Barotrauma is a 2D co-op game where you and your friends pilot a submarine in the depths of Europa. This is a multiplayer game, single-player is an option, but I don’t recommend it. I found it a very fun and enjoyable experience, although a bit too long. If you have a few friends, I would recommend minimum of 4, and want to play something a bit out of the ordinary, then I highly suggest it.
Story
Your end goal in Barotrauma is to get to the centre of Europa’s underground ocean. The reason as for why you want to go there is never given. I guess it just piqued your curiosity.
The world of Barotrauma is fascinating. A colony beneath the ice of Europa that is just holding on after being abandoned by Earth. There are multiple factions which are vying for control. You have your more standard Europa coalition and Jovian separatists, then you have the weird ones like Church of the Husk which prays to an alien parasite and Children of the Honkmother who are literally just clowns. There is much more lore in the game if you want to discover it, but a fair warning, your friends might not share the same sentiment.
Mechanics and gameplay
The first thing you have to do is pick your class. Classes determine your role in the submarine, your skills and what you can craft. They are captain – steers the sub, gives commands to other, most important role, engineer – repairs anything electrical, can craft cool stuff, mechanic – fixes anything mechanical, security officer - kills, medic – heals, and assistant who doesn’t do anything important, don’t play as that class. This makes everyone on the sub important and allows for a lot of replayability.
After everyone has picked a role and joined, the captain picks the next destination and mission. They can be anything from mining or killing a swarm of hostile alien creatures, to exploring an alien ruin or taking out a pirate sub. These missions are good mostly, but though out the course of the campaign a few missions were being repeated, this made the game less enjoyable and at time a chore to get thought.
Combat is rarely you vs the enemy, which as simple as point and shoot. Most of the time it will be your submarine vs the enemy. This type of combat is my favourite part of the game, especially when the situation gets dire. Your cooperation skills will be put to test when you are flooded on the ocean floor, while being attacked by a gigantic worm.
For the sake of brevity, I won’t go over everything in the game, but you should know it a lot.
Graphics and artstyle
I would say that the graphics are pretty good. While not something jaw dropping, it is nice to see a 2D game with more realistic graphics.
Atmosphere
If it wasn’t the multiplier, Barotrauma would be an excellent horror experience.
Soundtrack and sound effects
SFX add a lot to atmosphere, and hearing a distant wail while the sonar shows nothing in your vicinity never is always nerve wracking. I can say the same about the ost. Most of it is ambiance. My favourite part is “Embrace the Abyss”.
Final Thoughts
If you are cold, they are cold. Let them in.