Iron Lung (2022)

I don't get it. I really don't. It's boring and repetitive gameplay for 95% of it, with absolutely nothing happening and with nothing to even see, I didn't find it spooky at all, and the jumpscare at the end was so anticlimactic and ridiculous that I found it comedic rather than scary.

Maybe something just isn't clicking with me? Everyone seems to rave about this game and it's like watching everyone hype up a stale end slice of bread. You can eat it without issues, but... why would you want to?

Probably more like 1.5 stars because there's nothing mechanically wrong with it, but I don't understand this one. Check it out if you think it'll be your thing by all means, it's short (though not short enough for me) and cheap.

I quite liked the developer's previous game Dusk, and I learned about this game from a meme I saw on reddit. When I got home that day I purchased this game and then sat on it for about a year. I finally got around to playing it today and of course beating it, too. This game can easily be completed in a single sitting.

This game's biggest strength is its atmosphere. For not being able to see the outside environment, it feels very there. Creaks and groans inside the submarine, and then the weird sounds of the blood ocean outside give a great sense of the world. While navigating I would occasionally see a little drop fall down in my field of view and I would think "the water is red," and then I'd be like "oh yeah, the blood is leaking." That's a great touch. As well as how the game uses the motion sensor on the sub for some good scares.

I guess my only real problem is that there's not much else to the game. It's a fun ride though, and very cheap.

This game also has a great non ending that scared me, and made me bust out laughing.