Barotrauma: Take On Several Roles Aboard an Armed Submarine in this Co-op Sci-fi Simulator
Barotrauma is a cooperative sci-fi submarine simulation set in the ocean depths of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Players take on different crew roles aboard a heavily armed submarine, navigating through the hostile, pitch-black waters filled with alien sea creatures, environmental hazards, and internal crises. With its emphasis on teamwork, physics-based mechanics, and emergent gameplay, Barotrauma delivers a mix of survival horror, deep-sea exploration, and chaotic multiplayer interactions.
Plot and Setting
In the near future, humanity has colonized Europa, where the surface is uninhabitable due to extreme radiation. The only way to survive is by traveling beneath the moon’s vast frozen ocean, where underwater colonies, corporate factions, and mysterious ruins exist in the crushing abyss.
Players are part of a submarine crew, tasked with transporting cargo, conducting research, hunting dangerous creatures, or engaging in faction warfare. However, the ocean depths are teeming with monstrous lifeforms, hostile crew members, and unpredictable dangers, making every mission a high-stakes journey into the unknown.
Gameplay Mechanics
Multiplayer Chaos or Solo Survival: Supports up to 16 players in cooperative or traitor mode, or a single-player campaign with AI-controlled crew.
Diverse Crew Roles: Players take on specialized jobs, including:
Captain – Navigates the sub and commands the crew.
Engineer – Maintains power and reactor systems.
Mechanic – Repairs hull breaches and machinery.
Security Officer – Deals with internal and external threats.
Medical Officer – Treats injuries, infections, and crew ailments.
Assistant – Learns multiple roles or causes accidental disasters.
Deep Submarine Simulation: Players must manage oxygen levels, electrical systems, ballast tanks, weapons, and reactor cooling, while ensuring the sub doesn’t implode, flood, or explode.
Procedurally Generated Missions: Each journey is unpredictable, with tasks ranging from rescuing lost submarines to investigating ancient ruins—all while avoiding death from the unknown.
Terrifying Underwater Threats: The abyss is filled with colossal alien lifeforms, parasites, and bio-mechanical horrors that can damage, infiltrate, or infect the crew.
Internal Conflicts and Traitors: In some game modes, a player is secretly assigned as a traitor, given sabotage missions like poisoning the crew, disabling the reactor, or causing a hull breach.
Themes
Survival Horror in the Deep: The ocean is a hostile, unknown world, and the constant risk of hull breaches, alien attacks, or electrical failures keeps players on edge.
Teamwork and Betrayal: Cooperation is essential, but the possibility of a traitor or reckless mistakes makes every mission unpredictable.
Sci-Fi Mystery: Europa holds strange ruins, forgotten experiments, and alien secrets, hinting at a deeper mystery beneath the ocean floor.
Visuals and Audio
Using a 2D side-scrolling perspective, Barotrauma has a gritty, industrial aesthetic, emphasizing the claustrophobic interiors of the submarine. The dark ocean outside is ominous and unpredictable, with blinking sonar screens being the only way to detect what lurks in the depths.
The sound design is filled with muffled alarms, distant sonar pings, and deep-sea creature noises, creating an ever-present tension. The music is atmospheric and unsettling, enhancing the feeling of isolation and paranoia.
Have you played Barotrauma? What’s your favourite part of it? We’d love to hear from you.
Other things you might want to know:
What is a barotrauma?
Physical tissue damage is caused by a pressure difference between an unvented space inside the body and surrounding gas or fluid.
What is the plot of Barotrauma?
In the near future, humanity has colonized Europa, where the surface is uninhabitable due to extreme radiation. The only way to survive is by traveling beneath the moon’s vast frozen ocean, where underwater colonies, corporate factions, and mysterious ruins exist in the crushing abyss.
Is Barotrauma worth it in 2024?
Barotrauma has been praised for its tense, emergent gameplay and deep systems, making it a favorite among survival and multiplayer fans. The game’s modding community has flourished, adding new submarines, creatures, and missions that expand replayability.
