the story together and makes it fun.”
- “Also, I love the opening cutscene and the radio broadcasts between missions.”
- “There are literally sites dedicated to finding free writers and voice actors for stuff like this, so seeing the absolute bare minimum being considered too much work for a game that could be really cool and fun is upsetting. As it currently stands, it's $15 for less than 10 hours of mid-tier gameplay, and the only part of the world you interact with between missions is an AI-voiced, AI-written radio host. The entire thing comes off as immensely cheap, and until they add more locations and missions, it will remain not worth the price point.”
- “The game only has 8 to 9 missions, which made me complete it in about 5 to 8 hours, and after finishing them, there is no desire to go back. The story feels short and repetitive, with limited mission variety, making the overall experience feel shallow and not very engaging.”
- “The church mission is almost impossible. It requires constant clicking to dig for 10 minutes, and the incoming wave jumps over the barriers you place. Unless you prepare perfectly, the mission is unbeatable, which makes the gameplay frustrating rather than enjoyable.”
gameplay
136 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43% positive mentions, 53% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its relaxing, satisfying, and unique water physics mechanics that create an engaging and often addictive experience. While the core mechanics and fluid simulation are well-received and intuitive, some users note repetitive gameplay, occasional bugs, janky tool interactions, and a need for further polish and additional content to enhance depth and variety. Overall, it’s a fun, casual simulation with strong potential, especially for fans of problem-solving and physics-based challenges.
- “The gameplay is relaxing, satisfying, and it's one of those games that's easy to lose track of time playing.”
- “The new digging mechanic took a minute to get used to but is a great addition; love being able to move the dirt to create unique barricades.”
- “The mechanics and physics of the game work well and it is really fun to play with some calming music.”
- “I quit, the game's mechanics with the shovel are so bad, it's unplayable.”
- “Any mechanic or control method or literally just anything you interact with in this game feels like it is working actively against you.”
- “The game has overcomplicated the basics of even Minecraft; the jump animation is extremely lag-prone, sprinting causes a power point (even on minimum graphics), the water map can't even keep up with the character. The game dev chose to overcomplicate the character mechanics which causes lag whenever you move, look, or interact with the character.”
graphics
90 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54% positive mentions, 42% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions
The game's graphics, particularly its water physics and fluid simulations, are widely praised for their realism and visual appeal, often described as stunning and top-notch. However, performance issues are common, with many users experiencing low FPS, lag, and the need to lower settings even on mid to high-end PCs, indicating optimization problems. Despite demanding hardware requirements and some graphical bugs, the visuals remain a standout feature that contributes significantly to the game's immersive experience.
- “This is an amazing game, graphics and physics are spectacular and level balancing is amazing.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous thanks to Unreal Engine 5 (and very demanding!), and the fluid simulation is crazy good.”
- “They nailed the water physics and graphics, which are the game's key elements.”
- “The Unreal 5 graphics are terrible, and even on the lowest settings the performance is horrible.”
- “On my RX 6800XT I have big problems playing even on low graphic setting.”
- “The game has overcomplicated the basics of even Minecraft; the jump animation is extremely lag-prone, sprinting causes a power point (even on min graphics), the water map can't even keep up with the character, and overcomplicated character mechanics cause lag whenever you move, look, or interact with the character.”
optimization
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14% positive mentions, 65% neutral mentions, 21% negative mentions
The game's optimization is mixed, with some users experiencing steady 60fps performance on mid-to-high-end rigs, while others report frequent stuttering, crashes, and poor frame rates, especially on lower-end systems or complex water physics levels. Although performance has improved since early versions and hotfixes are frequent, the game still demands a beefier PC due to heavy Unreal Engine 5 usage and physics calculations, indicating that further optimization is needed. Overall, it runs acceptably for many players but remains rough around the edges and challenging for older or less powerful hardware.
- “The game looks great and seems well optimized for my old 980ti.”
- “Performance steady 60 fps in 1440p on my rig.”
- “Glad to see the performance has drastically gone up since the demo, as well as the amount of bugs going down (lookin' at you magnet fishing).”
- “Poor performance, crashing on some levels.”
- “The Unreal 5 graphics are terrible and even on the lowest settings the performance is horrible.”
- “Overall performance on DirectX 12 and 11 is pretty bad: 160 fps in the garage but sometimes no more than 18 fps, and that's on low settings.”
stability
51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 90% negative mentions
The game currently suffers from numerous bugs and stability issues, including frequent freezes, glitches with tools like pumps and barriers, and occasional stuttering, impacting overall gameplay experience. While some players report smooth performance and enjoyable mechanics, the game is generally unstable and requires significant polish, though most acknowledge it's an early access title with ongoing improvements.
- “Very smooth, no lag, runs great.”
- “The simulation works amazingly with little to no bugs and it runs great even with large volumes of water.”
- “No glitches, it's a nice chill simple game.”
