Laundry Store Simulator

Loads of fun.

You stand behind the cash counter of a modest laundry business you just opened and take it all in. The smell of fresh laundry detergent, the peaceful sound of clothes tumbling around in the neat rows of machines, ghost kids staring at you through the window, and the brightly clothed clowns complaining about the cost of dryer sheets… Ah! Business as usual! Let's get ready to take that clothes-washing business by storm with the Laundry Store Simulator! Right after, of course, we dislodge the older lady who's got herself somehow lodged into a coin washer machine in the next room.

Laundry Store Simulator is a job sim game that never takes itself too seriously, and I am here for it. You start off in a conversation with a tuxedo-clad business man, complete with top hat and monocle (and a lipstick mark on his neck..??). What starts as a congratulations on the opening of your new laundry business quickly devolves into a sudden reminder of the rather sizable and bloated loan you owe him, almost as if he took classes in Tom Nook’s business course. Turns out this suspicious tycoon is your loan shark, and you owe him big. Better get to work and turn the beat-up second-hand washer and dryer into the washing empire of your dreams!

You begin gameplay with a step-by-step tutorial that is nicely informative and doesn't leave you confused or guessing what comes next. It teaches you how to use all of your meager starting equipment, the process between each step, and even how to handle small tasks in between customer's washing orders. The tutorial is short, sweet, and ends with the end of that business day.

From then on, you are on your own. Don't get too nervous, though. The game does a great job of providing you with pop-up information whenever you encounter new equipment or tasks. They also give you challenge lists to complete that also help you learn how to utilize these new mechanics while netting you some money for completion. 

There are a host of eclectic characters to meet, and they come with short little quests or tasks to do. These quests will often net you a bit of cash and a funny collectible to display in your shop as a fond memory of time spent. Some of these guests will even become loyal customers who will visit your store every day. And should any suspect people attempt to perform a variety of criminal and oddly specific shenanigans, such as filling your computer’s watch history with some untoward washing machine videos, you can use a wrench to retificy the situation. 

The rest of the game is populated with a bunch of random NPCs. While there are quite a few repeat character asset used in order to fill out the rest of the space, the developers do their best to weave them in and out of circulation with a steady flow of customer traffic and general NPC's that pass by the store on the street. I did notice the same dozen or more character models, but I was always kept busy enough that it never really bothered me too much.

At times, if you are not careful, you can easily get overwhelmed by the sheer number of things that can happen in and around the store. Everything from the high number of orders to process, to machines breaking down and creating puddles on the floor, to random intruder encounters that can impede your cash flow. This is where I think the real challenge of Laundry Store Simulator comes into play. You need to strategically spend what little open hours you have on all the tasks before you in order to make as much money as possible. That will definitely be something you will need to discover on your own.

The way the game controls on console feels quite comfortable in comparison with mouse and keyboard on PC. The use of mouse and keyboard also felt quite nice, and I was concerned that it wouldn't translate well to the console and the controller. I was pleasantly surprised that my fears were unfounded. 

Performance-wise, the game runs quite smoothly. There isn't really any “chugging”, not even when the shop or street is crowded with people coming and going. I always found this pretty impressive for a game crafted by a relatively small team. There is, however, graphical clipping with the NPC's movement. They tend to move right through objects and other people, which may seem glitchy, but I found it to be a smart move to allow, considering the size of the spaces you're given to manage. I even found it quite comical at times and even part of the novel experience of the game, just as much as the crazy missions you are tasked with completing.

My only real complaints are a few of the bugs I encountered while playing the console version of Laundry Store Simulator. A couple of the same ones were even present when I played the PC version. One example being that the laundry detergent wouldn't allow you to change the price and remain stuck at a really small margin. You would have to set it too high or too low for the change to stick, and often it wouldn't allow for any change at all. I had hoped that when the game made its move to console, that they would have been rectified, but unfortunately, this issue was still there, among others. This could be a result of the console version being an earlier build of the game from PC and hopefully will be fixed when and if they update the console version. I am really hoping they do, as well as add in some of the funny real life content creator encounters that were present on the computer version. It doesn't spoil my experience, and I eagerly await any news of the fixes and adds.

Laundry Store Simulator was, all in all, a hilarious and busy time well spent! I loved my experience with the PC version and am also super excited to be back in the laundry world with the console version! I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys quirky and busy work filled games. Now grab your controller and get to washing! Your Laundry Store Empire awaits!

Developer - Akhir Pekan Studio.
Publisher - Noctua Games, PlayWay. Released - October 31st, 2025. Available On - Xbox One/Series X/S, PS4/PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC. Rated - (E) - No Descriptors. Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X.
Review Access - Review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.