Psychological horror PS1 horror Short horror

Mouthwashing

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A wrecked space freighter, five stranded crew and the captain who doomed them.

Platforms: PC
Price: Paid
Rated: Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (95% of 38,937 reviews)
Length: about 2 to 2.5 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Wrong Organ
Released: 2024

What frightens The five crew of a wrecked space freighter wait for a rescue that will not come, with their captain maimed and mute in the medbay, and you watch them fall apart through starvation, isolation and each other in scenes that jump in time and twist what you see.
Content: extreme violence, gore, mutilation, suicide.

A short first-person horror story from Wrong Organ about the crew of the Tulpar, a space freighter stranded after a crash with power and food running out. You walk the ship, talk to the crew and do small jobs as the story jumps between before and after, and things get steadily worse.

About Mouthwashing

Mouthwashing is a first-person horror game made by the Swedish studio Wrong Organ and published by Critical Reflex, released on Steam in September 2024. It follows the five crew members of the Tulpar, a cargo freighter that has crashed and is drifting in empty space under a permanent sunset. The ship will run out of power within six months, and the food long before that.

The store page sets out the opening plainly: the captain, Curly, is to blame for the wreck, and the attempt to take his crew with him left him maimed, limbless and unable to speak, but alive. He lies bandaged in the medbay while the others decide what to do with him and with themselves. You play through the days that follow, walking the narrow corridors of the ship, talking to the crew and doing small chores, and the story moves back and forth between life on board before the crash and the time after it.

There is little to fight and no inventory to manage. The game is about watching people come apart as hunger and isolation set in, with the ship's cargo of mouthwash always close at hand, and scenes where what you see around you cannot be trusted. The look is low-poly, PS1-style 3D in heavy reds and greens, with cheerful corporate posters on the walls and a pony mascot that grins from posters and dolls around the ship.

It is a story game more than a puzzle or survival game, and its horror is in its people. The store page warns of extreme violence, gore and mutilation, and the game deals with suicide and other dark themes. It suits players who want a short, intense story they can finish in an evening and think about afterwards, and who are ready for subject matter that is upsetting rather than merely scary.

How to play Mouthwashing

Walk the Tulpar in first person and look around each room; details in the surroundings matter.
Talk to each crew member when you can; their moods and what they say change as the days pass.
Pick up and use the items the story asks for to get through each scene.
Follow the story as it jumps between before and after the crash, until it ends.

Screenshots

Mouthwashing screenshot: a bandaged man lies under a red Warning Emergency sign in a cracked, red-lit cabin

Mouthwashing screenshot: a crewman sits between two large mouthwash bottles that read Kills 99.9% of all germs, with the subtitle Jimmy: You thinking about drinking that too?

Mouthwashing screenshot: a dark-haired crew member in a uniform sits by green-lit control panels in the ship's cockpit

Mouthwashing screenshot: a heavyset crewman with a halo beside a pony mascot doll, under a poster reading Polle Says Rise and Shine

Tips

Read the posters, notes and screens around the ship; they fill in the story.
Talk to everyone more than once in each chapter; lines change as events move on.
Play in one or two sittings with the sound up; it is short and builds on its mood.
Read the content warnings first if violence, suicide or mutilation are hard for you.

Questions

How long is Mouthwashing?

Most players finish it in about two to two and a half hours. Getting every achievement takes a little longer.

Is Mouthwashing on PS5, Xbox or Switch?

Console versions for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch were announced in February 2025, but at the time of writing it is only out on PC through Steam.

Is Mouthwashing scary?

It has some frightening scenes, but most of its horror is disturbing rather than jump-scare based: the slow breakdown of a stranded crew, with violence and dark themes.

Is there combat in Mouthwashing?

No. You walk, look, talk and use items as the story moves on.