When does Barotrauma get good?

Give it 3 hours. In the first 2 hours almost 1 in 3 reviews are negative (29%); after 20h it's 1 in 25 (4%). Fully opens up by hour 10.

All games

ActionIndieSimulationStrategy

Barotrauma

Mar 13, 2023 Steam: Very Positive

Give it 3 hours

Gets good by 3h almost every game dips in hours 2–3

Fully opens up by 10h rated like by long-time players

Started playing 86% of owners

Steam reviews 94% positive of 90,458

What the data shows

In the first 2 hours almost 1 in 3 reviews are negative (29%); after 20h it's 1 in 25 (4%).
Fully opens up by hour 10.
The game has no story achievements, so drop-off points can't be measured.
86% of owners got the first achievement.

When it gets good

Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.

before it gets good opening up fully opened up

Based on all 90,852 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 296 reviews: 60.7h for positive, 16.4h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.

Where players quit

Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (86.4% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.

This game has no story achievements, so we can't tell where players quit.

All achievements (76)

story milestone ending side

As Good As New Repair a broken device. 100%
Smooth Sailing Complete a round without any casualties or damage to the submarine. 80%
The Cold Caverns Discover the Cold Caverns. 80%
Getting Clean Recover from an opiate addiction. 75%
This is Fine. Face a complete and utter disaster. 74%
Freighter Complete a cargo mission. 72%
Stop the Hammertime Kill a Hammerhead. 57%
Don't You Die on Me! Heal someone back from a critical state by performing CPR. 51%
Novice Seafarer Travel over 10 kilometers. 49%
Amateur Geologist Complete a mining mission. 47%
Safety Not Guaranteed Complete an escort mission. 47%
Here I Recognize No Superiors Complete a round as a Captain. 42%
The Europan Ridge Discover the Europan Ridge. 41%
A Light in the Darkness Restore a run-down beacon station. 38%
Whatever Works Kill something with a plasma cutter, welding tool or a wrench. 38%
Underwater Coffin Complete a wreck salvage mission. 33%
Truth in Simplicity Complete a round as a Mechanic. 31%
I am the Law Complete a round as a Security Officer. 31%
I Am the Cure Cure a husk infection. 30%
Killed a Moloch Take down a Moloch. 29%
Ever Increasing in Speed and Power Complete a round as an Electrical Engineer. 28%
Extravehicular Activity Venture 500 meters away from the sub. 27%
A Gaze into the Abyss Take the submarine down to crush depth and survive. 24%
Xenoarchaeologist Complete an artifact mission. 23%
The Aphotic Plateau Discover the Aphotic Plateau 23%
According to Ability and Judgment Complete a round as a Medical Doctor. 23%
Kill It Before It Lays Eggs! Kill a crawler Broodmother. 22%
Xenocide Kill 100 creatures. 20%
Praise the Honkmother Obtain a full clown costume. 19%
Don't Count Them Before They Hatch Complete a "destroy monster nest" mission. 19%
The Great Sea Discover the Great Sea. 17%
Experienced Seafarer Travel over 100 kilometers. 16%
Resistance is Futile Defeat a Separatist submarine in a PvE submarine-vs-submarine mission. 16%
Where No Man Has Gone Before Descend below 5000 meters. 16%
Pest Control Complete a "destroy monster-infested outpost" mission. 15%
Do What You Love Complete a round as an Assistant. 14%
The Cream of the Crop Employ the skills of a celebrity chef to your crew. 13%
Spinal Tapped Kill a giant spineling. 13%
Gotta Go Fast Accelerate a submarine to over 50 km/h. 13%
The Hydrothermal Wastes Discover the Hydrothermal Wastes. 11%
Bounty Hunter Complete an "assassinate bandit leader" mission. 10%
Ruin Raider Complete a "scan alien ruin" mission. 10%
Fight the Power Defeat a Coalition submarine in a PvE submarine-vs-submarine mission. 9.5%
Top Brass Reinforce your crew with an eminent Coalition leader. 9.4%
Unwanted Guests Complete a "destroy bandit outpost" mission. 8.9%
The King of Cling Kill a latcher. 8.9%
No Fun Allowed Kill a clown. 8.8%
I Am Become Death Kill something with nuclear explosives. 8.0%
Knight in Rusty Armor Complete a "rescue hostages" mission. 7.8%
The Abyss Gazes Back Kill a Charybdis. 7.6%
The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall Kill an Endworm. 7.5%
Poisoner Kill something with morbusine. 7.5%
Aggressive Archaeology Complete a "clear alien ruin" mission. 7.2%
Hide And Seek Kill a Cave Mantis. 6.7%
The End is the Beginning Finish the campaign. 6.4%
Nuclear Blast Survivor Complete a round after a nuclear meltdown. 6.0%
Ancient Novelty Destroy an alien terminal using alien curio. 4.9%
Genocide Kill 100 humans. 4.7%
Naval Architect Spend 24 hours in the submarine editor in total. 4.4%
Force for the Forceless Bolster your crew by hiring a steadfast Separatist leader. 3.9%
Not On My Watch Take down a traitor before they manage to complete their objective. 3.8%
Insurgency Successfully complete a traitor objective. 3.8%
Last Man Standing Complete a round alone after everyone else in the crew has perished. 3.2%
The Lone Sailor Complete a round alone from start to finish. 3.0%
Viva la Revolution Defeat the Coalition crew in a PvP submarine-vs-submarine mission. 2.4%
For the Coalition Defeat the Separatists in a PvP submarine-vs-submarine mission. 2.3%
Ascension Become a perfect example of symbiotic harmony. 2.1%
The Abyss Beckons Lose a character permanently. 2.0%
Heralds of the Tide Allow an enigmatic religious leader to assist your crew. 1.5%
Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn Enlist the services of an elusive explosives expert. 1.5%
What Smirks Below Kill a psycho clown. 1.5%
Get Out Alive Get through the entirety of the Cold Caverns without losing your character in permadeath mode 1.2%
The Grandest of Jesters Learn to laugh at the Grand Joke of the Universe. 0.7%
The Teacher of Nothing Accept the offer of a senior humorist to join your crew. 0.6%
King of the Hull Win a PvP King of the Hull mission 0.5%
Europa's Finest Complete a campaign on permadeath or ironman mode in multiplayer. 0.3%

Steam page Updated: 2026-10-18.