Mouthwashing was provided by Critical Reflex for review. Thank you!
When it comes to Mouthwashing, the entirety of my review process was relatively fast. I was introduced to the game at Gamescom about a month before it was released, and I put in a request for it immediately after seeing it. Not too long after, I was sent a copy to review, and here we are. It was one of the shortest turnarounds, but I couldn't be happier. This is an experience definitely worth checking out for yourself, especially if you love trippy, horror games.
The story is absolutely one of the highlights when it comes to Mouthwashing, and developer Wrong Organ has done a great job crafting an engaging tale. You take the role of the captain of a spaceship for a hauling company called the Pony Express. After getting into a crash, you assume the role as captain and try to hold your crew together and stop them from going insane while you wait to be rescued.
There's a lot more that happens here, but I don't want to say too much. The story is short, but I loved every second. The way it is told is pretty unique, going from past to present quite often, and we can clearly see why as we learn the truth about everything going on. There are also a couple of great twists and turns, with one happening towards the end that I genuinely did not expect. It's graphic, it's trippy, and it feels like a unique, but very effective way to show the narrative.
Mouthwashing also has a great aesthetic. It reminds me of Inscryption in a lot of ways too. It has semi-detailed environments but with a clear pixelated filter around them. It makes the game feel more retro, like from the PS1 era, but still has a modern twist on it. They molded well with the sound as well, creating a creepy but appealing atmosphere that made me want to keep going.
As for the gameplay, it is, at its core, a walking simulator with some puzzles mixed in. You will be spending 90% of your time running throughout the ship, finding items you may need, talking to your crew, completing tasks, and using the items to complete small puzzles. A lot of the items you find are going to be used in one way or another, like taking a code scanner to find the correct codes you will need to input in some ways.
That's essentially the entirety of the gameplay loop. This is a short experience, and the gameplay itself doesn't have much depth. Instead, it relies on the story and presentation to keep people in, and it does a great job at that. There are some collectibles and extra items you can find, as well as stuff for achievement hunting, but it all revolves around the same premises listed above.
And finally, we have Steam Deck performance, which is awesome.
Mouthwashing performs just about as you'd expect for a small game like this, it is fantastic. Apart from 1-2 areas, the entire game runs almost completely flawlessly, though there are a couple of things to keep in mind. 90 FPS is possible, but does drain the battery a lot, so I do recommend bringing it down to 60. And if you are someone who likes to run as fast as you can through games, you will see battery spikes. But if you take your time, you will see extremely low battery drain from 8W - 11W, a solid 60 FPS, and fantastic visuals:
With the game being so small, there isn't much you can change. You can increase or decrease volume sliders, sensitivity, toggle subtitles, head bobbing, and invert camera, and change the language.
The game doesn't support 16:10 resolutions, so there are black bars on the top and bottom, but we do have controller support. There are no cloud saves or HDR settings.
Mouthwashing is a phenomenal experience that I think really shines as a short, artsy game. The story is fantastic and has genuinely shocking twists and turns, while the world looks so stylized and creates a great atmosphere. The gameplay loop is pretty basic, but it satisfies within the context of the game and doesn't feel like it needs to do much more. It also runs wonderfully on the Steam Deck without needing any changes, though 60 FPS and taking your time to get through levels will be very beneficial for your battery life.
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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Mouthwashing is a fantastic little horror game that is well worth your time on the Steam Deck.
