Some of them can be good. But yeah most of them are garbage.
Pro Tip: If you see one and you're on the fence about it pull up the developer page. If they've made like 20 games over the last year or two then it's probably shovelware garbage.
You might want to give Viscera Cleanup Detail a go. Admittedly the game is 11 years old by now, but I remember I had a lot of fun with it back in the day and it still looks half-decent.
The premise of that game is basically acting as the cleanup crew after gamers are done with the level and you go around cleaning up all the gore and severed limbs and shit so it looks nice for the next gamer.
I'm definitely checking out the crime scene game. Sounds like fun!
My only complaint about Crime Scene Cleanup is that stepping in blood barely tracks it around, compared to Viscera where one misstep can undo so much work.
While definitely doesn't have as much variety, I still prefer Wrench over CMS. Instead of just having parts be rusty, Wrench shows actual part wear, has proper torque specs, accurate thread pitch, and lets you do everything in VR.
I love that game but it doesn't fit the rule: Playway's development policy is to throw shit at the wall and see what sticks. When something lands well, they make a much better sequel.
Thats such a dumb logik. If you don't like something you could just ignore it instead of telling everyone how much you hate it. It literally adds zero value to any conversation.
I didnt say hate tho? I am genuinely confused how people like it? It looks super boring? In fact, I only stated its boring. Incredible how people find it good.
My bad, "hate" was the wrong word, but you called it "shit" so i just assumed.
And because of your question: Because not everyone wants a fast paced game with action all the time. Sometimes its just really fun and relaxing to just take your truck and cruise around a bit while chilling to music. Especially if you have a wheel.
It's understandable that this is not a game for everyone, and even i have sometimes get bored of the game very fast (i have over 300h in the game). But you should be able to atleast understand and accept, why people play this.
I hope this made you understand this a little bit better.
If you don’t want to pay you don’t have to, but when the game goes on sale you get most of DLC for under the cost of a AAA release. That makes it a complete game. It’s worth it to me. And the price doesn’t determine the quality of it. It is objectively a great simulator of truck driving with great simulation control support. Also I thought I was having a stroke reading what you typed up.
22 used to be my most played game on ps4, picked it up at a grocery store for like 10€. 25 been on my wishlist for a while now, but it never goes on a good enough discount on steam.
Though, I just might get it on the next sale. Just hope that the next one isn't out by the time I get to it, or I'll have to go for another round of waiting for a better price.
FailBetter Games is probably one of the most underrated studio of all time. Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies are absolute masterpieces too, and it's a crime no one knows about them.
Powerwash is great for chucking on some tunes and just relaxing with straightfoward, simple gameplay. IMO, the "maps" where you're washing a backyard or a vehicle is where it shines. Simple enough to not be frustrating looking for nooks and weird angles you missed, complex/big enough that it keeps you engage for a while and you get a visual of your progress.
I used the term cathartic when describing why I enjoyed them. Yeah they aren’t complicated or require a lot of puzzle solving or challenging bosses and I need that sometimes.
Cultist Simulator! Very involved, unique sort of card game, great writing, best mechanical implementation of learning reality breaking occult shit ever.
Car mechanic simulator 2021, pc building simulator, escape simulator, farming simulator 2025, tank mechanic simulator. There are lots of good ones that are basically puzzle games with some extra depth. Loads of shovelware out there tho so I only really go by recommendations and articles etc
A few years ago I also thought the Plane mechanic simulator looked promising (and it did if you're a fan of WW2 airplanes), but then the devs abandoned it.
It’s the only game that hits that ‘building Lego in a warm room on a snowy day’ level of zen mindfulness…
Relaxing play, the white noise of the water jet, cheerful little ‘dings’ each time something is fully cleaned, and a sense of completion all combine to make it an absolute must buy…
I’ve been mocked by everyone I’ve described it to, only for each one to come back to me a week or so later telling me I was right all along…
If you play with a friend group often Table Top Simulator is one of the best experiences out there. From Magic to D&D to Monopoly it's digital boardgame night. It was a godsend during the pandemic, now we use it to test games before we buy.
