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- Barotrauma
Barotrauma
A 2D submarine game where up to 16 players crew one ship in the ocean under the ice of Europa.
Online co-op for up to 16 players.
- 16 online
Where to buy
Playing together
- Online co-op16 players
- Local co-opNot confirmed
- Not confirmedFriends on different platforms, such as PC and PlayStation, can play together.
- YesA friend can join or leave while you are already playing, without starting over.
- Not confirmedFriends play free with a Friend's Pass or similar.
- Steam DeckPlayableValve's own rating
About the game
You crew a submarine in the ocean under the ice of Europa, a moon of Jupiter where people now live. You take missions from outposts and factions, sail through dangerous water, visit alien ruins and fight or flee from sea monsters. The ship needs care all the time. Leaks, fires, low fuel, broken wiring and hurt crew mates tend to arrive at once. You see it all from the side, in 2D.
Up to 16 players share one sub online, and each has a job. The captain steers, the engineer runs the reactor, the mechanic patches holes and the medic keeps people alive. Bots can take the empty seats. Everything depends on calling out what you see, because a leak nobody mentions can sink you.
A calm dive can turn into panic within seconds, and it is often scary. The game teaches little at the start, so it suits patient groups who like hard systems and learning by failing together.
How it feels
Kind of game
Everyone runs a station on one ship or vehicle, and the crew lives or dies by its call-outs.
- At its heart
- Now and then
- Calm and coziness
- Story
- Time to hang out
- Rivalry in the group
- Building and creating
- Puzzles and figuring out
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
Rated on our own feel scale. 7 sources back these ratings.
Screenshots
From the Steam store page. Open one to see it full size.
If you liked Barotrauma
You will probably enjoy these too. Each one says why.
Void Crew
Why it scores 82%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Ship crew
- Core to both
- Tension and danger, Working in sync
- About
- Science fiction
- Notable in both
- Laughter and chaos, Planning ahead, Getting better, Fighting, Unlocks and progress
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How Void Crew differs
- Less scary than Barotrauma
- Less slapstick than Barotrauma
- A roguelike, so every run starts over
- 6 online
- Crossplay
Both put you in a crew where everyone has a station. Both keep you on edge. Both need you to talk and act in sync.
But less scary than Barotrauma.
We Need To Go Deeper
Why it scores 82%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Ship crew
- Core to both
- Tension and danger, Working in sync
- About
- Submarine crew and Monsters
- Notable in both
- Laughter and chaos, Exploring, Getting better, Fighting, Unlocks and progress
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How We Need To Go Deeper differs
- Less slapstick than Barotrauma
- Fits a smaller group than Barotrauma
- A roguelike, so every run starts over
- 4 online
Both put you in a crew where everyone has a station. Both are about crewing a submarine and monsters that hunt you. Both keep you on edge.
But less slapstick than Barotrauma.
Jump Space
Why it scores 76%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Ship crew
- Core to both
- Working in sync
- About
- Science fiction
- Notable in both
- Laughter and chaos, Exploring, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Getting better, Fighting, Unlocks and progress
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How Jump Space differs
- Less scary than Barotrauma
- Less slapstick than Barotrauma
- More jumping and climbing than Barotrauma
- Fits a smaller group than Barotrauma
- Early access
- 4 online
Both put you in a crew where everyone has a station. Both are about science fiction. Both get loud and silly when plans go wrong.
But less scary than Barotrauma.
All co-op facts
Last checked 24 October 2026. The small numbers link to the page that states each fact.
Co-op
- Fewest players online
- Not confirmed
- Local co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on one screen
- Not confirmed
- Split or shared screen
- Not confirmed
- Separate-device co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on separate devices
- Not confirmed
- Free base co-op
- No
The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
- 131415
- Confirmed free setups
- Does not apply
- Crossplay
- Not confirmed
- Crossplay between
- Not confirmed
- Only one of you needs to buy it
- Not confirmed
Sources
15 pages
barotraumagame.comOfficial site, read 23 October 2026
Backs Online co-op, Most players online.
- Online co-op: Page talks about playing with friends in co-operative gameplay.
- Most players online: Page says up to 16 players per submarine.
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 23 October 2026
Backs Most players online, Genres, Kind of game, Sessions, About, Working in sync, Fear, Getting better, Fighting, Exploring, Building and creating, Unlocks and progress.
