What does that mean?

It's a fantastic game. An intriguing lovecraftian story, a fitting yet unique art style, simple yet fun gameplay loop, and of course plenty of f̸̝͆i̶̮̒ș̵̔h̶̺͌ to catch. The gameplay is like the open ocean aspect of Wind Waker but refined and expanded upon, which is no small compliment. The soundtrack is also pretty dang good, so I'd recommend grabbing that as well if you're into OSTs.

However, the game does feel lacking in a few areas, and I say that because of the potential it has due to the polish of what it gets right. The writing in the beginning is fantastic, the intrigue of what's going on and the allure that a good lovecraftian story can have is really strong. It gets it so right in the beginning of the game, but that's where it peaks. At least it did for me, that is. After maybe an hour in, you can figure out pretty much what's going on, which isn't bad if it was just in terms of the story, but it isn't. You've experienced most of the gameplay, too.

There are some really cool elements added for each area you go to to progress that shakes things up, and they get that so right. But once you're through in that area, it doesn't stick around. It's a one and done gimmick to that area instead of something that adds to the gameplay after you get what you need, which is a real shame because it could add a bit more difficulty to an already easy game, especially after a few upgrades. It doesn't stay.

Speaking of upgrades, they're good. They add more to what you can catch/do and increases what you can carry, adding more gameplay and incentive to seek out materials, keeping interest. What you do to acquire what you need for upgrades is really fun, and ultimately they get it right. But the one thing you might not realize you get when upgrading your ship is wasted, being hull integrity. You can take more crashes/hits before you sink, which is good if you're a bit clumsy or have trouble with what ļ̴̊i̵̥͠ę̸̇s̸͔̎ ̶͖̏b̸̭͒e̷̮͌ǹ̵ͅe̷̤͘â̸̫t̵̞͘h... But those dangers don't really increase, just shift a bit. (Looking at you, Devil's Spine.) To go back to my previous point, it feels like the stakes aren't raised after getting what you need. And once you've upgraded your ship to max, a substantial and fun mechanic becomes practically useless.

Lastly I want to touch on the story, or the writing specifically. Like I said before, during the beginning of the game the writing is great. But maybe halfway through it becomes a bit watered down, (no pun intended). Perhaps a bit less descriptive, or maybe just not as alluring, I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that it feels like the curiosity that hooked me at the start of the game stopped reeling me in, (pun intended), and became a little generic. Not bad, but not as good. I will say that there was something that caught me off guard, and that was a great feeling. But then it became generic again almost right after. Again, not bad, it just left me a little underwhelmed.

With all the crap I just gave it, I need to emphasize; I loved every minute of the game. All of what I said was out of the love I felt for playing this. I want to convey these criticisms so that the next game, or even the possible DLC (hopefully) that these devs will make will be what I know it can be, fantastic. They have talent, and it shows with this game here. I want to see the full extent of what they can do realized. And I'll be there when it is.


TLDR:
It's got plenty of potential for more, although it's great as it is and you should absolutely play it.

Update:
I will be trying the DLC out and will (hopefully) come back to edit/add my thoughts.

Iron Lung is a short game, but incredibly unique and actually scary with no cheap scares. Suspense and atmosphere do the heavy lifting, and although there's barely any, the story is also unique to a degree and builds the uneasiness you feel going in. The thing I loved the most was the navigation. No marker to tell you where you are, just a map with X/Y coordinates showing points of interest to investigate with basic information of where you can go without crashing, a console that tells you what coordinates you are currently at and a radar to indicate how close you are to crashing. That's it. The only way to see outside of the sub you're in is a camera that takes a picture of whatever direction you're facing. I would love to see games do something similar with how you navigate without showing you right where you are. Well done, dev. Incredible work. I hope to see more like this ahead, and/or maybe even expanding on this story, I want more, hahaha!

I highly recommend this game; Cheap, short, unique, scary, innovative, fun. Do yourself a favor and play this game for yourself, and go in blind. You'll be glad you did.