I can podcast it. I’ll take responsibility.

Welcome to the very first episode of Describing the Skybox and the first horror game episode for October! Today, we’re talking about Mouthwashing, a narrative adventure game set on a freighter in space. There isn’t too much in the way of interaction in this game, a few light puzzles and traversal challenges, so the story takes the spotlight for the majority of the experience. Which is entirely fine because of how well written this game is. Mouthwashing is a pretty tragic story that despite its low-fi and sometimes surreal visuals, really emphasizes the horror in the human experience, whether that comes from systemic problems or directly from another person, and the narrative does a good job of navigating its nonlinear story in a way that as each new layer is uncovered in the story it hits you in new and strange ways. The game is also short and easily played in a single, albeit somewhat long, sitting, so it can feel very tight and self contained, almost like a film. We’re going to be talking about how the intro sets up different elements of the story that get paid off throughout the entire game, how the individual shots and short mechanical sections emphasize the tone of the story at each moment, and we discuss what may or may not be a womb.

Thank you for joining us this week, and please don’t be scared or confused by the new name and logo, we really haven’t changed that much under the hood. I know Mouthwashing gained a bit of a following over the last year, so if you had played the game before, what about it really sucked you in? Was it the development of the characters, the game’s enigmatic visual style, or the dystopian vibes? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord! We hope you’ll bear with us as we shift everything over to the new branding (and let us know if there’s anything we missed or broke in the move)! Next time, we’re going to be talking about Parasite Eve, so we hope you’ll join us then!