- Most players online: Feature list says up to 16 players on board a submarine, and bots can fill in.
- Genres: The maker's own text calls it a 2D co-op survival horror submarine simulator.
- Kind of game: Six player classes with different skills and tasks share one submarine. The text says communication is key.
- Sessions: The text says you complete missions, and the world and missions are procedurally generated.
- About: User tags include Submarine and Naval. The text sets it on Jupiter's moon Europa and mentions sea creatures.
- Working in sync: The text says communication is key.
- Fear: User tags include Survival Horror, Horror and Psychological Horror.
- Getting better: User tags include Difficult.
- Fighting: The text lists weapons among the ship systems you run.
- Exploring: The text lists a procedurally generated world with outposts, wrecks, alien ruins and beacon stations.
- Building and creating: The text lists wiring and crafting, plus a submarine editor.
- Unlocks and progress: The text lists talents, faction reputation, money and submarine upgrades in the campaign.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 23 October 2026
Backs Steam app ID, Release status, Release date, Platforms.
- Release status: Steam lists the game as available to play.
- Release date: Steam shows Mar 13, 2023, the day version 1.0 came out. Early access began in 2019.
- Platforms: Windows, Mac and Linux builds.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 23 October 2026
Backs Steam Deck.
- Steam Deck: Valve rates the game Playable on Steam Deck.
wikidata.orgWikidata, read 23 October 2026
Backs Wikidata item, Release date, Platforms.
- Release date: P577 gives early access on 2019-06-05 and the full release on 2023-03-13. The full release is used.
- Platforms: P400 lists Windows, macOS and Linux.
commonsensemedia.orgPress, read 23 October 2026
Backs Tension and danger, Working in sync, Getting better, Time to hang out.
- Tension and danger: Common Sense Media guide, page updated 2025-09-29. Calls the feel dark, tense and survival-horror.
- Working in sync: Says a crew with poor communication fails fast.
- Getting better: Says the tutorial explains little, so players learn by trial and error.
- Time to hang out: Says a crew with poor communication fails fast, so the talk is about the crisis in front of you.
gamingbolt.comPress, read 23 October 2026
Backs Kind of game, Sessions, Exploring, Fear, About.
- Kind of game: GamingBolt, March 2023. Players pick roles such as mechanic, medic and captain.
- Sessions: You travel between outposts and take missions from different factions.
- Exploring: Describes travelling between outposts.
- Fear: Says the game leans into horror with its monsters and atmosphere.
- About: Calls it a co-op horror submarine sim with monsters.
pcgamer.comPress, read 23 October 2026
Backs Laughter and chaos, Physical comedy.
- Laughter and chaos: Says the horror and the comedy come from the same moments, often a crew member's death.
- Physical comedy: Says the characters move like a QWOP entry, so horrible moments are hard not to laugh at.
pcgamer.comPress, read 23 October 2026
Backs Calm and coziness.
- Calm and coziness: Preview from 2019 says play is not all monsters and leaks. The crew also steers, trims the ballast and explores.
barotraumagame.comOfficial news, read 23 October 2026
Backs Story.
- Story: The 1.0 post describes faction story events and a reworked campaign ending. It is not a story game.
cdn.uc.assets.prezly.comOfficial site, read 23 October 2026
Backs Rivalry in the group, Fighting, Puzzles and figuring out, Planning ahead.
- Rivalry in the group: The maker's review guide describes an optional traitor mode, where one player secretly works against the crew, and a separate PvP mode.
- Fighting: Describes submarine weapons, a security officer role and monsters that board the ship.
- Puzzles and figuring out: Describes wiring and balancing the reactor, which is troubleshooting under pressure.
- Planning ahead: Tells crews to choose the submarine, stock tools and spare oxygen, watch the fuel and pick a route.
store.steampowered.comOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Voice chat by distance, Friends can join mid-game.
- Voice chat by distance: The shipped April 24, 2024 Blood in the Water notes shorten the range of built-in local voice. Radio voice is a separate communication option.
- Friends can join mid-game: Released updates fix joining an ongoing server and assign salaries to late joiners. Spawning and re-entry depend on server respawn settings and campaign mode.
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Free base co-op.
- Free base co-op: The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
store.epicgames.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Free base co-op.
- Free base co-op: The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
store.epicgames.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Free base co-op.
- Free base co-op: The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.