Title: Mouthwashing
Developer: Wrong Organ
Publisher: Critical Reflex
Release Date: September 26, 2024
Platforms: PC via Steam, Steam Deck
Reviewed on: PC via Steam
Price: $12.99 (USD)
Important disclaimer: This game’s imagery and plot contains potentially triggering content regarding implied SA and gore, so if you are sensitive to such topics, I say you may want to avoid playing this game.
When I first checked this game out, I expected it to be another surface-level, “monster chasing you in the dark” type game. I was proven very wrong. Upon finishing it, I genuinely had to take a moment to just recognize how well done this game was and the oddly uncomfortable awe I was in.
Mouthwashing turned out to be a masterfully done psychological indie horror game that left me utterly disturbed, disgusted, sad, confused, and impressed.
Synopsis
The game starts with a small message on the screen giving context that you are playing as a worker on a long-haul cargo delivery trip in space. When the game switches control to the player, it displays the message “Zero days before the crash,” where then the only courses of action are to turn off the auto-pilot of the ship, then roam the halls of the ship before the imminent crash into the asteroid.
Throughout the game, the player switches between the two different perspectives Curly, the ship’s captain and pilot, as well as Jimmy, his friend and co-pilot. Each Curly segment is set before the crash while Jimmy’s are set after the crash.
When playing in Jimmy’s perspective, we see that after the crash Curly is still barely alive. However, his flesh has been completely burned off, his limbs are mutilated, and he is completely covered in bloodied bandages.
The rest of the crew survived completely intact. Jimmy takes on the role of captain following Curly’s disfigurement; Anya, an adult woman who is timid around Jimmy and the nurse of the ship; Swansy, a grumpy middle-aged man who is the ship’s technician; and Daisuke, a young man working as an intern under Swansy’s wing.
As the player progresses, more of the actions and personalities of both Jimmy and Curly (though mostly Jimmy) are revealed as they are psychologically tormented through disturbing metaphorical imagery as a reminder to “take responsibility” for what they have done.
Style and Design
Mouthwashing has a low poly, retro aesthetic that I really enjoyed; it definitely adds a visually appealing atmosphere that works perfectly with the environment of the ship. It’s always impressive to me when a game doesn’t have to use hyper-realistic graphics for it to be terrifying; in fact, I prefer when games focus on being stylistic in general.
I appreciated the simplicity of the character designs that meshed well with their stylized, low-poly models that gave subtle insight into each of their personalities.
Anya is always making a worried expression and has downturned eyes; Daisuke has raised eyebrows and wider open eyes, giving a more innocent look to him; Swansy you can tell is a middle aged man and always has downturned eyebrows; while Jimmy and Curly (before crash) are a little harder to read.
Considering they’re just two older white guys with some stubble, forehead wrinkles, and stern resting faces, which if on purpose is really clever narrative design.
Curly’s post-crash design is the most memorable. His appearance drives a reaction out of most people I’ve seen play through the game, including myself.
His red, burnt flesh with bloodied bandages is easily empathized with, but what is most pitiful and creepy is the fact he has no eyelids anymore, meaning the eye exposed out of the bandages is completely wide open as he stares at you.
SPOILERS: Story Progression
Time jumps that also switch perspectives between Curly and Jimmy are used a lot for the story’s progression, which might make it a little hard to follow what is happening especially in the beginning of the game. However, my guess is that this was done on purpose.
Since the story starts without any context to who you are or what you’re doing, it plays a part making you think that Jimmy, who you play as after that first time-skip, was not the one who crashed the ship. When I rewatched this beginning portion, I noticed that you are even sitting in Jimmy’s seat, yet the dialogue leads you to believe Curly was the one who screwed everyone over.
The use of confusing time jumping and shifting perspectives blurs the line for a while on who is the good and who is the bad one. It felt deliberate as the game hints at Jimmy’s sexual abuse of Anya and Curly’s role as a bystander to it all.
It is perhaps a commentary on how ignoring a victim, because it is an old friend, blurs that line of innocence between the bystander and the abuser. I will note, however, that this is only an interpretation of Curly and the morality of Curly and whether he was a bystander is still debated among fans.
SPOILERS: Game Mechanics
Multiple parts of the story require you to feed Curly his medication in order to progress. This is why there is a mechanic that lets open and close and kind of “play” with Curly’s mouth. This was a deeply unsettling part of the game. The sounds that play over a black screen as you aggressively force the pills down his throat, the moist-like sounds of Curly choking, and the sounds of Curly struggling against you (as Jimmy) is gut wrenching. Anya is unable to handle the sounds of Curly’s pain of having this done without his will, whereas Jimmy is annoyed and doesn’t show any hesitation doing it, behaviors that are very telling when it comes to the personalities of these characters.
This force feeding to Curly comes into play later on in the story as well, this time in a much more gruesome manner. The player in this sequence must use the same mouth mechanic as feeding Curly his pain medication, but this time to feed Curly his own leg.
Yep, you force Curly to cannibalize himself. Until you solve the puzzle involving the valves lodged in his body, which control his digestive system, you repeatedly have to make Curly eat himself with each failure to solve it causing him to vomit it out onto himself. The screen slightly distorts and Curly grunts in pain every time you turn a valve, making this puzzle even more sickening to carry out.
This was a horrific highlight of the game for me with just how disgusted and guilt-ridden it made me feel for doing this to Curly. The game makes the player feel the guilt and sympathy for Curly in contrast to Jimmy’s indifference.
Final Score (4 Out of 5 Stars)
This game was incredibly well-made and deserves the popularity it has received on the internet since its full release. While experiencing this game, it reminded me a lot of Silent Hill 2 with how well-executed the psychological horror was and the slow reveal that the protagonists’ messed up actions.
While I do think it was probably done on purpose, I do wish the time jumps were a little more consistent with the timeline of the story. I also still don’t fully understand the reason, if any, behind some of the aspects of the game, such as the ship’s cargo being mouthwash that kills 99% bacteria that the crew gets drunk on and the horse imagery. Considering it’s the name of the game, I do wish that was focused on a little bit more in the story.
But, overall, this game was amazing! I’ve been finding horror games to be quite dull these days, with recycled concepts like ghosts and demons chasing you and unnecessary jump-scares, so Mouthwashing was an awesome and refreshing experience.
Featured Image: Critical Reflex (via Papapishu on X)
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