Game Mechanics

Grasp the core mechanics of Mouthwashing after the Gumslinger crash. Master resource management and narrative choices vital for survival.

Welcome, intrepid survivor, to the core mechanics of Mouthwashing! This guide will detail the systems that govern your journey after the catastrophic crash of the freighter 'The Gumslinger'. Success hinges on your ability to manage resources, make critical narrative choices, and navigate the harsh realities of your new environment.

Core Gameplay Loop: Survival and Narrative

Mouthwashing is primarily a narrative-driven survival game with a strong emphasis on player choice. The gameplay loop revolves around exploration, resource scavenging, crafting, managing your crew's morale and needs, and making difficult decisions that impact the unfolding story.

Exploration and Scavenging

Your primary objective is to explore the wreckage of 'The Gumslinger' and the surrounding alien environment. This involves:

• Navigating Ship Sections: Each section of the freighter, from the bridge to the cargo bay, presents unique challenges and opportunities. You'll need to find access codes, repair damaged systems, or clear debris to progress.
• Environmental Hazards: The alien planet is not hospitable. Expect to encounter extreme temperatures, toxic atmospheres, unstable structures, and potentially hostile indigenous life. Your suit's integrity and environmental protection are paramount.
• Resource Gathering: Scavenge for vital supplies such as food, water, medical kits, crafting materials (metals, polymers, electronics), and fuel. These are often found in containers, fallen debris, or by dismantling non-essential ship components.
• Discovering Lore: Find audio logs, data pads, and crew manifests that piece together the events leading up to the crash and the nature of your mission. This lore often provides clues for survival or hints at future challenges.

Resource Management and Crafting

Survival depends on meticulously managing your limited resources:

• Hunger and Thirst: Your character and any surviving crew members will have hunger and thirst meters that must be managed. Failure to do so leads to debuffs and eventually death.
• Health and Stamina: Monitor your health, which can be depleted by hazards and combat. Stamina is consumed by strenuous activities like running, climbing, and combat maneuvers.
• Crafting System: use a robust crafting system to create essential items. This includes:
  • Tools: Repair kits, cutting torches, multi-tools for accessing sealed areas.
  • Survival Gear: Improved environmental suits, oxygen tanks, water purifiers, makeshift shelters.
  • Weapons: Improvised melee weapons and basic projectile firearms for defense.
  • Medical Supplies: Bandages, stimpacks, antidotes.
• Inventory Management: Your carrying capacity is limited. Prioritize essential items and make tough decisions about what to leave behind.

Crew Management and Morale

As you rescue other survivors, you'll need to manage their well-being:

• Assigning Tasks: Assign crew members to specific roles such as scavenging, crafting, repairing systems, or maintaining defenses.
• Morale System: Crew morale is a critical factor. Low morale can lead to infighting, decreased productivity, and even desertion. Factors influencing morale include food availability, safety, successful missions, and difficult ethical choices.
• Dialogue and Relationships: Interact with your crew through dialogue trees. Your choices can build trust, resolve conflicts, or create new tensions.

Narrative Choices and Consequences

Mouthwashing features a branching narrative where player decisions have tangible and often far-reaching consequences:

• Ethical Dilemmas: You will face numerous situations requiring difficult moral choices. For example, do you share scarce medical supplies with a critically injured stranger, or save them for your own crew? Do you prioritize rescuing one survivor over another when resources are insufficient?
• Faction Interaction: Depending on your choices, you may align with or antagonize different groups of survivors or even alien entities encountered on the planet.
• Multiple Endings: The game features multiple distinct endings, determined by the cumulative impact of your decisions throughout the playthrough.

Unique Systems

• "Ship Integrity" Meter: This overarching meter represents the overall functional state of the surviving sections of 'The Gumslinger'. Maintaining and repairing critical systems is vital for long-term survival and accessing new areas.
• "Environmental Adaptation" Progression: As you spend time in different hazardous environments, your suit and character can develop resistances or adaptations, making future encounters less perilous. This is a passive progression system tied to exploration.
• "Whispers of the Void" Mechanic: Occasionally, players may experience psychological effects from the isolation and trauma, manifesting as hallucinations or distorted perceptions. These can provide cryptic clues or lead to dangerous misjudgments.