Mouthwashing Review (Spoiler Free)

You hoped it hurt. It did.

Developer: Wrong Organ

Publisher: Critical Reflex

Genre: Narrative first-person phycological horror

Platforms: Steam

Price: $12.99, introduction discount until Oct. 10 for $11.69.

Socials: Wrong Organ’s Discord, Steam, Twitter | Critical Reflex’s Discord, Twitter, Steam, Website

Mouthwashing is a concise, and enjoyable video game with unique storytelling. A space horror game whose central theme revolves around corporate greed and oppression, employee displacement, decaying mental health, societies’ expectations, and other themes, are explored in a tight and riveting 2 hours narrative.  

Polle says, “Lend A Hand.”

HR complaints about poor team synergy may result in collective punishment.

You’re in the Tulpar, a Pony Express Long-Haul Space Freighter manned by five personnel. Curly, the ship’s golden leader; Jimmy, the ship’s second in command and Curly’s close friend; Swansea, the veteran disgruntled mechanic; Anya, the ship’s sensitive nurse; and Daisuke, the young and spunky interning mechanic.

But after Curly crashes the ship into an asteroid, the whole crew is left stranded in space, including Curly, who’s now maimed, limbless, only able to scream in agony in the infirmary room’s bed. Why did he do it? Jimmy’s in charge now.

What makes this narrative unique is how it unfolds, as the player jumps from two different perspectives and at different times before and after the crash. The player sees the world’s and character's relationships and problems unfold through Curly’s and and Jimmy’s perspectives.

As it is a narrative game, there is less of a focus on the gameplay and more of a focus on the storytelling. This is to say that you should play this game expecting a few simple “puzzles,” and no combat mechanics or such, only a good story. If you can accept this, you will have a great and memorable experience, with a soundtrack and sounds that amplifies the horrors.

The dialogue feels organic, each character projects and develops themselves through player interactions or their interactions with other characters. The majority of the revelations occur through dialogue, and as the characters are fleshed out enough that you understand their tropes, such as Swansea being the disgruntled mentor to the young and spunky Daisuke, it leads to twists that, while expected and others aren’t, they are well executed and impactful.

Many situations that occur in the game are devastating, especially when it decides to go further than I thought it would. The aforementioned themes, such as societies’ expectations, is my favorite scene in Mouthwashing. I can’t say too much without spoiling.

What’s most intriguing, stylistically, is not the PSX art style (though it is nice), but how Mouthwashing transitions to a different point of view, such as effects akin to a game crashing, and the way the game expresses horror. The game is rooted in a character’s psyche, meaning many things aren’t what they seem, and Wrong Organ plays well with the “unrelievable narrator” technique.

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Hopes, Dreams, and Marzipan

I highly recommend Mouthwashing to anyone who appreciates a tight and short narrative that has something to say, not only about mental health, but what it means to work and live, or live to work. Of course, be aware that it could be quite scary for some, though I didn’t find it too bad.

For a more in-depth look at Mouthwashing, be sure to check out my post this Friday.