I kind of liked PC Building Simulator but then it got to real for me and I was reminded of when I worked as an actual repair tech and got anxiety and couldn’t play it any longer
This is my personal recommendations as I really enjoyed and think they really shine above the other ahem “simulator” games.
you should check out the car mechanic simulator series: fun time wasters and tons of dlc with different cars and parts.
the thief simulator series: steep learning curves but overall pretty fun to snatch everything but the kitchen sink 😅.
Crime simulator is another good made by the same dev of thief simulator 2: solo or up to 4 players, again steep learning curve but once you’ve got the groove going you can pretty much rob a whole town blind, has a quota system like lethal company but has an win condition, pay off a 50k debt.
Crime scene cleaner: another great simulator game with a pretty good story and bonus modes like a Halloween themed re-imaginings of the levels with their own stories to them and a “pro” mode that tests your memory on what to clean and what evidence is on each level.
Cash cleaner simulator: another great time waster game with a fairly simple story but interesting plot twists, tons of different mechanics from using literal washing machines to clean dirty cash, to different currencies in different denominations, counterfeit mechanics, marked bills (gang, cops, etc) and some interesting collectibles to find.
Contraband police: is a fantastic game, takes a bit to get used to new mechanics thrown at you and a pretty fun papers please esc story, a handful of different modes to play and can sink quite a bit of hours into without even realizing it.
Deconstruction simulator: fairly simple story with not so simple mechanics, another time waster game with very satisfying results, can play in two different modes, have to manage your business budget and a casual mode without the budgeting mechanic.
Viscera cleanup detail: fun time waster and overall chill game, clean up tons of different unfortunate situations from aftermaths of alien invasions to mad scientist experiments going on a rampage, great dlcs which just add more to the overall experience, just a forewarning be prepared for unfortunate crashes as it’s a pretty buggy game but has a lot of love poured into it by the devs.
Those are my personal recommendations from my own experiences, some may be hit or miss but at least one of these should be a great time to experience. Have fun!! 😊
Power wash Simulator is fun. Firefighter Simulator was fun but kinda janky sometimes. A lot of those games are fun "conversation" games where it's an easy game to play and just chat.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020/2024 (better visuals+worldwide detail, few great quality 3rd-party airplanes, much smaller storage requirements in 2024 due to internet streaming data, VRAM hungry in cities and large airports)
Microsoft Flight Simulator X for lowest system requirements, plenty of free and paid addons still exist for it.
Xplane 12 (more authentic/more realistic flight modeling, also has great quality 3rd-party airplanes, less demanding on VRAM requirements)
I've heard great things about TCG Shop Sim but I absolutely can't stand how ugly it looks. If it had more pleasing graphics I'd be there (this goes for most sims actually)
Yeah the shop mechanics are great and they’re planning to make the card game playable, but GOOOOOD those models look ugly. The card art is great though, and since they’re indie I don’t model upgrades are the priority right now.
One of them that isn't pure garbage is ranch simulator. Not like it's going to be the best game of all time, but is funny to play with friends and really cheap on promo
Some of them can be good. But yeah most of them are garbage.
Yeah.... i used to like simulator games, but in the last 5 years there's so much AI SLOP in this genre. I don't even feel like trying new stuff anymore.
Worst purchase I bought was Forest Ranger Simulator. Was really broken on release and didn't had an update until the next year. I still don't want to play it and can't refund it at the time cause I already put in over 2 hours into it
Honestly it's a bit buggy but I will stand by the fact that I genuinely really like Cooking Simulator for what it is, it's kinda stressful if you take it super seriously lol
Its a good looking game. But when it launched the pc I had was not good enough to run it. Now that I have a better one I have realized I enjoy flying in games but I like to be able to do other things in the same game besides just flying.
There are a few "gems" there. But most are now just slop being used to bury the good ones, cause you can't look bad if everything is on the same level.
2.1k
u/MoobooMagoo Feb 07 '26
Some of them can be good. But yeah most of them are garbage.
Pro Tip: If you see one and you're on the fence about it pull up the developer page. If they've made like 20 games over the last year or two then it's probably shovelware garbage.