- “The flooded convenience store level freezes up and locks the game, I've tried finishing it about 6 times and it freezes every single time, usually around 75-80% completion from my best estimation.”
- “Restoring a mission mid-way from a save still glitches things out to the point where you might as well not bother saving and just start over.”
- “It's far too buggy to enjoy as-is.”
grinding
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
Grinding in the game is often described as tedious and repetitive, especially due to the digging mechanics, slow water drainage, and lack of meaningful replay rewards. While some appreciate the unique simulation aspect, many find prolonged use of tools like the shovel frustrating and pointless tasks like bucket bailing tiresome. Overall, grinding detracts from the fun but the game shows potential if future updates address these issues and add more engaging content.
- “The second issue and this is a big one, replaying levels seems to have no purpose other than grinding money. There isn't really any point in going for a faster time as there is no reward for it. Not only that, but tutorial levels can't be replayed as a non-tutorial start, making time management on the main tutorial level hard locked.”
- “The farm is a prime example of this: I cleared the entire rest of the map of water before the barn was even half empty, and I would have had to spend another 30 minutes to an hour running back and forth emptying buckets to empty the rest of it. That's not fun, that's just tedious.”
- “Use the game's tools to unclog drains, remove obstacles, empty pools, but don't make me spend 30 minutes tediously shifting the tiny amount that's left after I've done the bulk of the work.”
replayability
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27% positive mentions, 61% neutral mentions, 12% negative mentions
The game offers solid replayability through multiple level approaches, time challenges, and a star-rating system that encourages optimizing performance. While the current content is somewhat limited, features like leaderboards and equipment upgrades add depth to repeated play sessions. However, some users note that replay rewards are minimal or absent, suggesting future additions like varied difficulty, new content, and community-created challenges could significantly enhance replay value.
- “Replayability is high in the later levels, trying new ways to lead the water to different areas. The water looks and acts amazing!”
- “You can go through missions rather quickly, but the added leaderboards/trophy system increase replayability, making you want to go back and redo missions again; maybe taking newer equipment with you that you didn't have before or implementing new strategies that you developed as you played along.”
- “I had a good day of fun and then started hunting for a 5-star-time on every level, using the additional in-game money I made to buy more equipment and thus getting faster at completing each level, so there is quite a bit of replayability here.”
- “The scenarios are very specific, so I don't really see any replay value aside from grinding for better vehicles and more gear.”
- “Can't wait for updates and to see where it goes. My biggest wish is for level replayability with some form of payment (even if reduced), as currently replaying any level is useless because you do not obtain rewards for completing it more than once.”
- “It's a good game but has its fair share of issues. The character gets stuck climbing over things, wires and barriers refuse to connect properly, and the 'help, I'm stuck' button doesn't fix the issues. The church mission is almost impossible, and overall, it lacks any replayability.”
humor
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game features consistently clever and self-aware humor, especially highlighted by the funny radio announcer and amusing broadcasts between levels. Players appreciate the silly and playful premise, with humorous moments woven into gameplay and storytelling. While some find the humor excellent and a strong point, a few note potential for refinement.
- “The tutorial making you drain your garden into the neighbor’s was a really funny touch and immediately set the tone of the game.”
- “The story is really funny and the news bits between missions are really funny.”
- “Haven't run into any game breaking bugs, just a few really funny ones (like a bag of chips at the convenience store getting stuck swirling around a drain then freaking out and pinging off into space).”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31% positive mentions, 46% neutral mentions, 23% negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for being calming and non-intrusive, enhancing the relaxing gameplay experience. While the main menu soundtrack is highlighted as particularly strong, some users feel the in-game music is lacking or could use more variety. Many players enjoy supplementing the game with their own music or podcasts for a more immersive experience.
- “The soundtrack, especially in the main menu, is a banger.”
- “The graphics are fantastic, the water motion is realistic, the music is soft and not intrusive, and the small amount of narrative there is amusing.”
- “Solid game and highly satisfying, great for throwing on some music or a YouTube video and getting to work.”
- “Need music.”
- “I get it's a sim game and want to be realistic, but it needs soft background music or something.”
- “Could use a music track while doing the game or something instead of just in the menu.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its detailed and immersive environments that enhance the overall theme and keep players engaged. While most users find the ambiance smooth and captivating, some note that graphical quality on higher settings could be improved to better support the atmospheric experience.
- “The ambiance and atmosphere the levels take place in are detailed enough to immerse you in the settings.”
- “Atmospheric environments: each map is incredibly detailed.”
- “I really like the overall atmosphere and the theme of the game.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
Users find the game emotionally engaging, often becoming unexpectedly invested in its mechanics and experiencing genuine feelings such as laughter and tears. Many express a lasting attachment that motivates repeated play.
- “I told myself 'just 10 minutes' and next thing I know I'm emotionally attached to drainage efficiency and judging real-life sinks.”
- “I laughed, I cried, I will play again :)”
- “I'm emotionally invested in drainage now.”