My spouse and I predict our first baby quickly, so I’ve spent the higher a part of a yr reflecting on huge ideas like management, accountability, accountability, and belief. I’m contemplating who I’m and the way precisely I’m supposed to boost one other human and never move on all of my worst traits. It was on this emotionally uncooked state that Mouthwashing got here alongside and punched me within the face. Whereas mechanically easy – there’s not a lot to do apart from discuss to different characters, decide issues up, and search the spaceship you’re confined to – it tells its story in a manner that couldn’t be completed with out the burden of interactivity, taking full benefit of what units video games other than the likes of films or TV. And I don’t use the phrase burden calmly, as that’s exactly the way it felt to maintain taking part in at instances (in a great way). “Please don’t make me do that,” was typically my prevailing thought, however uncovering the mysteries of how issues acquired fairly so unhealthy on this ship at all times compelled me to proceed.
The premise is easy: A gaggle of individuals in a long-haul house freighter, the Tulpar, take care of the aftermath of a catastrophe, along with your perspective bouncing round between a number of completely different instances over the span of a few yr. To enter extra specifics concerning the story would spoil extra about Mouthwashing than I’m keen, because the shock of selecting aside what occurred right here and why is a driving drive. However suffice to say, it wrings out as a lot dread, character exploration, and physique horror as one conceivably might over the two-to-three-hour runtime.
The surreal tone all that takes is heightened by Mouthwashing’s PS1-esque visible model. Characters are recognizably human, but in addition simply off sufficient to be dismissed as one thing else solely. It’s a funhouse mirror, a twisted depiction used to precise how we see folks as instruments in actual life, and the way simple it’s to disclaim the humanity in somebody staring straight at you. It’s a terrific selection, as hyper-realistic or extra stylized graphics would have robbed it of the uncanny valley feeling it’s going for. The equally distorted sound and restricted, muffled voice performing make it really feel like you could have cotton in your ears, doubling down on the impression that you simply’re driving via fog, making an attempt to see what could also be occurring simply out of sight.
The identical goes for the construction. Leaping forwards and backwards between instances each earlier than and after the catastrophe is disorienting, however I by no means misplaced the story’s thread. Dreamlike sequences are equally spliced in, providing you with easy duties like opening doorways or mixing drinks that at all times carry an undercurrent of menace, making the mundane unsettling. You’re at all times ready for evil across the nook, nevertheless it typically seems in life like and boring ways in which appear completely regular out of context: small interactions, barely off-color questions, and statements that tickle the a part of your mind liable for recognizing hazard. And that’s how real-life evil typically presents itself, via a masks of seeming sincerity till you acknowledge it for what it’s, hopefully earlier than it’s too late.
Generally, the evil is extra express, particularly as Mouthwashing reaches its conclusion and extra hands-on mechanics are used to drive residence the detestable actions and worldviews of the Tulpar’s crew members. Nonetheless avoiding spoilers, one character specifically was so loathsome I needed to step again and take into account why I used to be having such a visceral response to them – I might solely concede that individuals like this actually exist, and in my worst moments, I can nearly perceive the place they’re coming from, at the same time as they’re painted in extremes right here. It’s a deeply uncomfortable feeling, resonating with characters you hate a lot, and seeing the injury somebody may cause once they refuse to have a look at themselves in a significant manner (or just via inaction).
And whereas these characters could be excessive of their habits, they’re not over-written. Loads is left to be inferred, and the crew speaks plainly. There are moments when display flashes, loud noises, or accompanying messages can have a tendency towards the extreme, however additionally they by no means really feel like leap scares, simply methods to intensify story beats. One specifically got here with a realization that each gave me context for the title “Mouthwashing” and arrange simply how darkish this story was about to get.
That stated, when it does enterprise outdoors of its compelling conversations and into a few barely extra action-focused sections, it is not at all times the smoothest transition. Temporary forays into survival horror and even first-person taking pictures, whereas initially novel, grew a bit irritating because the imprecise controls require extra persistence than the remainder of the story. These sections appear to be irritating by design, however they have been nonetheless irritating. Fortunately, they’re additionally brief lived, so that they didn’t hamper my enjoyment a lot.
And whereas it’d go with out saying at this level, if you happen to’re squeamish or simply disturbed (particularly on the subject of a lack of bodily autonomy), Mouthwashing is not going to be simple to play, nor was it meant to be. It’s an uncomfortably shut take a look at deeply flawed folks, and it’s not stingy about holding up a magnifying glass – or, on this case, a literal ultrasound – to gaze even deeper.
In order I await the delivery of my daughter, an event that fills me with unbelievable pleasure, that anxious a part of my mind continues to be yelling at me, and Mouthwashing has given phrases to these worries: “Who’re you in your worst moments? Is that individual adequate to be trusted with a toddler?” Few video games have hit me as arduous at such a selected time in my life, however that’s what good artwork does – it holds up a mirror. And hopefully you want what’s wanting again.