156: Mouthwashing (with Ash Parrish)

Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ, 2024) is a rare horror game that gets scarier after you finish the game. Its nonlinear structure, reality-blurring presentation and subtle (at times) storytelling leave you to put the pieces together yourself. Once you do that, you'll find a strikingly real story where the most unbelievable thing is the fact that it takes place in outer space. We had a great discussion on the show about what this game says about certain types of leaders, what "taking responsibility" means, analogues to the games industry and much more! Guest info: Ash Parrish, journalist and critic for The Verge. Find her work here https://www.theverge.com/authors/ash-parrish Follow her on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/adashtra.bsky.social Check out the Insert Credit Show https://www.youtube.com/@insertcreditshow Content warnings for Mouthwashing: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/1312968 TIMESTAMPS Title Card 0:00 Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:16 Story Setup/Themes Overview/Presentation 9:30 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations/Housekeeping 30:54 SPOILER WALL 37:50 Music used in the episode is credited to Martin Halldin. You can purchase the soundtrack on Steam. Tracks used: Main Theme Medium Rare The Windows are Plastic Dragonbreath Theme Heroes Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi! Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server! Social Media: BlueSky Instagram Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!