Mouthwashing Review: Hopes, Dreams and Marizpan
It’s time to take responsibility. I hope this hurts.
Mouthwashing from Developer Wrong Organ is a psychological horror game that takes place on a spaceship named The Tulpar. Meet the five members of the crew who have recently become trapped in the empty reaches of space. What secrets are there to discover about the ship, the crew and the company they work for? Is this all a lot more complicated than it seems? Maybe. But one thing is for sure, there’s a deep darkness to discover beneath this ship’s perpetual sunset.
Brace For Impact
In Mouthwashing, you switch between characters Curly, Captain of The Tulpar and Jimmy, the ship's Co-Captain. In the present day, the crew is attempting to recover from disaster. Captain Curly purposely crashed the ship into an anomaly and has been left horrifically maimed and unable to speak. Now the crew’s air supply and food supply is getting critically low. With over 100 days left on their journey, and no real solution to the problem, the crew is slowly losing their sanity. Jimmy, especially, is finding all of the new responsibilities to be difficult. Meanwhile, in the past, Captain Curly is juggling his crew's emotional turmoil while also trying to keep everyone on task for the remainder of their journey.
The game plays out in a variety of scenes that take place either before the crash or after the crash although, due to how hectic and overwhelming things are for the crew members, sometimes it may take a little longer for you to know when each scene occurred. Sometimes you’ll even find yourself wondering whether a scene is occurring in real life or in the character’s head. And there’s a real brilliance to that. It’s clear that no one on The Tulpar is in the right state of mind, so deciphering what’s really happening is up to you.
What Was My Part in All This?
There is a stark difference between the two time frames - before and after the crash. No one was happy-go-lucky before, but some crew members had a bit of hope and were looking forward to their trip home after their current lengthy trek through space. The Tulpar itself before the crash is moderately organized and clean. After the crash the ship is in complete disarray. Foam has been used all over to plug holes in order to stop air from escaping and any area not covered in foam is cramped and dark. This creates a real, suffocating feeling to the environment. There are only a few rooms to explore and the neon lights, the foam, and the inability to escape your inevitable demise expertly creates tension.
Mouthwashing’s biggest focus is its narrative. You’ll wander the ship during each scene talking with the characters to discover more about them and possibly learn more about the events that led to the crash. In the present day, Jimmy will try to keep a level-head, helping where he can, occasionally speaking with the mute Captain Curly to ask for advice he knows he won’t receive or curse him for putting the crew in this situation. You’ll have to collect certain items, reveal secret codes to unlock boxes or doors or, in some of the more terrifying parts of the game, run from terrifying unknowns.
We All Tried To Escape
Mouthwashing’s gameplay itself isn’t difficult, but it doesn’t need to be. The game truly relies on its subject matter, atmosphere and sound design in order to expertly create a horror experience. Each creak of The Tulpar, every flickering light, even the subtle bits of voice acting, bring everything together into a cohesive, bite-sized, terrifying story. And with the 90s-inspired look to the characters and the ship, nostalgia is leaking from every crack in the hull.
Ever since I played the demo for Mouthwashing a few months back, I couldn’t wait to play through the entire story. And now that it’s here, it has more than met my expectations. The team at Wrong Organ have outdone themselves in every way. If you haven’t had the chance to pick up Mouthwashing, or their previous game How Fish is Made, you’re wasting your time. Turn up your headphones, turn down the lights - you won’t regret it.
Breakdown
Name: Mouthwashing
Developer: Wrong Organ
Publisher: Critical Reflex
Availability: PC
Playtime: About 2 hours
Pros:
Suffocating, unsettling atmosphere
Expertly creepy horror elements
Interesting characters
Nostalgic art-style
Final Thoughts
Mouthwashing is everything that you want from a horror game, especially for those of us who get such a nostalgic kick from the game design. The story is impossible to walk away from and equally impossible to forget about. It is scary and unsettling without having to rely on cheap jump scares or overly gorey elements. It’s a must-play and then a must-replay, period.
Review by Becca Smith