Barotrauma

I own a railgun for submarine defense, since that's what the founding Europans intended. Four clowns break into my sub. "What the Jove?" As I grab my Renegade's hat and Model 6 Impierta Railgun. Blow a crawler-sized hole through the first clown, he's dead on the spot. Draw my handcannon on the second clown, miss him entirely because I don't have enough weapons skill and nails my crewmate's Petraptor. I have to resort to the detonator mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with C-4, "Tally ho lads!" the explosion shreds two clowns in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off nearby Molochs. Fix boarding axe and charge the last terrified buffoonist. He bleeds out waiting on the medical doctor to arrive since bleeding wounds are impossible to heal with morphine. Just as the founding Europans intended.

Here is my most recent experience in 10 simple steps.
Step 1. Listen to the captain get mauled by crawlers
Step 2. Try to repair the sub
Step 3. Watch as the Engineer becomes husked
Step 4. Kill Engineer
Step 5. Struggle to operate the sub as one man due to mod that makes the reactor go critical easier
Step. 6. Almost make it to an outpost (practically the entire sub is destroyed and the sub is only running on backup batteries)
Step 7. Get 5 meters away from docking and run out of power whilst sinking to the abyss because another crawler busted its way into the sub
Step 8. Repair the sub again only to find that the sub is now over 550 meters away from any outpost
step 9. Set the sub to auto-pilot and man the reactor so it doesn't go critical
Step 10. The host's game crashed and my efforts were futile (I was almost there)
20/10 would suffer from barotrauma numerous times again.

very fun game to play with a large group of friends and roleplay
until they beat the game without you because you arent on for 1 day out of the 20 you guys played.

>Playing as security
>people are rebelling against captain
> find rebellion leader
> Take them out on a mining mission
> drag them to go on scooter
> take off radio and handcuff
>Take out their oxygen tank from suit
>Watch them die
>Come to ship, blame on mudraptors
>Captain pays me 300MKs
>waste all the cash on ethanol and get drunk
>die
10/10 experience, would recommend

Barotrauma is an ambitious game. That's the most honest way to describe it. It wants to do a lot. And as a result, many of its parts are undercooked. BUT...
The premise of the game and its core idea are wonderful. You are taking a long journey with your friends through the underwater hell that is Europa, piloting and maintaining a shoddy submarine, purchased at a suspiciously low price. You watch Europa's resource-starved human society crumble as a result of a natural disaster, and try to make the best of this terrible situation.
The gameplay is what you make of it. You can settle into a relatively comfortable role on a submarine, doing the intended job of your class. Or you can do a bit of everything - maintaining devices, handling navigation, manning the turrets to keep aggressive creatures away, going outside to mine and salvage materials... The class you choose doesn't limit the selection of jobs you can be competent at. And everything gets better with teamwork.
Barotrauma's developers are working tirelessly to improve the game. I've been here for a couple of years, playing the game actively and aiding the devs in its development, alongside other community regulars. In that time Barotrauma has changed a lot, with a bunch of its features getting more fleshed out. Each update bringing much needed improvements, based on the team's own vision and community feedback.
Steam Workshop support is part of the game's appeal as well. There is a lot of custom content out there. Some balanced, some not. With mods and a wide selection of in-game settings, you can craft whatever experience you want for your campaign. Though I do recommend doing a vanilla run first, all the modded stuff can keep things fresh in the future playthroughs.
Singleplayer mode is available and is actually pretty okay, but I'd really recommend playing the game with actual people. Barotrauma is a prime environment for fun social interactions. The game goes on sale relatively often, so keep an eye out for that and pick it up with your friend group. The base price is steep (thanks, Daedalic), but getting Barotrauma with a 50% discount is a good deal.

Got this game to play with my son, he just injects me with poison. Just like in real life when he mixed up all the cleaning supplies and poured the mixture in my mouth while I was asleep! love him to death. Good game too

Barotrauma: A Deep-Sea Dread
Barotrauma is a challenging submarine simulator that plunges players into the dangers of the depths of a hostile environment. Deal with dangers such as fires, sinking, mutiny, air pressure, and even alien threats as you delve deep into the ocean taking on risky jobs to make a living.
Sink or Swim Together
The most prominent aspect of Barotrauma is the cooperation between crew members, after all driving a submarine is a lot of work that requires a crew. There are multiple roles, from the simplistic Security Officer, to what I consider the most complex one, the Medical Doctor. In this way, a role determines one's responsibilities and gameplay, as the core of the gameplay is to react to situations not only efficiently, but promptly. In Barotrauma, every second matters and can be the difference between crew members dying to the entire ship sinking into the abyss.
And the cooperation doesn't end there. If there is a mineral that needs to be mined, who is going outside the ship into the waters, armed with nothing? It's that philosophy that pushes the game's interesting loop, as your teammate's personalities and skills define how the game plays. For example, I was a Security officer a couple of times, and I got blamed when monsters made their way into the ship (those things swim fast!). At other times, I have been a Medical Doctor and it feels good saying "I cannot do that, if I perish the whole ship goes down in an emergency" to get out of tricky situations. In this manner, the roleplay is limitless.
A Haunting Underwater Tapestry
In addition to its gameplay, roleplay, and submarine simulator, what makes Barotrauma unique is its atmosphere. An oppressive, confining, and stressful experience as you are surrounded by darkness in the depths of the ocean. The entire game is dark, making it hard to look at the environment both outside and inside the submarine, and going through rooms patrolling or repairing systems knowing something can get inside the ship creates a tense environment to work in.
The initial enemies are already a problem, but as you play more and get to see bigger creatures you realize that the little critters were the top of the iceberg. There are far more monstrous creatures swimming around. Adding to that is the fact that there are missions that will require you to leave the safety of the submarine to explore the water with a diving suit in the open, Barotrauma gives a sort of suffocating aura that is both thrilling in its adventure but choking in its unease.
A Masterclass in Misery
Barotrauma is a challenging game, and I mean a truly challenging game. The most minimal error can be a window for utter failure, and the steep learning curve can turn some players away. A single critter can destroy your sub in seconds, and eliminate your crew with ease if it manages to fit into the inside of the ship. At the same time, one can suffer injuries, lesions, and traumas that render them useless or downright a burden to the ship.
The steep learning curve of Barotrauma is brutal for newcomers, requiring time and practice to get better at the game. Roles such as Security Officer or Assistant can be easy ways to get into the loop of the game. Meanwhile, roles as a Medical Doctor (my favorite) or Captain will test you to the limit. A Doctor must not only know and memorize a vast amount of medical items but mean a good Doctor means you have to be organized: sort your resources, tell your Captain what needs to be restocked, and most importantly, be fast in an emergency. Likewise, a good Captain needs to pilot the sub properly, lest the crew suffer from delays and possible sinking.
What works
What doesn't work
✔️ Cooperation is essential for surviving, reinforcing the core principle.
✔️ Emergent storytelling, make your tales as you play and relate to factions.
✔️ Atmospheric setting in a dark, claustrophobic environment that adds tension.
❌A steep learning curve might be overwhelming for new players.
❌Technical issues, the game can suffer from bugs, especially if modded.
Conclusion
Barotrauma offers a thrilling and immersive experience that is both exciting and dreadful in equal measure. It's not meant for the faint of heart, but for those who are brave enough to dare explore the heart of the abyss underwater. If you are up for a challenging game, you be rewarded as your knowledge and skills in leading a crew increase. I recommend playing the game with friends for the best experience, but you can also play by yourself or with random players.
10/10 MASTERPIECE
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