The devs behind my favorite horror game of 2024 confirm "gameplay-driven experience" next

If you didn't play Mouthwashing as soon as it released, go away right now and change that. I don't mind. Bookmark this article or something. I'm not going to spoil anything, I just really think you should play it. It was by far and away the best horror game I played last year, and one of the most memorable scary experiences I've had in much longer. Its unconventional, non-chronological timeline makes it really stand out, but the retro art style and characterful space adventurers are exactly what the genre needs. However, developer Wrong Organ is trying something different with its next game.

After I played, finished, and loved Mouthwashing, I immediately ran to publisher Critical Reflex and played as many of its games as I could. I'd already played (and greatly enjoyed) Buckshot Roulette and Arctic Eggs, but Threshold was a marvel and this year's No, I'm Not a Human was also great. But this further exploration didn't include How Fish is Made, Wrong Organ's first narrative horror title.

With that free game downloading as I write, I look to the future of Wrong Organ. It's especially prescient right now, as it celebrates Mouthwashing's first anniversary with a curated Q&A which sees devs answer fans' questions. In an interesting twist to its usual formula, executive producer Kai Moore says that the developer is going to take its next game in a new direction.

"With How Fish is Made and Mouthwashing, we've shown our ability to create compelling, mostly narrative games," he says in the Q&A. "With our next title, we [want to] demonstrate our strength in creating an engaging, mostly gameplay-driven experience as well."

Fans of Wrong Organ's first two games needn't panic too much, though, as Moore says there will be plenty of Mouthwashing DNA in the followup. "We really want to create games that are built around our distinct atmosphere, tone, and take on the PSX artstyle […] The hope is that people will never know what to expect from us, yet always recognize that 'Wrong Organ' vibe."

Johanna Kasurinen, narrative designer and art lead at Wrong Organ, digs a little deeper into the deleted canine companion who was in early ideas for the game. "The dog that got cut could only be justified if we could have had a gameplay segment for him," she explains. "It would have involved chasing him around with an axe or something. Required another model, too many animations, all that. Ahh, what could have been."

I would have loved a dog on board, but Mouthwashing thrives on its slimline story, with any narrative or gameplay chaff shaved down to the bone. And while I'm a proponent of putting the content of your game, you know, in your game, it's fun to know that Jimmy's favorite song is Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt by Nine Inch Nails and Curly loves Christmas.

Whatever comes next, Wrong Organ has impressed me enough so far that I'll be there on day one. Now, I'm off to work out how fish is made, or whatever that game is really about. Hopefully there's a dog.