Barotrauma update beefs up the new player experience and monster count

(Image credit: FakeFish)

Submarine survival on an alien world is Barotrauma's specialty, and its been a while since we checked in with up to 16 doomed souls cooperating upon a submarine in the alien oceans of Europa.

Pleased to report that it's still really hard and really horrifying, just like at launch!

Thankfully, the developers are adding to the experience for new players. The upcoming Embrace the Abyss update will add contextual hints about complex stuff, more information in the—stop me if you know this one—info tab, new interactive previews for navigating the submarine, and difficulty indicators for missions. Bosses have health bars now, too!

In a big change, there's now some limited mid-round respawning for multiplayer campaigns. That's huge!

There's also new features for the campaign, like creeping radioactivity (fun!) that requires you to upgrade your sub before you move into new areas. There are also revamped side missions, and new ones, as well as abandoned outposts that have been taken over by wildlife or outlaws.

You can find Barotrauma on Steam for $30, where it's in early access.

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.