The genre of “Podcast Games” has continued to grow as the years roll on. Games like PowerWash Simulator kicked off this trend, being the perfect type of game to zone out with after a stressful day of work. Spray Paint Simulator has a lot to like about it. Its visual style is great, and the variety of work and how it’s done is quite enjoyable. But if you’re hoping to find the next co-op obsession for you and your friends to fall into, this may not be the best place to look.
‘Spray Paint Simulator’ Wants Us To Unleash Our Creativity by Whatever Means Necessary
Speaking strictly on the single-player portion, Spray Paint Simulator is quite nice. Rather than being dropped into the zone and just painting, we need to first prepare our surroundings. We can’t just whip out our electric paint gun and get right to work. Paper and tape are necessities here, as we need to mask off parts of the world before we can get into the real meat and potatoes. For example, the first job we have is painting a car. We need to mask off the bumpers, the lights, the windows, and every other small piece that shouldn’t get painted. Then, remove the side mirrors and the antenna. It makes every job feel more cohesive.
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Much like PowerWash Simulator, jobs are fairly straightforward. Each level has a specific goal in mind, be it painting a room, a car, or even our outfits. Spray Paint Simulator controls well, and I never felt like the game was being unfair with what it needed me to paint. There’s more than enough accessories available to make painting a breeze. I was actually rather impressed to see things like orange peel being accounted for here, as well. Before working in this field, I worked in the auto-body industry, so seeing small details like this put a smile on my face.
Jobs in ‘Spray Paint Simulator’ Are Quick, Dirty, and Fun
Spray Paint Simulator fits perfectly well into the “Podcast Games” genre, much like its inspirations. Throw on something you want to listen to, and just paint the day away. The sheer amount of freedom I had when I entered a level, especially in Free Spray mode, was incredible to see. Nothing was off-bounds. I could paint the car, then the house, then the bushes, and the grass. Everything was paintable, and this was really fun to mess around with.
On the performance front, Spray Paint Simulator looked and ran great on both Xbox Series X and Series S, maintaining a healthy 60FPS framerate and looking great while doing so. It’s not the most visually intense title available on the platforms, but it’s pleasant to look at, regardless of how colorful the world is now that you’ve been given free rein with a paint gun.
If you’ve been searching for something to scratch that same itch PowerWash Simulator did when it first released? Then you’ve come to the right place. Sure, we may be making a mess rather than cleaning them up, but the spirit is still there. It’s a blast to play, and I love the amount of customization my avatar has. Which is why the multiplayer sting hurt even more.
If You’re Hoping for Some Co-Op Career Action, ‘Spray Paint Simulator’ Is Lacking in That Department
While the single-player portion of Spray Paint Simulator is great, the multiplayer had me craving more. As my wife and I eagerly booted up our copies of the game, we figured that we could work together throughout the story. Instead, we quickly learned that multiplayer is only available in Free Spray mode. While I had gone ahead and unlocked several stages before she was ready to play, it was still disappointing to see that we weren’t able to work together in our own little business. I hope that campaign co-op is coming down the line. Free Spray is fun and all, but I can promise plenty of folks would love to work together through the story.
The time Katie and I spent in PowerWash Simulator was some of our favorite gaming memories, especially as the story continued to ramp up and get weirder and wilder. Spray Paint Simulator, on the other hand, doesn’t offer objectives for multiplayer sessions. Instead, it opens up a particular stage as a playground for folks to get creative in. With no goal in sight, folks can use this pseudo-sandbox however they’d like. We didn’t create any masterpieces, but modern art fans would have likely loved what we did with the world in these stages.
The Lack of Multiplayer Options Is a Bit of a Bummer
Spray Paint Simulator has plenty of fantastic ideas. I love having to mask off objects before painting, as it adds to the general realism of the game. The customization is extremely fun, and the story is fun to follow along with. Plenty of unique stages and unexpected surprises lie waiting for those ready to jump into the world before them. The lack of Multiplayer options is a bit of a bummer overall, and I’m hoping that as the game continues to grow and evolve, a proper co-op campaign is implemented.
Spray Paint Simulator has its heart in the right place, and with a few updates, it could be something special. If you’ve been searching for something to keep you occupied, you could do much worse than this one. It succeeds at what it tries to do, offering a unique take on the “Cleaning” and “Podcast Games” genres. Hopefully, as time goes on, the development team continues to add new scenarios, multiplayer options, and more to keep players interested. I would happily return once again if I could play the full story in co-op.
Verdict: Recommended
Spray Paint Simulator will be available on May 29, 2025, on Xbox Game Pass, Steam, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4. It will be available on June 19, 2025, on Nintendo Switch. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on Xbox Series X|S.
