Space itself is a difficult thing to venture into. But in Barotrauma the objective is finding fortune on an ocean moon.
Exploring and searching for a home among the stars is a far-off dream. But a game like Barotrauma shows us what that may look like. One of the most common theories is that we may find our home underwater. The location of that new ocean home, however, remains to be seen. What will become of the submarine and her crew? From the minds of FakeFish and Undertow Games, comes a multiplayer survival title where our journey for a new home takes us away from Earth.
Not too far from Earth, there’s a new civilization of humans forming on the Jupiter moon Europa. Restricted to the safety of submarines, simply getting to stations can be dangerous. Whether crashing into an environmental hazard in Barotrauma, fighting off sea monsters, or dealing with an agitated crew, something always needs attention. Time will tell if this endeavor ends well. Barotrauma may be too much for the crew of your submarine.
The controls are relatively simple, with the traditional directional buttons of W, A, S, D. The mouse buttons themselves only controlled a few things. These included things such as which direction a character faced, when to open something, or dragging items to help repairs. It is fantastic to have such easily understood controls. No one likes rolling around a 2D space, unsure of what to do with any problems.
Walking through the submarine in Barotrauma is no issue. To go to the left or right of the sub, one has to ensure the cursor is aimed in the desired direction. If one is to travel left while the cursor is pointed right, the player would observe a hilarious and painfully slow moonwalk. Moving up and down on the ladders is an interesting endeavor.
It’s a lot harder than it sounds. Let go at the wrong moment, and the currently controlled character will fall rapidly. Hitting the space bar forced a character to release a grip if they were on a ladder. The avatar would then lay flat and drop through the air until it hit something. I’m not ashamed to admit I hit that space bar quite a few times.
There are a handful of different character classes in Barotrauma. All can perform basic tasks, but each class has unique buffs specific to them. One can choose from each of these five: Captain, Engineer, Mechanic, Security, and Medic. My first choice out of the classes just had to be an engineer.
One of the Engineer’s most important roles is ensuring the electrical system works. To ensure that everything is in working order, one must travel through the various levels of the submarine. And it is as complicated as one would expect. It is not fun struggling to understand the circuits. But running into mistakes had to be the best part. Ensuring each system receives power is a dangerous task. And putting the wrong wire on the wrong connector and absolutely fried whatever character I was using. It also appeared to damage a character’s health.
Having to play as the Engineer is far more fascinating than it is frustrating. It required a bit of knowledge of circuitry. Otherwise, a person had to learn on the fly exactly what certain points in the circuit board meant. It seems like a great way to learn basic wiring, even if it is heavily embellished. Having had schooling in related classes, it isn’t as difficult a concept to grasp. So it might be good to study a bit of electrical work before taking on that specific rule.
After taking a difficult turn with the Engineer, it is time to try out the role of Captain. This role is exactly what it sounds like. Though, as the name suggests, it carries with it a list of slightly more important duties. One of those duties is to steer the submarine that the crew is living in. In addition to being the best person to steer the Europan submarine, they also delegated tasks to the rest of the crew. It is a bit of a relief not having to run around and do the tasks that are listed. A lot of objectives are completed by just issuing a handful of orders. It is also a little fun role-playing with the NPCs as captains.
In addition to their role as commanding officer of the vessel, the Captain also had to move the ship. Though, to get moving, fuel rods first had to be inserted into the submarine’s reactor. Once that’s done, it is necessary to ‘steer’ the ship in the right direction. Controls for moving the vessel are a little odd. It is possible to go at high speed. But maintaining a high speed might severely drain the fuel rods. And yes, that is extremely anxiety inducing. Conserving energy is extremely important since no one wants to be dead in the water.
Despite the apparent ‘power’ of the captain class, it didn’t help prevent disaster. It is hard not to lose my focus once the dominoes start falling. Too many systems aren’t repaired, the reactor is being taxed far too heavily, and the compounding problems started fires on multiple levels. While it can be frustrating, it is far more amazing than anything. It showed how much one needed to rely on the other crew members, regardless of their role on the vessel.
Few titles might have as much detail when it comes to the artwork. While Barotrauma is a 2D title, there is an excellent amount of detail. Each of the Barotrauma character’s uniforms or outfits is surprisingly detailed for presenting as a “flat world.” The environment outside of the submarine looked amazing as well. Small creatures floated throughout Europa’s waters, showing that life had likely existed here long before human presence. It is an interesting detail.
Characters in Barotrauma did not speak in anything but text. But whenever they are injured, they certainly have something to say. Whenever a character in Barotrauma moved outside of the submarine, making repairs, the environment came alive with noise. Bubbles could be heard as if one is in the water themselves. Aside from the environmental noise, the noise in the vessel is exactly what one would expect in a submarine. The alarms are as realistic as one can make them. And once a fire broke out, a familiar roar could be heard from the opposite end of the sub if the blaze was large enough.
Barotrauma is an interesting ride on a submarine. The idea of humanity extending its reach to the Jupiter moon of Europa is an interesting premise. Few other developers might have thought of an alien moon as a setting for their title. But it worked for Barotrauma extremely well. It is a living, breathing universe below the ice patches of the ocean moon. It is an adventure of taking control of a submarine. While frustrating at times, it’s great for anyone who would prefer a game that keeps them busy. But if you want things to run as smoothly as possible, jump into multiplayer with some friends.
Barotrauma sees humanity make a new home below the ocean’s surface of Europa. With Jupiter’s radiation so strong, the only safe place is in the water. Command the crew of one of the many submarines that journey under the ice. Make your fortune on the Jupiter moon, but be sure your crew and craft are in working order. The potential for disaster lies at every turn.
