Barotrauma
Barotrauma screenshot 1Barotrauma screenshot 2
ActionIndieSimulationStrategyCo-opMultiplayerSurvivalSubmarineSurvival Horror

1,760 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 4,427

Peak in the last 7 days: 5,733

Barotrauma Steam store

Game description

Barotrauma is a 2D co-op submarine simulator – in space, with survival horror and RPG elements. Steer your submarine, complete missions, fight monsters, fix leaks, operate machinery, man the guns and craft items, and stay alert: danger in Barotrauma doesn’t announce itself!

Basic info

DeveloperFakeFish, Undertow Games
PublisherDaedalic Entertainment
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateMar 13, 2023
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit versions)
ProcessorDual Core 2.4 GHz
Memory4 GB
Graphics2 GB memory (dedicated VRAM or shared RAM), Shader Model 2.0+
Storage2 GB
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Review Analysis Score

Based on 398 reviews from the past 1 year

87.0/ 100
Top 30%

Steam rating: Very Positive (94%)

Metacritic: 81 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 21, 2026)

This co-op submarine survival game sends crews into a dark alien ocean, and it scores 87.0, top 30% of games we analyzed.

👍 Strengths

160 reviews praise playing together with friends, describing creative chaos and teamwork, and some enjoy trolling the captain. Multiplayer ranks 70th of 642. 84 find it fun and addictive, and several remember failures and explosions that turned into great stories. 43 admire the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere of the world and its lore, and some describe the dread of a contact appearing on the radar. Story & World ranks 259th of 1096.

👎 Where it falls short

31 reviews say the tutorial explains little and the learning curve is steep, and some feel thrown into deep water with too much to track. 24 find it dull without friends, since bots die quickly or need constant babysitting, and a few mention tension between friends over uneven roles. 17 call it hard, and some describe creatures that kill instantly, monster nest missions or a final boss that feels unfair. Gameplay ranks 357th of 1396.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“amazing co-op fun with friends, creative chaos and teamwork” · 160 reviews
“good game, fun with friends, enjoyable cooperative experience” · 84 reviews
“incredible atmosphere with great sound design, visuals and setting” · 43 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 48% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +3.85 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “every player has distinctive role with synergies and mechanics” · 10 reviews
Negative “Mechanic and Engineer do relatively the same thing every round” · 1 review

Progression 7% · Difficulty 18% · Onboarding 15% · Freedom 11% · Controls & feel 6%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 33% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.62 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “incredible atmosphere with great sound design, visuals and setting” · 43 reviews
Negative “claustrophobic, nauseous, nervous, hopeless outlook in life” · 2 reviews

Story 5% · Characters 3%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 24% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Replayability +3.73 · Reasons to play again — runs, randomness, New Game+
Positive “high replayability with mods, creative workshop is the soul of the game” · 15 reviews
Negative “wishes for continuously generated endless mode” · 2 reviews

Volume 12% · Variety 7%

Graphics, art style, music and sound

Not enough data — only 5% of reviews mention this.

Visuals +2.16 · Graphics, art style, and animation

Audio 2%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 68% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Playing together +3.62 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals
Positive “amazing co-op fun with friends, creative chaos and teamwork” · 160 reviews
Negative “bots die immediately and multiplayer prevents campaign progression” · 24 reviews

Community 8% · Servers & Connection 3%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 9% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing -0.04 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge
Negative “too expensive, overpriced compared to other games at same price point” · 6 reviews
Positive “zero DLCs, zero microtransactions, nothing stopping great time” · 1 review

Anti-cheat 0% · Balance 2% · Matchmaking 1%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 12% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Performance -0.10 · Frame rate, optimization, and loading times
Negative “optimization issues causing overheating” · 13 reviews
Positive “performance great enough for low-end chromebook” · 1 review

Stability 4% · Developer support 6%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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