Mouthwashing Reviews
My favorite horror game of 2024, and one of the year's best narratives, period.
Mouthwashing is grimy, uncomfortable, and incredibly compelling, painting an unsettling picture of who we can be in our worst moments – and it doesn’t let us get away with it.
A taut, time-hopping horror game that playfully subverts expectations at every step, and is all the more refreshing for it.
At multiple points in the game, text flashes on the screen saying, "I hope this hurts," an ambiguous message from one character to another. We never learn who says it to who, but it's a particularly dark line: an explicit desire for suffering in a story where everyone is suffering in their own ways already.
Mouthwashing is a horror tale with a great story, but despite mouthwash being a key part of the narrative, there's still an awkward taste here...
Compact horror that cleverly flits between timelines and puts you at the surreal heart of a growing nightmare.
A deliciously dark and delirious horror experience that you’re sure to remember long after the credits roll.
Mouthwashing offers a top-tier sci-fi horror story with themes and symbols that will likely stay with you long after your journey aboard the Tulpar. The gameplay is passive and repetitive, but those craving well-written characters and story content should appreciate their time in the captain's chair.
While Mouthwashing certainly won’t be for everyone, its unsettling sights and slow-burn narrative are difficult to scrub from memory. It builds toward brutal reveals with style and purpose as its fragmented storytelling forces us to fill in the gaps—its suggestions of violence are often worse than the real thing. It has plenty of terrifying sights, but perhaps its scariest element is how it puts us in the headspace of someone committing increasingly awful acts, all conveyed via distressing moments of interactivity that make you feel complicit in the butchery. Through its portrayal of desperation and crushing guilt, Mouthwashing is as cold as the vacuum of space.
Despite Mouthwashing’s unsettling atmosphere, this immersive tale will make you want to take responsibility for the Tulpar – just make sure to approach with a fresh, open mind.
Mouthwashing, a psychological horror survival story set on a marooned starship, is both terrifying and thoughtful.
Mouthwashing is a short but intense experience, with original storytelling, a haunting atmosphere, and some gameplay limitations that don't overshadow a title that stands out in the indie scene.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
Mouthwashing delivers an unsettling, cinematic spacewreck horror experience with a unique narrative exploring leadership and mental exhaustion. While the puzzles offer little challenge, the gripping storyline and atmospheric PS1-inspired visuals create an unforgettable psychological horror. Ideal for fans of walking simulators with a twist, this game explores disturbing themes that you won't easily forget.
Mouthwashing is a must-play horror experience and has cemented Wrong Organ as a team to continue to watch moving forward.
Mouthwashing is a harrowing game with a surreal method of delivery that transcends the whole experience into something more akin to an art form. Through unfolding delusions and self-soothing hallucinations, the story delves into humanity’s darkness in a setting that inspires a deep, primordial fear.
Mouthwashing proves that it isn’t necessary to rely on mythical creatures and monstrosities to create horror and tension; it’s enough to focus on what’s truly terrifying: our inability to accept our own mistakes.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The horror is pervasive, and it’s absolutely worth the three hour runtime and $13 price tag. Every character is complicated and interesting, and you’ll have to pay close attention to every detail or you’ll miss something. There’s so much to revisit and deconstruct, it’ll have your brain buzzing long after credits roll. Mouthwashing is as compelling as it is unsettling, and this psychological sci-fi horror has heart that beats for this genre.
Mouthwashing is an impactful game, telling a bleak story about an ill-fated crew and how the game's greatest horrors live amongst them.
Mouthwashing is an engrossing psychological horror experience that kept me completely hooked in thanks to its captivating storytelling. I simply HAD to see how each thread of the tale would play out, and with the switch between time periods leaving me guessing and the brilliantly-written characters proving unpredictable, I loved every moment of it. The storytelling does take centre stage (and it’s best described as a walking sim), but with plenty of moments of interactivity as well as a few simple puzzles to spice things up, Mouthwashing certainly stands out as a horror hit that you won’t want to miss out on.