Barotrauma had me intrigued the moment I heard the game was set on Europa. As the place most often tipped to have alien life, not enough games are set on Europa. Having a 2D strategy/exploration style game set here is something that has the potential to be amazing. Even in its early access state, things are looking very positive.
How to Download Barotrauma
The game is available on Steam. To download it, click on the button below this review. If you like survival sci-fi games, check out also our review of Oxygen Not Included.
The Game Review
The idea of the game is that you are deep in the icy oceans of Europa. You are the captain of a submarine and you need to make your way through the scary icy caverns. You will complete missions, find new alien life and fight it, find resources and stop at various stations and deal with other subs as you go. There is a lot to do here and the campaign, even in its current unfinished state keeps you busy.
You need to hire a crew to work on your submarine and the game does start you off with a very modest setup. I get this and am willing to work my way up, but Barotrauma is very stingy in the way that it gives you money. Hiring competent crew members is not cheap and as you only get money (so far) for completing missions, you can quite often feel at a disadvantage.
To be fair that could be on purpose as I must admit it does help add to the tension of the game. Plus being in this icy alien world and having a breach on the sub or an alien attack and not having enough crew to deal with it can be exciting and scary at the same time. So perhaps the slow rate that you earn money is done on purpose?
I have only played the game in single-player so far, but the multiplayer aspect looks great. As well as a captain, you can play as other roles as well such as a medic, engineer and security officer. Here you guys need to work as a team as you explore the icy depths and fight off any hostile aliens! This is something I am very excited to sink my teeth into.
Barotrauma has a rather interesting crafting system. You can use it to make new weapons tools and even drugs that can help you on your journey. I am not the best when it comes to crafting, but I found it very easy to get to grips with here. The game even allows you to edit your own sub which is pretty cool and helps you become more attached to it.
The game is done in a 2D style, but it works very well. The game is still pretty tense and when you are outside the sub in the dark and capture a glimpse of something moving it can be very scary. I am sure that more little touches and details will be added to the game as development progresses.
While it is in early access still, Barotrauma is a game that I feel has a lot going for it. I am already impressed with what the campaign is like and I cannot wait to see where they take it. The multiplayer though really sounds like what is going to make this a must-play kind of game. If you are a fan of sci-fi then this is a game you have to take a closer look at. It is also way easier to get into than you may think which is a nice bonus.
