Mouthwashing (video game)
A nonlinear horror game about a stranded spaceship crew.
Mouthwashing is a 2023 horror adventure game from Swedish developer Wrong Organ and publisher Critical Reflex. It centers on the crew of the cargo spaceship *Tulpar*, who become stranded in space after a mysterious crash leaves them trapped with dwindling supplies. The game was praised for its story and visual design.
Played from a first-person perspective, the game lacks combat or survival mechanics and functions largely as a walking simulator. Players explore the *Tulpar*, talk to the crew, and solve puzzles with found items. The story is nonlinear, jumping between disjointed scenes set weeks and months before and after the crash. Timeline shifts are sometimes marked by glitch-like, non-diegetic transitions that briefly trick the player into thinking their computer or console has crashed. Before the crash, players see through the eyes of Captain Curly; after the crash, they follow co-pilot Jimmy, who declares himself acting captain.
The *Tulpar*, a Pony Express freighter, collides with a meteorite or space debris during a routine shipment. The crew—Curly, Jimmy, medic Anya, mechanic Swansea, and intern Daisuke—survive, but most of the ship’s resources are sealed behind a fire-retardant foam barrier that the crew must cut through. Curly is severely mutilated in the crash, unable to speak or move, and is kept sedated with a limited supply of painkillers. Jimmy blames Curly for deliberately causing the crash, accusing him of going postal.
After two months, food and medical supplies run low, and the crew opens their confidential shipment, finding only mouthwash. Swansea, a recovering alcoholic, breaks his sobriety and drinks the mouthwash for its 14% alcohol content, worsening tensions. Jimmy, who has been feeding Curly his pills because Anya cannot, force-feeds Curly in a rage and hallucinates killing him with an axe. Four months after the crash, Anya locks herself in the medical bay with Curly. Jimmy and Daisuke drug Swansea with a tainted mocktail made from the ship’s only rubbing alcohol, then discover Swansea was guarding the sole working cryopod. Jimmy forces Daisuke to crawl through a damaged vent into the medical bay; Daisuke is severely injured. Jimmy uses mouthwash as antiseptic, but it only worsens Daisuke’s pain. Swansea, who has grown fond of Daisuke, kills him with a fire axe. Jimmy enters the medical bay to find Anya has overdosed on painkill
- Developer
- Wrong Organ
- Publisher
- Critical Reflex
- Release Year
- 2023
- Genre
- Horror adventure game
- Platforms
- Windows (initial), later announced for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
- Perspective
- First-person
- Narrative Style
- Nonlinear
Lore & Background
Mouthwashing is played from a first-person perspective with little in the way of survival mechanics or combat, often described as a walking simulator. Gameplay primarily involves exploring the Tulpar, engaging in dialogue with the crew, and solving puzzles using various items. Presented as a nonlinear narrative, the game plays out across disjointed scenes taking place in the weeks and months before and after the crash. Jumps in the timeline are sometimes delineated by non-diegetic transitions that mimic glitches designed to briefly trick the player into believing their computer or console has crashed. Players experience Curly's perspective in the scenes before the crash, while scenes taking place after the crash are from the perspective of his co-pilot Jimmy.
Reader's Guide
Mouthwashing was first announced as part of a free update (inspired by Katamari Damacy) to developer Wrong Organ's debut title, How Fish Is Made. A demo for the game released during Steam Next Fest in February 2024 to positive reception, with the full game releasing for Windows via Steam on 26 September 2024. Mouthwashing was well received by audiences on release, achieving an 'Overwhelmingly Positive' rating on Steam within the first two weeks, the highest possible rating on the platform, and was nominated for Game of the Year at the 2024 Indie Game Awards. The game's narrative structure and visual style received praise from critics, with the nonlinear narrative and unreliable narrator creating an air of mystery. The developers took inspiration from films including Alien, Event Horizon, Sunshine, The Thing, The Shining, and Pandorum. The game utilises a low poly, retro visual style inspired by titles released for the original PlayStation.
Did You Know?
- The game's opening puts the player in control while the viewpoint character crashes the Tulpar, creating an immediate sense of tension.
- The developers took inspiration from films including Alien, Event Horizon, Sunshine, The Thing, The Shining, and Pandorum.
- Mouthwashing was first announced as part of a free update to developer Wrong Organ's debut title, How Fish Is Made.
- The game achieved an 'Overwhelmingly Positive' rating on Steam within the first two weeks of release.
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