DrainSim | Ep. 2 – She’s Chock-a-Block, This One
Back into the wonderfully satisfying world of drainage maintenance, where every blocked pipe, flooded street, and stubborn pump somehow turns into an evening of unexpected chaos. What started as a last-minute change of plans quickly became one of those streams where improvisation led to some of the best moments of the night.
Instead of venturing into WET on the Xbox 360, the summer heat had other ideas, so we swapped in DrainSim for an evening that was, fittingly, every bit as moist. Armed with better equipment, fresh strategies, and a growing collection of questionable engineering techniques, it was time to see just how efficiently we could drain an entire city.
🌊 About the Game
DrainSim puts you in charge of rescuing flooded locations across the city using everything from simple rakes to industrial pumps and barriers. Every level is its own puzzle, challenging you to redirect water, protect buildings, and restore order before the flooding gets out of hand.
It manages to combine relaxing problem-solving with wonderfully satisfying moments as entire streets slowly dry out, while physics, awkward equipment placement, and the occasional glitch ensure that every mission has its own personality.
🚧 Where We Are in the Journey
This is the second episode of the DrainSim series, but things take a slightly different direction. During the first stream we learned the basics by completing the opening levels. Since then, I became completely hooked, started a separate save offline, unlocked almost every piece of equipment, and earned five-star ratings on every level except one.
Rather than repeating the slower early progression, this episode revisits the levels in order using that fully-equipped save, allowing us to explore faster strategies, clever shortcuts, and some wonderfully broken discoveries while still following the game’s progression. By the end of the night, only the Construction Site remains to be showcased on stream.
💧 What Happens in This Episode
Sometimes the best streams are the ones that don’t quite go to plan, and that’s exactly how this evening began. Originally, we were supposed to be diving back into WET on the Xbox 360, but after battling a sweltering day the thought of digging out and setting up the old console simply wasn’t happening. Instead, we swapped the week’s schedule around and returned to DrainSim for what turned into another wonderfully moist evening of flooded streets, questionable engineering, and surprisingly satisfying problem solving.
This wasn’t quite a continuation of the original save either. After enjoying the first stream far more than expected, I’d spent some time off stream completely falling down the DrainSim rabbit hole. I unlocked almost every piece of equipment, completed every available level, and even went back to chase five-star ratings across the game. By the time the stream started, only a single level still stood between me and a perfect set of stars. Rather than replay everything with limited tools, we loaded that advanced save and worked through the levels in order using the level selection menu, letting everyone see just how much faster and more creative the later equipment makes each challenge.
Our first stop was the Convenience Store, where I immediately showed off one of the strangest discoveries I’d stumbled across. Thanks to an odd hose placement glitch, it was possible to attach a hose in the wrong position above a doorway, causing the outlet to hang high in the air. Instead of pouring water back onto the map, it simply disappeared into thin air, making for an unintentionally brilliant shortcut and proving once again that physics can sometimes be your greatest ally.
With that bit of accidental engineering complete, we headed out to the Farm, where the upgraded equipment really started to shine. By quickly diverting the flow coming down the hills and deploying every available pump, what could have been a slow clean-up turned into an efficient operation. It was one of the clearest examples of how much experience—and better gear—changes the feel of the game.
The Parking Garage followed, and after the slower pace of the first stream, it was incredibly satisfying to watch water disappear at speed. Pumps, generators, and barriers all came together with much cleaner planning than before, making quick work of a level that had once felt far more intimidating.
Next came one of the most memorable maps in the game: Church Canal Breach. The first priority was protecting the church itself by carefully placing flood barriers before tackling the breach. Once everything was under control, another handy exploit came into play by allowing us to work from dry land while clearing the flooded canal. As if that wasn’t enough, we returned to the church right at the end of the stream to take a quick look at an amusing out-of-bounds area hidden upstairs—one final reminder that DrainSim still has plenty of little secrets tucked away.
Then came my least favourite stop of the evening: Industrial District. No matter how many times I play it, certain areas seem determined to drain at a painfully slow pace. Even with better equipment and improved strategies it remained the biggest test of patience all night. Thankfully, perseverance paid off, and by finally securing the fifth star on this level I completed a full set of five-star ratings across every available level in the game.
