Iron Lung (Game)

Iron Lung is a horror game created by David Szymanski. The game is run on Unity and was published on Steam on March 9th, 2022. The game requirements to run are very small, with Szymanski even joking on its Steam page, "you can run this".

A Nintendo Switch port published by DreadXP was released on December 19th, 2022.

## Gameplay

"Set entirely within a claustrophobic one-man submarine nicknamed the "Iron Lung," you must blindly navigate an ocean of blood to take photographs of key locations, and hope whatever lives below doesn't find you.
There is only a single porthole on the sub, and it needs to be closed due to depth pressure, so you have to navigate purely via an incomplete map, proximity sensors, sound, and a primitive external camera which can be used to take the pictures you need to complete your mission, or to get a grainy low resolution visual of what's happening outside.

"Success will require resourcefulness and patience."

## Story

"Decades ago, every known star and habitable planet mysteriously vanished, along with whatever and whoever happened to be on them, leaving behind an empty universe of asteroids and lifeless moons where the only remnants of humanity are those who were on space stations or starships at the time. With supplies gradually dwindling and infrastructure falling into disrepair, the survivors have spent the subsequent years frantically searching for any trace of remaining natural resources. Up until now they have been unsuccessful...
Then, a mysterious anomaly known as a Blood Ocean (which is exactly what it sounds like) was discovered on an otherwise barren moon. It's not the first Blood Ocean found since the vanishing, but initial scans show a collection of potentially useful anomalous locations in a deep undersea (underblood?) trench that require further investigation.

"And you're the unlucky sap who gets to investigate, in an aging submarine cobbled together from rusty space station parts.

"Find your way to the marked locations, photograph whatever you find there, and try to finish before the sub collapses around you... or you're discovered by whatever lurks in the blood..."

## Update 2.0

Update 2.0 was first released as a beta branch for steam users, with an announcement being made by the developer on the 26th May, 2022. The full patch would follow shortly after with a release on 19th June, 2022. It was most likely created in response to the hype created by online Youtubers and other community members making content for the game.

The most notable change to the game was the addition of the Terminal, which, located in the back of the Iron Lung, opposite to the photograph display monitor, could be used to look up certain terms relevant to the game's lore.
Aside from the addition of the terminal, the update also included the addition of the SM-8, Steam achievements, trading cards, and a point shop. The update also fixed collision issues with the Humming Monolith, as well as moved it to a different location.
At the end of the update announcement, Szymanski stated, "I don't plan on adding any more lore or major content to Iron Lung after this, but for those who have been asking... yes, I do plan on revisiting the world in the future. I don't know whether that will be a direct followup or a completely different game set in the same universe. I have ideas for both! Only time will tell..."

## The Cheats Update

The Cheat Update, alongside an announcement of a price change from $6 to $8, was released on 23rd October, 2023. Seven stackable cheat codes were added that can be activated by typing in specific commands in the Terminal.

## Versions

1. April 25, 2022 - A beta version of the game was released to test bugs and glitches. The update includes Patch 1.2.
2. May 26th, 2022 - Version 2.0 was added to the beta version.
3. June 19th, 2022 - Version 2.X was added to the official game.
4. December 19th, 2022 - The Nintendo Switch version was released.
5. March 16th, 2023 - Version 2.2 was released.
6. October 23th, 2023 - The Cheats Update was released.

## Trivia

* The name Iron Lung was likely inspired by the respiratory device of the same name that was invented in 1927 and was widely used in the coming years to help patients with Polio disease breathe.
* The game can be beaten in under an hour.
* Game's logo font is called "Stencil".

## Gallery

The game logo, with background.An additional screenshot of Markiplier Mode, facing the Terminal.An additional screenshot of Markiplier Mode, facing the back of the Iron Lung.An additional screenshot of Markiplier Mode, facing the floor of the Iron Lung.
## Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Iron Lung Steam Page.*
2. ↑ *Iron Lung Steam Announcements - Lore Update, Achievements, and Points Shop!.*
3. ↑ *Pfizer.com: Flashback: Iron Lung.*