Yes, even higher than Elden Ring!
Welcome to JOE Gaming Weekly, your weekly round-up of all things gaming.
Or, specifically, the one big game you should play this week, the one big piece of gaming news you need to know about, and the one big deal available to purchase this week.
So, off we go!
GAME OF THE WEEK
PowerWash Simulator
Not every game needs thrills and emotional stories and mind-blowing set-pieces. But with PowerWash Simulator, you will find a blissfully relaxing, almost hypnotic 20 hours of gameplay as you take your hose from job to job, cleaning increasingly obtuse items and locations.
Perhaps the greatest game to turn on but then listen to a podcast while you’re playing, you essentially need to get 5-star reviews from each job, so you’ll get well paid, invest your money in better cleaning equipment, so you can take on the levels that include (checks notes) the Mars Rover and the titular shoe from There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe.
PowerWash Simulator is available on Xbox and PC right now.
BIG NEWS OF THE WEEK
Stray has the highest user-score of 2022 so far
We only reviewed Stray last week, but the response to the game has been immediate and intense. So much so that in that time, the game has now topped the Steam user-review charts as the best game of 2022 so far, with a score of 8.62 out of 10
For comparison, Elden Ring – the game which is likely going to run away with all of the Game Of The Year Awards come December – has a user-review score of 8.17.
On the immensely positive response since the game’s release, the producer of Stray said: “We were not prepared and we still are not!”
Stray is available on PS5, PS4 and PC right now.
DEAL OF THE WEEK
Batman: Arkham Collection
Batman: Arkham Asylum. Batman: Arkham City. And Batman: Arkham Knight. Three of the very best comic books games of all time, and with Asylum, arguably one of the very best games ever made. Full stop. Need we say more?
Batman: Arkham Collection is available on the PS Store, marked down from €59.99 to €17.99, until Wednesday, 3 August.
Clips via PlayStation & Xbox