The final proper mission of the stream took us to Downtown Station, easily my favourite map for earning money quickly. After running it so many times off stream, it has become my go-to farming level thanks to how efficiently it can be cleared. Watching everything come together with practiced routes and refined strategies really highlighted how much progress had been made since that very first DrainSim session.
Along the way there were plenty of opportunities for experimentation. Having watched a few speedrunners, I couldn’t resist trying different routing ideas, discovering faster water paths, and testing various glitches to see what could be exploited. Some worked brilliantly, others produced complete chaos, but every attempt made the evening feel less like simply clearing levels and more like solving a series of increasingly ridiculous engineering puzzles.
Of course, no Dr Ravenholm stream would be complete without chat helping create half the entertainment. The unexpected schedule swap quickly led to endless jokes about everything still being “wet” enough for the evening, with the word “moist” becoming a running gag that simply refused to disappear. Conversations wandered through the scorching weather, my new glasses, TV shows including Game of Thrones, Silo, and Paradise, along with whatever everyone else had been playing recently.
As always, the game’s wonderfully awkward physics added plenty of comedy. Pumps refused to cooperate, power cables seemed determined to tie themselves into knots, generators ended up in questionable locations, and every so often the game would simply decide that normal rules no longer applied. Running jokes about “that car definitely can’t park there,” Batman secretly funding the city’s flood recovery programme, mysterious employers paying for all this drainage work, and blaming poor Gary whenever anything broke kept chat laughing throughout the night. Even repeated cries of “Help, I’m stuck!” somehow became part of the evening’s charm whenever either I—or the equipment—managed to get wedged somewhere unexpected.
Eventually, after one last technical hiccup forced an Alt+F4 exit, the heat finally won the battle. We wrapped up the stream by previewing the week’s updated schedule, confirming that Construction Site would be the final level to showcase next week before finally returning to WET. To round everything off, we sent our community over to Rooville with a raid, ending another relaxed evening of floods, exploits, glitches, and surprisingly satisfying drainage maintenance on a high.
🏆 Personal Best Times
| Level | Best Time |
|---|---|
| Tutorial | 00:07:16 |
| Midtown Market | 00:14:45 |
| Market Magnet Fishing | Not a timed level |
| Forest Road | 00:11:29 |
| Convenience Store | 00:23:08 |
| Farm | 00:15:41 |
| Parking Garage | 00:16:04 |
| Church Canal Breach | 00:13:43 |
| Industrial District | 00:15:26 |
| Downtown Station | 00:15:13 |
| Construction Site | 01:06:35 |
▶️ Watch the Episode
Watch the full adventure here as we tackle flooded streets, experiment with increasingly questionable engineering techniques, and somehow make drainage maintenance far more entertaining than it has any right to be.
Watch DrainSim | Ep. 2 – She’s Chock-a-Block, This One
If you enjoy the series, be sure to like the video, leave a comment with your favourite moment, and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.
Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Dr_Ravenholm
Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT1gq3EGazKo
🌧️ Join the Adventure Live
The city never stays dry for long. Every stream brings fresh disasters, unexpected discoveries, plenty of laughs, and the sort of wonderfully chaotic moments that simply can’t be planned. Whether we’re discovering bizarre exploits, battling stubborn game physics, or sharing jokes with chat while the pumps do their work, there’s always another story waiting to unfold.
Join us live on Twitch or YouTube and become part of the adventure as it happens.
https://www.twitch.tv/dr_ravenholm
https://www.youtube.com/@Dr_Ravenholm
🤝 Community & Links
Every expedition is better with fellow adventurers beside you. Whether you’re here for the games, the conversations, or simply to enjoy the chaos, there’s always room for another member of the crew.
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More
Explore everything else I’m working on:
- https://transparent-aluminium.net/
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- https://transparent-aluminium.net/about-me/
- https://transparent-aluminium.net/blog/
🌙 Until Next Time
Another evening, another flooded city brought back under control, and another reminder that even the simplest simulation can produce unforgettable stories. Until the next stream, keep your pumps primed, your barriers ready, and I’ll see you for the final Construction Site challenge.
— Dr Ravenholm
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