Life aboard a submarine isn’t supposed to be easy. And thanks to the new Barotrauma update, Calm Before the Storm, it’s about to get even darker, more disturbed, and violent.
The latest major update for the side-scrolling undersea pressure cooker Barotrauma is now live on Steam. Daedalic Entertainment and developers FakeFish & Undertow Games are bringing new ways to die, new things to shoot, and fresh bugs to accidentally hug.
Whether you’re brave enough to explore alien ruins, reckless enough to throw hands in PvP, or just looking to yell at bots in new and exciting ways, Calm Before the Storm delivers another batch of improvements, reworks, and lovingly implemented chaos. All carefully tuned to ensure one thing: you’re never truly safe beneath Europa’s ice.
Key Features in Calm Before the Storm:
- Reserve Bench for Permadeath Mode: Players can now recruit bots into reserve and bring them into action when needed — a long-requested addition that also works in standard campaigns.
- Alien Ruins & Mission: Explore three new ruin modules and take on the “Lost in Ruins” mission, which encourages deeper exploration of alien remains.
- New PvP Outpost: An alien ruin-themed outpost has been added to the “Outpost Deathmatch” mode for more variety in player-versus-player encounters.
- Loading Screens & Visual Enhancements: Updated level backgrounds and new loading screen artwork add to the game’s atmosphere and immersion.
- Expanded Abandoned Outposts: 14 new modules for abandoned outposts have been added, created by longtime community modder NotWendy.
Gameplay and System Improvements:
- Radiation Balancing: Jovian radiation is now less punishing early on and more dangerous in later stages. Some creatures will benefit from radiation exposure, increasing the threat level.
- Submarine touch-ups: Reworked the Remora, plus smaller tweaks for the Kastrull and Winterhalter subs.
- Bot AI refinement: Fixes for ladders, targeting, fire response, and more improve the bot experience significantly.
- Performance & Bug Fixes: Various optimizations and technical improvements across the board.
The update is now available to all players via the main Steam branch. A public beta has also been running under the “Unstable” branch for those who want an early look at upcoming content.
