Jan. 7, 2025
By Josleiny Castillo
Staff Writer
If you think the oral hygiene ritual of mouthwash couldn’t possibly have a scary side, you may be wrong. Released on Sept. 26, 2024, the psychological horror adventure game Mouthwashing spins everyone about, leaving players with a minty taste of shock.
Your crew transforms from a peppy team freighting loads of mouthwash in their cargo to a group of workers who do not trust each other after losing their steady captain, Curly. As a result, everyone on board the Tulpar, your crew’s freighter ship under the Pony Express, deteriorates, physically and mentally.
The game starts with you staring out into space from the Tulpar’s control panel as one of the game’s main characters, Jimmy. The ship’s navigation system detects a hazardous asteroid in the distance, alerting you with a warning on its front screen. Deciding to purposely direct the ship’s course to the asteroid, the panel engages in autopilot. This causes you to find the emergency key and unlock the container with the panel’s disengagement button. During the crash, the screen lags out, sending you to an old memory where you play as their captain, Curly.
As you progress through your quests and objectives, you unlock more areas of the ship, each place even more daunting than the last.
The graphics of this game have a relaxing, indie genre appeal and the setting and styling of the characters give off a chill, ‘90s style. Its colors are energizing and vibrant, even down to each character’s text and spoken words.
These upbeat elements leave the player unsuspecting, making most unprepared for the jumpscares to follow. Usually, these frightening aspects are enjoyable, but if you are faint of heart or sensitive to flashing lights, then it may be best to stray away from said effects.
Before the jumpscares, you interact with the crew members and get to know them along with their duties around the ship. Along the way, the main characters Anya, Curly, Daisuke, Jimmy and Swansea are featured.
As time goes on, their stories only get deeper and more unsettling. More clues and revelations are exposed as you dig further around the ship and tend to your disfigured captain. As you progress through your quests and objectives, you unlock more areas of the ship, each place even more daunting than the last.
The main shortcoming of this game is that it focuses on the storyline rather than on how the game operates. Additionally, the game includes a lot of gore, and some players may be uneasy with the sensitive topics included in the game. For instance, it is implied that one of the crew members on board has been forced into nonconsensual activities by another member on board.
Nonetheless, most players would agree that these creepy points add to the psychological appeal of the game, adding detail to the plot and captivating the player until the end.
Another positive attribute of Mouthwashing is that it is a very simple, guided game. While it may seem lengthy at first, the whole plot could be completed and run through in a crisp two hours, so it is very manageable and convenient.
Whether you want to delve deep into the genre of psychological horror games or just experience a novel way to express creativity and unsettlement, you’ll find Mouthwashing worthwhile.
With an intriguing storyline and complex characters who have a lot of secrets to unveil, this game and genre may become your new favorite. Therefore, I give this game a 9/10. It isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough not to leave a bad taste in your mouth.
