Iron Curtain Call Steam Demo Review
Played 7 Nov 2026 · 1h 30min
Verdict: Play
A fast cartoon shooter with a fun war setting, a boss I couldn't leave alone and a pace my reactions struggled to match.
I ended the stream saying I wasn't going to beat the final boss. Then I carried on playing and beat him a few attempts later. Apparently I wasn't quite as finished with Iron Curtain Call as I thought. Iron Curtain Call is a fast first-person Shooter from Whale Development Studios, set in an alternative 1965 where World War III means fighting an army of wind-up robots. It came through on email, so I picked up the demo and went in on normal difficulty. I spent a fair amount of the session finding out that normal was quite enough for me.
**Play.** The pace was too fast and arcadey for my old bones, but there's a fun story behind it and an eye-catching cartoon world. If you like quick shooters that keep you moving, there's something here worth trying. If you prefer time to settle your aim and work out where everything is, expect a rougher time.
Pros
- Looks great: chunky cartoon guns, wind-up robots, newspaper death screens.
- A fun, daft war setting that carries through to the newspaper screens and robot army.
- Enough pull to keep me attempting the boss after I'd said I was done.
Cons
- The movement was faster than I wanted, and I struggled to stay in control during fights.
- I kept getting caught on bits of the environment while trying to move through fights.
- The rubber-hose style feels less distinctive to me now than it would have a few months ago.
How did I get on with the fighting?
Not brilliantly. There was a good range of enemies early on, with robots jumping at me and explosives going off. My reactions were struggling.
The Action asks you to get involved at close range as well as shoot. Punching enemies can give you health, and the Can Opener is there for ammunition. Early on I went for a punch to get health back and wondered whether that had been worth it.
I kept wanting to slow the running speed down. Moving, aiming and keeping track of everything at once felt like more than I could comfortably manage. I also tried getting above some of the explosives rather than dealing with everything at ground level.
I kept snagging on things in the Town Square. Later, bombs and enemies kept popping in around me, so I couldn't pick a side to defend from.
Some of the gun handling also felt different from what I'm used to. I tend towards slower shooting, and by the end I knew I hadn't made enough use of the specials either. They were giving me ammunition and armour when I used them.
One small thing I did like was having the ammunition count around the crosshair. With so much happening, that was a useful place to put it.
Does the cartoon style work?
It is eye-catching. Rubbleton has bright colours, chunky cartoon weapons and robots that suit the ridiculous war going on around them. The newspaper presentation carries that through even when you've died or finished the chapter. The story behind it is quite fun too.
I do feel that the rubber-hose look has been overdone a bit now. I'd have found it more distinctive six months ago. That doesn't stop this Indie game looking good, but the style on its own isn't enough to make it stand out for me.
There's also AI use to be aware of. The developer's [Steam disclosure](https://store.steampowered.com/app/5417460/Iron_Curtain_Call/) includes synthetic voices, music and sound, art and video, and AI-assisted translations. If you're completely against AI art, this is going to bother you. My reaction was that it didn't look lazily thrown together. There seemed to be effort behind keeping the presentation consistent and a clear idea of the world they wanted to make.
Why is it still a Play?
Beating Major Disaster after I'd said I couldn't was my favourite part of the session. The pace had frustrated me, but the world and the daft story still appealed, and I wanted to finish.
The completion screen gave me a D and recorded 24 deaths. I'd still point someone who enjoys fast, arcadey shooting towards the demo. I'm slow. You might not be.
Game Info
- Full release
- TBC
- Platform
- PC (Steam)
- Multiplayer
- No
- Controller
- Yes
- Playtime
- 1h 30min
Watch the video review: YouTube
Watch the complete live play on YouTube
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