Barotrauma Torrent is a survival game developed by Fakefish and published by Daedalic Entertainment. Set in an extraterrestrial ocean on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, Barotrauma is reminiscent of FTL, but on a significantly larger scale. You observe your sub from the side and can freely explore it as one of various roles including commander, technician, mechanic, and healer. There are numerous interaction points around the sub such as lockers, water pumps, engines, and other mechanical components that keep the apparatus operational.
You can engage with bots, but multiplayer is where you’ll likely find the most enjoyment in Barotrauma Torrent Magnet. The scramble to prevent water from surging into a section of the sub, attempting to coordinate everyone’s efforts, is tremendously hectic. You’ll need to collaborate to seal off sections of the submarine that are filling with water. At times, this may involve donning a diving suit and descending into the submerged depths of the vessel. And with each gallon of water that infiltrates, the likelihood of sinking to the depths and succumbing to pressure increases.
If you’re accompanied by 15 companions, communicating via voice chat, and dutifully following the captain’s commands, you might be on the right track. However, in the online realm with strangers, you’re never certain of people’s intentions. Someone might find amusement in sealing the technician in a flooding room and drowning them, rendering the crucial skills for nuclear reactor repairs unavailable. Another individual might steer the submarine into a rock just for kicks. This type of grief may be vexing, but it’s sure to generate compelling narratives.
Any player can undertake any role on the sub, but if their role isn’t specialized for it, the process will be slower and more prone to failure. If the healer is attempting to fix an engine, they might manage it, but much less efficiently than a dedicated technician. It’s not solely about terrifying sea creatures and leaky hulls, though. Exploration is a key aspect of this ocean, and your crew must collaborate to navigate the ship and adjust the ballast for ascending and descending.
If the undulating appendages of one of these eldritch entities encroach a bit too close for comfort, you can outfit your submarine with weapon systems such as turrets and sonar. Players can control these systems, and by working together, it’s possible to repel an intruding extraterrestrial. However, provoking an adversary will only enrage it and make your sub a target.
Barotrauma Torrent provides a set of creation tools as well, enabling you to design your own submarines and sea creatures and share them on Steam. There’s also basic scripting available, akin to Redstone in Minecraft, allowing you to craft mechanisms and triggers. Barotrauma seems tailored towards player creativity and community engagement, and if it gains traction upon entering Early Access in spring, it could become a hub for incredible stories.
Barotrauma PC/System Requirements
- OS: Windows 7/8.1/10/11 (64-bit)
- Processor: Dual Core 2.4 GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: 2 GB memory
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 2 GB available space
