Blood. Rust. Sacrifice. Supernatural. Iron Lung. A video game that will turn into a movie. This horror game, “Iron Lung”, gained popularity for its vague lore and scary and unknown aspects. However, a YouTuber named Markiplier has decided to create a movie based on “Iron Lung.” The release date is unknown, but based on what is known on the internet, it is in production.
This horror game simulation starts with the player inside a rusty submarine. The objective is to follow each coordinate on the map and take a picture of the surrounding area. But, the strange part about this expedition is that this “planet” is a moon covered in crimson liquid called “blood ocean.” Yet there are many unknowns to the game, such as the strange noises outside the submarine, the pictures taken of unknown structures, etc. Additionally, the submarine gets filled with the red liquid, panicking the player. It gets stressful when the oxygen is running out, and the crimson water is flowing at the bottom of the player’s feet. Overall, the rating of the game on Steam – a video game store – is nine out of ten. The reviews from players rate it as a wonderful experience because of its auditory cues and lore. Likewise, many theories have been created. Some speculate that the planets were dying due to the Quiet Rapture, and the character was assigned to use the submarines to find and collect resources. The Quiet Rapture is a phenomenon of how living creatures in the universe died off, leaving limited resources for the civilization. But it always came with a sacrifice, hence the player dying to an unknown entity at the end of the game.
Furthermore, Markiplier posted a video playing the game, and I took an interest in watching it. In the playthrough of the story, the player would take pictures to collect data for the scientists. However, the creepy noise makes the atmosphere scary and thrilling. The pictures make me wonder what has happened to this place, and why it ended up that way. Since the moon is covered in crimson liquid and not habitable, it might mean that something wiped out the creatures, giving it its crimson ocean. One of the notes, SM-13, found on the ship states, “This is not an expedition, it is an execution. When they put you in here, they don’t want you to return. And even if you do, and even if they keep their promises… What freedom waits for you? A few dying ships in a sea of dead stars?” As this quote suggests, whoever wrote this note finally realized the motivation of the scientists, and they could not turn back on what they had already done. It is to warn the next person who is going to be in the submarine until their time is up. So, this process will repeat over and over again. It even says that someone(s) was keeping their promises even if the player makes it back alive, but what does that even mean? Does it imply that their civilization has an authority ruling over people and taking away their freedom? That the crazy scientists take people into space and onto these planets to die? We still do not know what the game has in store until the game is updated and more lore is added. But, if there are more aspects in the game, it might be likely that the movie might contain them.
The trailer to the movie showed a person coming up the “blood ocean;” however, it is still unclear what the trailer is trying to tell us. But since this is based on the game, some of the lore would be shown as well as more lore being added. I think the movie will fall into the dystopian genre because of how the player was forced to be in the Iron Lung. However, since this is going to be a movie, it will show us more than a regular gameplay of finding coordinates on a submarine, taking pictures, and doing the same tasks until you die.
