Mouthole (PS5) | REVIEW | A Surreal Trip To The Dentist Office Gone Horribly Awry!!!

Mouthole, developed by Anything Nose Productions and published by SometimesYou for the PS5, is a bizarre indie title that dives headfirst into surreal horror territory. At its core, the game places you in a nightmarish scenario centered around dental hygiene gone awry, where everyday routines twist into something profoundly unsettling. You play as an ordinary person confronted with the decay inside their own mouth, exploring distorted environments that blend the mundane with the grotesque.

The Story ...

The plot unfolds over a tight six-day timeframe, starting with a cryptic warning from a dentist about impending oral catastrophe if you don't take action. As you progress, the narrative branches into multiple endings depending on your choices and discoveries, emphasizing themes of neglect, transformation, and the horrors lurking in the familiar. Key characters are sparse, with the dentist serving as the primary figure, a stern, almost otherworldly guide who sets the tone early on. The protagonist remains largely anonymous, allowing players to project themselves into this intimate, body-horror ordeal, while occasional abstract entities or manifestations appear as obstacles or clues.

The Gameplay ...

Your main objective is to avert disaster by delving deeper into this oral abyss, collecting elusive items, and unlocking new areas to achieve one of several possible resolutions. The gameplay offers a compact, mind-bending experience that's part first-person exploration and part psychological puzzle solver, clocking in at a few hours per playthrough but encouraging replays to uncover all paths. It's not about high-stakes action but rather a deliberate, often frustrating journey through obscurity, where trial and error reveal hidden layers.

Mechanically, Mouthole revolves around a central hub resembling the inside of a rotting mouth, from which you access locked doors leading to varied levels. Puzzles involve deciphering environmental riddles, navigating convoluted routes, and experimenting with odd interactions like manipulating teeth or traversing bizarre structures. Features include save points for branching narratives, subtle hints buried in the chaos, and a structure that rewards persistence with increasingly weird revelations, such as transforming into unexpected forms or encountering illogical challenges. There's no combat or traditional inventory system. Instead, it's all about observation and intuition in a dreamlike setup.

The Presentation ...

In terms of presentation, the game shines through its deliberately retro aesthetic, evoking early PlayStation-era visuals with low-poly models, grainy textures, and a minimalist color palette that amplifies the unease. Graphic design leans into abstraction, making familiar objects feel alien and distorted, which ties directly into the horror elements. Think body horror fused with existential dread, where cavities become portals and plaque hides secrets. Audio and visual distortions play a huge role in building tension. Visuals warp with glitchy effects, shifting perspectives, and hallucinatory overlays that make navigation disorienting, while audio layers in warped echoes, muffled crunches, and irregular pulses to mimic the sensation of being trapped inside a living cavity.

The soundtrack is sparse yet impactful, composed of ambient drones and dissonant tones that swell during key moments, evoking a sense of isolation without relying on bombastic scores. Voice-overs are minimal, limited to the dentist's gravelly admonitions and occasional garbled mutterings that add to the surreal vibe rather than driving dialogue. Atmospheric sounds are the real star for tension-building including creaking enamel, dripping fluids, erratic breathing, and subtle distortions like reversed whispers or echoing voids that make every step feel precarious and immersive.

The Verdict ...

Overall, Mouthole earns high marks for its unflinching commitment to weirdness, delivering a focused horror experience that's more about psychological unease than jumpscares, all wrapped in a uniquely grotesque visual style that's equal parts nostalgic and nauseating. It's a bold, if polarizing, entry in the indie horror scene that prioritizes atmosphere over accessibility.

This game is best suited for fans of experimental horror titles like LSD: Dream Emulator or those who enjoy short, replayable adventures with a heavy dose of surrealism and body horror. It's perfect for players seeking something offbeat rather than the mainstream thrills.