The single-player mode is fun to dabble with, but Barotrauma really thrives in multi-player. My strongest impression of the game is that this is a title that would benefit from a group of players eager to work together. A Captain Is Only as Good as His CrewĪ second attempt went better, and since then I’ve managed to explore Barotrauma more thoroughly. I can only imagine the captain’s log of the event. I tried to provide medical care to the remaining crew member, but I hadn’t yet figured out how to remove the pressure suit they were wearing, and so as I provided heart compressions, they suffocated in their own suit. It was then that I noticed one of my crew had passed out and another had died in the assault. My improvised weapon was inadequate, but we did manage to trap the final creature in the pump room. I had not yet spotted the weapons locker tucked away on the front end of the sub, so I swiftly emptied my captain’s revolver into the beasts before switching to the welder I had tried to fix leaks with a short time earlier. I was not successful in repelling the assault it didn’t take long for the “crawlers,” as they are known, to burrow through the hull, and very quickly things got up close and personal. Frantic preparation ensued, and I quickly switched to operating the turrets. My first encounter with danger was several small blips approaching my sub on the sonar. Active sonar pulses can provide an overview of your surroundings but, of course, sending out pings in the dark is not always wise- you don’t know what may be listening. Navigating is handled through a sonar read-out and this provides a great sense of atmosphere. I spent most the time early in my play-through piloting the sub manually, slowly navigating through the rocky caverns below the ice. I mostly stuck with the captain role for my play-through, occasionally hopping between the other characters as needed.Ī fairly nifty orders system allows for instructions to be given to other characters (for me, this was usually a frantic “fix the leaks”). The game itself is lonely, grim and merciless. The Captain Goes Down, Ever Downward, with the Ship I found it both bizarre and hilarious how characters would kind of shove their posterior into the ground as they descended ladders past vertically aligned doors.Īnd the less said about the CPR animations, the better. This movement system allows for some great interactions – water carries characters down corridors like so much debris, for example – but it can feel quite clumsy at times. I took the mission, boarded my sub and set out.īarotrauma is shown from a side-on perspective, with characters animating through a sometimes amusing ragdoll physics engine. The opening moments of the game could do with a little more direct guidance I pottered around the starting area, Bast Station, for a short time before finding someone willing to provide an objective. Both single and multiplayer are available, with the former being supported by AI NPCs which can be given instructions to perform basic tasks around the submarine. Once the tutorials were out of the way I got stuck into a single-player game. The engineering role, in particular, takes a little learning when it comes to wiring electrics, but once you get to grips with it, things aren’t too muddled. These roles are captain, engineer, mechanic, security and medical officer. Be Sure to Read the Manuals (All of Them)Įach character type has its own tutorial, and in at least a couple cases, this is necessary due to the variable complexity of their jobs. I spent my first session with Barotrauma slogging through its many tutorials. There is no surface to reach for a reprieve in Barotrauma the only direction to go is down. The idea of vast, unexplored oceans trapped beneath an icy crust is an ominous notion even before you throw in the idea of body-stealing parasites and ancient nightmares prowling the depths. The setting of Barotrauma couldn’t be more perfect Europa is a criminally underused setting in science fiction. Attempt No Landings ThereĬombining atmospheric submarine management with Lovecraftian horror, Barotrauma carves out a unique niche for itself while echoing and iterating on styles established in titles like FTL. Barotrauma by FakeFish and Undertow Gamesīarotrauma is a survival/simulation horror game set aboard a submarine in the oceans below the icy surface of Europa (the moon of Jupiter often theorized to be a potential home of aquatic life beyond the earth).
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