Iron Lung from Dread XP and David Szymanski is a short claustrophobic horror experience on Nintendo Switch. Learn more in our Iron Lung review!

 

Iron Lung from Dread XP and David Szymanski is a short claustrophobic horror experience on Nintendo Switch. Many decades ago, every known star and habitable planet mysteriously vanished. All that could be found in its place was a vast, almost empty space with some asteroids here and there, along with some moons that had certainly seen better days. You’re probably thinking, but what about humanity?

Well, there are good news and bad news. The bad news is that, yes, any human on any of the planets is gone for good. As for the good news? The people who at the time were on board starships and space stations managed to survive. With all supplies and resources dwindling at a steady pace and all infrastructure starting to fail, the remaining survivors have spent years in a frantic search for any natural resources that could help them survive.

 

Their collective efforts have failed… until they find a weird anomaly that is known as a Blood Ocean – and yes, a Blood Ocean is exactly what you’re picturing in your mind right now. There’s one Blood Ocean in particular on an otherwise barren moon that has drawn their attention. While it’s not the first Blood Ocean they had found, this one, in particular, shows great promise since it seems to lead to some locations that could hold the valuable resources they so desperately need.

This means that someone needs to go and investigate the Blood Ocean. And that someone… is you! You’ll have to travel down the Blood Ocean in a tiny and claustrophobic submarine – nicknamed the Iron Lung. It’s called that because it can only fit one person and because it was built by cobbling together a bunch of old and rusty discarded parts from space stations. Since there’s only one porthole on the submarine that needs to be closed due to depth pressure, so you’ll have to navigate with an incomplete map as you make the most of the proximity sensors and any sound to find whatever is down there… before it finds you!

 

You’ll start your dive at the bottom left corner of the screen and must slowly make your way through the map as you visit the different spots already marked on it. To do this, you’ll have to pilot the submarine by steering it left and right as you try to reach each spot to take a picture. It sounds very simple, but you can crash into the many walls in the depths if you don’t use the rudimentary tools at your disposal.

The controls are simple and to the point, since you’ll spend your entire time with Iron Lung inside of the titular, haphazardly built tiny submarine. You’ll move around it with the left analog stick as you look with the right analog stick. The A or R buttons are used for interacting, while the Y button will be used to take a look at the incomplete but still pretty useful map of the area.

 

Why would you volunteer for such a desperate project inside a bizarre contraption made from old parts that have certainly seen better days? Because you’re a convict, making you the perfect subject for such a dangerous project. There was no time for training, so you just had to take on this project right away before it was too late. If you’re successful, you’ll earn your freedom. That’s certainly a good incentive for doing this… right?

Iron Lung is a very interesting game on Nintendo Switch that does things differently from other games on the console. Since you’ll be stuck in the one vehicle and it’s a tiny, claustrophobic spot, as you travel through the Blood Ocean, this one is very much going to be a horror experience. It’s a game that you can complete in an hour and change, but that doesn’t mean it’s not one you should experience. Iron Lung is out on Nintendo Switch with a budget price of only $5.99.

Disclaimer
This Iron Lung review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Dread XP.