#14: Mouthwashing

Wrong Organ’s psychological horror game Mouthwashing excels at packing heaps of mental anguish into a small space without once losing its grip on the point it’s trying to make. Its excruciating two hours tell the story of a delivery crew shipwrecked in space not losing their humanity, but rather facing the worst parts of what it means to be human.

Mouthwashing has been a hard game to sit with since I played it in November. It deals with the unbearable weight of the human condition while showing how the corporate machine grinds us into the worst versions of ourselves. But it never gives the worst person in its story the space to divert the blame for their actions, even as they try. Is every person’s life boiled down to the worst thing they’ve done? Are we not pieces of every person we’ve met and every experience we’ve been through, pieced together to form something that looks like a person? Can the pain we’ve caused be wiped away by painkillers shoved down the throats of those we’ve hurt?

Take responsibility. — Kenneth Shepard