threshold (2024)

consumed: 08-12-2024

i didn’t actually play threshold myself — i only watched two playthroughs of it — so i can’t speak to how it feels to play. take everything i say with a grain of salt.

first off, i really enjoyed the game’s setting and environment. the atmosphere is incredibly well established, and while the low-poly style might be overdone in a lot of indie games, it works well here. it has a certain charm that fits the mood perfectly. (i know this might seem like an odd comparison, but since it shares the same publisher, i want to mention mouthwashing to make my point clearer. in mouthwashing, the low-poly style felt inconsistent and wobbly at times, and the pixelation was... off? plus, the ui text being a standard font felt out of place, and the highly detailed faces clashed with the simpler art style. do you know what i mean? anyway, threshold avoids these issues. its ui, art, and character faces all feel cohesive, even with the level of detail in the faces. it just fits so much better.)

unfortunately, that’s about all the praise i can give the game. i don’t mean to be harsh, but the symbolism and the message it tries to convey come across as poorly executed. the message itself feels a bit pretentious, and the endings are anticlimactic and unsatisfying. this was really disappointing because the game’s aesthetics and intriguing mechanics gave me a lot of hope early on lol.

overall, threshold is a mixed bag for me as the presentation is fantastic, but the substance just doesn’t deliver. i’d give it a 5/10.

mouthwashing (2024)

consumed: 11-10-2024

guhh.. i played mouthwashing a little while after it came out, and i loved it while i was playing it, the story and setting were bleak, creepy, the symbolism was well done. but the rest of the game and the ending kind of sucked, especially looking back. basically the game starts off strong imo, but by the end i was just sitting there like.dawg.

the visuals are this pixelated ps1 low-poly.thing., which i usually love, but here it just feels off (let's not talk about the fact that i think it's extremely overused in indie games here). it’s like they were trying to be all retro and nostalgic widdit, but it doesn’t match the vibe of the story at all. everything looks kinda inconsistent, and instead of adding to the horror, it makes it feel. unfinished? like it’s trying too hard and not pulling it off. however this didn't really bother me much while i played the game, it's just something you realize when you have to see edits of something all day everyday for months...

WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT POINT: the fanbase that this game generated is so BOOTYCHEEEKSSSS. likeee it was to be expected, mouthwashing is literally THE slop insane fanbases love, but the way it derailed to the point where i can't even enjoy the game itself anymore is insane. they act like this game is some groundbreaking, deep work of art when honestly, it’s just good. and don’t even get me started on their tiktok edits to headlock... man fuck you that was one of my favorite songs EVER and now i cant hear it without thinking of their dumbass overdramatic vids... ruined it for me.. but that doesn't influence my review SRY

ok back to the game itself; in comparison to the non-linear storytelling, the gameplay was very linear. youre just going from objective to objective like a glorified walking sim (nothing wrong with that), except somehow less engaging. and oghh the puzzles — if you can even call them that - mostly involving a code scanner, felt more like filler than anything meaningful.

HOWEVER i also have a few more positive comments to insert! i absolutely loved the cargoroom pony monster sequence. idc if it was corny to some or confusing to others it added so much for me because i genuinely thought the pony concept was super cool... also, i loved anya's story and i wish it wasn't literally getting slandered over on twitter. i think swansea or curly may be my favorite characters, and no i will not discuss this with any mouthwashers... i loved the soundtrack, the symbolism and metaphors and the storytelling; the game itself was super charming and i very much enjoyed playing it.

so yeahh, while the gameplay wasn’t groundbreaking, and the ending tested my patience; some things about the game stuck with me HARD. it’s the kind of experience that lingers in your mind long after you’re done and for that, i’ll always have a soft spot for it ^^ i miss you mouthwashing i'll give you a 7.5/10