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Barotrauma

Barotrauma

FakeFish, Undertow Games · released Mar 12, 2023

ActionIndieSimulationStrategyPC

Barotrauma is a 2D co-op submarine simulator, in space, with survival horror and RPG elements. Steer your submarine, complete missions, fight monsters, fix leaks, operate machinery, man the guns and craft items, and stay alert: danger in Barotrauma doesn’t announce itself!

Steam page ↗Metacritic 81 · users 7.9 ↗
88
VGC Score
■Stablehigh confidence

anchored at patch: “Summer Update 2026 out now” (2mo ago)

84%
At launch
94%
Steam all-time
81%
Press
75%
Player sentiment
94%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 341 sampled Steam reviews (322 positive / 19 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Multiplayer & servers7% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

Negative reviews don't converge on specific aspects.

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

73%

30 reviews

5-15h

93%

58 reviews

15-40h

100%

65 reviews

40-100h

95%

85 reviews

100h+

97%

103 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)–8123
All-time Steam reviews94%881000
Metacritic user ratings–8320
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)94%882337
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Jun 16, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 2337 total reviews in window · weighted 231.7 up / 9.4 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (5)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 79
    Game World Navigator Magazine
    trust 60Aug 29, 2023

    “If you want to live out a larger than life sea story, Barotrauma is your game. Here, you’ll have your arrogant captains, jaded engineers, malpracticing doctors, epic adventures and a myriad dumb ways to die horribly. [Issue#262, p.66]”

  • 78
    GameStar
    trust 59Mar 31, 2023

    “Barotrauma is an exciting, cooperative resource management game that is also captivating in Singleplayer thanks to its deep atmosphere.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    The Games MachineThe Games Machine
    trust 51Apr 4, 2023

    “Fun, rewarding, original and unpredictable, Barotrauma is a must-have videogame for anyone looking for challenging experience that gives nothing away. An unexpected surprise.”

    read full review ↗
  • 78
    COGconnectedCOGconnected
    trust 47Mar 27, 2023

    “I probably admire Barotrauma more than I enjoyed it. I like the setting. The gameplay is very clever, even if it isn’t always exciting. I didn’t get a chance to get deep into co-op, but I can’t wait to try. It’s crazy to me that cooperative spaceship games aren’t an entire genre now, with dozens of indie games to compare. At the moment, Barotrauma may be one of the best trailblazers, giving inspirations for the developers of the future.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    Hooked Gamers
    trust 40Mar 31, 2023

    “Folks, Barotrauma is a very detailed game. It's suspense filled, has sudden horrific events that need to be resolved, lots of combat against Europa's monster population and a whole lot more. After adding in the sub design feature, the fan mods and the very detailed game world with slick game play how could you not give this title a two thumbs up. I would highly recommend this title, especially to those that enjoy playing online cooperative games with other human beings.”

    read full review ↗

Patch history

  1. Hotfix for Summer Update v1.13.4.0
    Jun 18, 2026
  2. Summer Update 2026 out now
    Jun 16, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  3. Summer Update 2026 coming next week
    Jun 12, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  4. Hotfix v1.12.7.0 for the Spring Update
    Apr 21, 2026
  5. Spring Update 2026 Out Now
    Apr 9, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  6. Spring Update 2026 and Triple-I Showcase coming next week
    Apr 2, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  7. Hotfix v1.11.5.0 and new music tracks
    Dec 18, 2025
  8. Winter Update 2025 out now
    Dec 8, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  9. Winter Update preview & DLC sneak peek
    Dec 5, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  10. Hotfix 1.10.7.2 for the Autumn Update
    Oct 22, 2025
  11. Hotfix v1.10.7.1 for the Autumn Update
    Oct 10, 2025
  12. Hotfix v1.10.7.0 for the Autumn Update
    Oct 2, 2025
  13. Hotfix v1.10.6.0 for the Autumn Update 2025
    Sep 25, 2025
  14. Autumn Update out now
    Sep 17, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  15. Autumn Update coming next week
    Sep 12, 2025
  16. Hotfix v1.9.8.0 for the Summer Update 2025
    Jul 1, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  17. Summer Update 2025 out now!
    Jun 17, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  18. Hotfix v.1.8.8.1 for the Calm Before the Storm update
    Apr 29, 2025
  19. Hotfix v1.8.7.0 for the Calm Before the Storm update
    Apr 16, 2025
  20. Out now: Calm Before the Storm update
    Apr 10, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  21. Coming next week: Calm Before the Storm update
    Apr 4, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  22. Test the spring update now in the Unstable beta
    Mar 14, 2025
  23. Out now: Winter Update 2024
    Dec 11, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  24. Coming next week: Winter Update 2024
    Dec 5, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  25. Hotfix v1.6.19.1 for the Unto the Breach Update
    Oct 31, 2024
  26. Hotfix v1.6.18.1 for the Unto the Breach Update
    Oct 28, 2024
  27. Out now: Unto the Breach Update
    Oct 22, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  28. Coming next week: Unto the Breach Update
    Oct 18, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  29. Hotfix v1.5.9.2
    Aug 28, 2024
  30. Hotfix v1.5.9.1 for the Summer Update
    Jun 27, 2024
  31. Hotfix v1.5.8.0 for the Summer Update
    Jun 19, 2024
  32. Out now: Summer Update
    Jun 18, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  33. Preview: Summer Update
    Jun 7, 2024
  34. Hotfix v1.4.6.0 for Blood in the Water
    May 2, 2024
  35. Hotfix v1.4.5.0 for Blood in the Water
    Apr 26, 2024
  36. Out now: Blood in the Water
    Apr 24, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  37. Hotfix v1.3.0.4
    Apr 16, 2024
  38. Hotfix v1.3.0.3
    Apr 12, 2024
  39. Hotfix v1.2.8.0 for the Winter Update
    Jan 11, 2024
  40. Hotfix v1.2.7.0 for the Winter Patch
    Dec 20, 2023

…and 32 earlier patch announcements.