The description of Mouthwashing ends with, “God is not watching”, and that’s definitely an apt summation of the horror game. A desolate, paranoid piece of work from developer Wrong Organ, it’s not for the faint of heart, centred on a crew aboard a vessel that’s gone way off course, stuck in the middle of space with little hope of survival. If that sounds appealing to you, though, it’s currently going cheap on Steam.
I, for one, love cosmic horror games like Mouthwashing. It all takes place aboard the Tulpar, a freighter that’s become lost in the far reaches of space. There’s not much hope for the small crew of five; the captain is already in a dire state, and the rest won’t be far behind. Food is becoming scarce, and it’ll definitely run out long before the life support ends.
You spend the space game hearing from each of your crewmates, watching as they each cope with the situation in their own distinct way. Cabin fever takes on a new meaning when you’re locked in a glorified truck however many lightyears from home. But still, there’s plenty to uncover as an onlooker with a curious ear, such as the fact this isn’t all that much of an accident. If you’re going to die horribly, you might as well know the reason, right?
Strange visions haunt you throughout the experience, with tunnels full of eyeballs and strange body parts appearing seemingly out of nowhere. It’s all a little disconcerting, in the exact ways you want if you enjoy psychological and sci-fi horror. You can see some influence from haunted spaceship films such as 1997’s Event Horizon and 1995’s Memories in various parts.
Mouthwashing uses an aesthetic derived from the fuzzy 3D of late ’90s games, similar to the PS1-inspired work of Puppet Combo. Before this, Wrong Organ created How Fish is Made, an absurdist free PC game that feels more like a tone poem than anything. This has a more immediate and captivating narrative, while still being completely surreal.
Mouthwashing is $10.89 / £8.79 on Steam right now, its lowest price yet. You can check out the Steam page here, where you’ll find some bundles with similarly odd releases. Considering it came out only last year, this is a very worthwhile offer on one of the best indie games of 2024, not to mention one of the scariest and weirdest. With a 96% user rating on Steam, there are plenty that agree with us on this one.
If you’d like something a little lighter, we have lists of the best relaxing games and best racing games to keep you safely back on earth.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or join our community Discord to stay in the know.