Iron Lung
Anticipation
If you have played any of David Szymanskis older titles, you probably know what to expect. As in The Moon Sliver you're journey to what seems to be your goal, might ultimately end with something you're already anticipating or rather not think about.
If you've never touched his games, you can expect a short experience which is in return for it's rather little playtime boiled down to the core essence of what makes a horror game great, at least in my opinion. The setting tells it all. You're alone, navigating a small submarine in a blood ocean on an alien moon. You can't look out of the window, only take snapshots with your camera.
There is no marker on your map so you'll have to navigate via coordinates. I actually liked this idea and the game itself isn't so long that it starts to get tedious. You'll have to take a certain number of pictures to complete your mission. An alarm is kicking off when you're getting to close to a wall - and it never stops until you're increased the space inbetween.Â
The sense of danger, of dread and the classic fear of that what lurks in the dark and can't be seen - yet heard - makes this little game very special. The soundeffects are very disturbing and well placed, making your claustrophobic situation even worse. Even though there is literally no replayability I highly recommend Iron Lung for its great atmosphere and unique gameplay. It is a small but entertaining experience, nothing more and nothing less.
Notes:
Developer: David Szymanski
Publisher: David Szymanski
Language(s): En
Platform: Windows
Release: 10.03.2022
Store: Steam, itch.io