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Game pageBarotrauma — keeping a failing submarine alive together
A breach, a failing system, a crew member missing from their post: a routine voyage can become a story of barely getting home. Reviewers remember the satisfaction of bringing a battered submarine back, not just defeating what attacked it.
The pleasure of cooperation comes from needing different people, not merely having company. When each person handles their part, reviewers describe the crew working like a mechanism they helped assemble.
What makes it fun
Patch the hull or keep firing?
A breached hull can bring flooding and equipment failures at once. Do you keep the guns firing, or pull someone off them to make repairs?
Every job connects
While someone fires the guns, others repair the sub and treat the wounded. If a crewmate goes down, the crew has to decide who takes over their job.
Make the sub work your way
Wiring lets you change how things like doors and lights behave. After a rough voyage, you can rethink how the sub should work before heading out again.
Game details
As of Oct 29, 2026- Steam Deck
- Playable
- Release date
- Mar 14, 2023
- Developer
- FakeFish, Undertow Games
- Languages
- Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Korean ／ 13 languages total
A typical run
Crew a submarine, complete missions and keep its systems running.
Players describe calm maintenance turning into several emergencies at once. A problem in one part of the vessel can become everybody’s concern.
Beyond the hull is a dark, unfamiliar ocean. Reviewers find tension in being enclosed inside a vessel surrounded by that unknown space.
Core systems
Jobs
Jobs have different starting skills and talent paths.
Choose how to help the crew.
What sets it apart
Keeping machinery and supplies in order is part of the attraction, not simply a delay before combat. One solo player even found the micromanagement cozy and grew attached to the bot crew.
Learning curve and difficulty
A reviewer describes a wiring idea: a timed control could open internal doors to drain water downward, then restore their usual operation. It illustrates the appeal of changing how the boat works.
After a disastrous infection, another crew began keeping supplies for dealing with infection and having a dedicated medic check for problems. Their frightening experience changed how they prepared for the next voyage.
Builds and playstyles
Choose the kind of work you enjoy
One player preferred security’s gun duty and found waiting for repair or treatment work quieter. Choose between direct action and being ready to support others.
What longtime players say
A long-time player began under a patient captain, then became the person teaching new crew members. Watching strangers learn to work together remains a reason to return.
What players like
Failures can set off chains of events that become memorable crew stories.
Different roles depend on one another, making a well-coordinated crew satisfying to be part of.
Building or modifying submarines provides a creative pursuit beyond completing missions.
Barely bringing a damaged submarine home makes success especially satisfying.
Common complaints
Learning the jobs and systems can be difficult before their workings start to make sense.
Bot crew members can make frustrating decisions about routes or protective equipment.
Reviewers find movement or controls awkward to handle.
Who it’s for
It suits a crew that enjoys dividing responsibilities and seeing its coordination improve. Repairing or supporting the boat can matter as much as taking the shot.
It also suits players who can turn a messy failure into a story rather than needing every mission to go smoothly.
Who might not enjoy it
It may feel demanding if you want to understand every task immediately without learning through mistakes.
It can be a poor fit when the group does not share expectations about taking responsibility. One reviewer was frustrated by being left to work while companions disengaged.
FAQ
- Can bots fill the crew?
- Yes, in solo or multiplayer.
These impressions are based on 100 Steam reviews sorted by “Most Helpful.” They do not represent the views of all buyers.
Image: Barotrauma on Steam