Mouthwashing is the latest from developer Wrong Organ, their previous games are similar in the sense that they are odd topics to base a video game around in. Who only created one game before this called ‘How Fish Are Made’ which shows how familiar they are with body horror and psychological horror. Mouthwashing released on September 26th of this year with an ‘Overwhelmingly positive” review on Steam as of writing this article and is only available on PC and no other platform.
A Walking Simulator But Horror
Taking huge in their narrative driven experience, Mouthwashing takes place inside a spaceship called the Tulpar and mental exhaustion that its 5 crew members are facing after they get stranded in water where they are experiencing a perpetual sunset. The developers of course explore themes way beyond what one would expect out of a setting like this, which speaks to the brilliance of Wrong Organ.
It is a first person experience where we interact with the 5 people we are stranded with and start getting to know a little bit too much about what they are feeling, how frustrated they are with the situation and how they could escape. Yet the game quickly dives into psychological horror pretty quickly with our protagonist facing strange situations and then just witnessing the aftermath of murder.
We get to see the state of the crew before and after getting stranded in a peculiar order to say the least but the finale ties it all together and does explain why it’s called ‘Mouthwashing’. Without spoiling too much we slowly start to see mental degradation occur amongst the crew which eventually leads to bloody situations among them with us in the middle trying to piece it all together.
Sound Design And Art Direction Set The Mood
Wrong Organ have beautifully set the mood of the game with their amazing sound design and art direction, while the low polygon-esq faces and PS1 era graphics wouldn’t normally put anyone at unease, Wrong Organ have made them look uncomfortable enough to make the characters feel just slightly uncomfortable.
The same can be said of the sound design, the ambient music that plays whenever we are exploring the ship or the sound of our feet hitting the metal floor as we walk from character to character to understand their mental state, setting the eerie and uncomforting mood that fits the narrative well. The subtle sounds that play when we open doors or lockers to explore adds to the experience no doubt.
A Compelling Blend Of Characters
As mentioned before, we get to explore and understand the crew members before and after the crash as we can jump back and forth between those times. With mechanics like those it sometimes be difficult to keep track of the narrative and which events occurred first, yet Wrong Organ struck a balance there as the plot was easy to follow and thus keeps the player engaged on what is happening in the story.
As the mental degradation of the members start to show themselves we start to see the most despicable and horrific actions some of the members commit against one another. We start seeing the evil come out and there is a character in particular that has managed to boil the blood of those who played the game.
The fact that it’s possible for a player to have this kind of a reaction just shows how well Wrong Organ know how to write their characters. They feel well written, not overly-written to fill the plot past its runtime. Each interaction just gives us just enough information to keep asking and questioning how they will respond as time progresses.
An Uncomfortable Thriller That Deserves Praise
Wrong Organ have shown their craft by creating uncomfortable, eerie and gory narratives, starting from the environment to the characters, the dialogue and the events that take place. Mouthwashing is a brilliant entry into the psychological horror genre that fulfills almost every checkbox on the list with its deeply complicated characters and a brilliant narrative.
This is surely another win for the indie game scene as they continue to prove that they can match the craftsmanship and creativity that is required when creating such powerful experiences such as this, we hope to see more narrative experiences like this from Wrong Organ in the coming years.
