Day 5 of the October Horror Reviews:

Mouthwashing is a sentimental experience.

Some people are born leaders, some people are thrust into the role, and some people are put into a role before they're ready, a role they're not happy with, a role they have no interest in, or a role they feel powerless to avoid.

Each crew member of the Tulpar is a reflection of this ideal: People who aren't meant to be in their respective role, and yet they are. They might be good at it - but that doesn't mean they're meant to do it.

Then you have Jimmy, who, of all the people on the ship - has the least defined role of all. And as things begin to go wrong, and the world that they've become so adjusted to begins to melt around them, the crew of the Tulpar, and especially Jimmy - recognise their lack of purpose, their misplacement, and why when things start to crumble - they really start to crumble.

Spoiler alert:
Only one person makes it. And it's the person who seemingly is meant to be where they're meant to be.

Horror games nowadays are very much soaked in a formula: A haunted house always has a reason it's haunted, and usually it's because of a tragic death. Hospitals, hotels, subways, forests, there are a lot of staples of horror. Space ships certainly fall under that umbrella, too - but there's something very different about Mouthwashing. It attacks you not just with the fear of an encroaching monster, but aspects of existential dread that feel constant, brutal, and tear away at the psyche of every crew member.

Existential dread is also pretty tropey for psychological horror, but Mouthwashing takes a very visceral look at an existence that offers very few answers, and I think Wrong Organ should be proud of that. Their use of colour, sound, gameplay mechanics and harsh visuals that sometimes feel like errors but you know they're there on purpose. Even the meta-gameplay is entrancing.
It's an unsettling journey, and it's not perfect - but it still speaks to the human condition in a rather profound way. 8.6/10