Another Crab’s Treasure just released on April 25th 2024 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. When you think about Souls-like games you don’t also think about adorable crabs, human garbage, and magic moon snails, but you should. Another Crab’s Treasure combines the best of a souls-like game with the cuteness of a cosy framing simulator, but don’t let that fool you, this is no cute sim game. Sometimes we need a challenge set outside of the usual dark fantasy and dramatic bloodshed, thankfully another Crab’s Treasure is here for comedic joy with the challenges you want. This game will have you hooked!
Disclaimer: This article may contain puns due to the comedic stylings of the game and some puns may actually be funny.
A souls-like game requires the player to meet a usually high-skill ceiling to progress through the game and Another Crab’s treasure is no different. With multiple mechanics to understand this game can seem deceptively easy to begin with, but you quickly see the difficult spike coming. The usual block, dodge, and parry system is in place with added magic abilities which we’ll get into later. There are skill trees and items in the game to collect but they are not as grand as some games and only have around 15 skills to unlock.
Kril, the unassuming name of the hermit crab whose shell was repossessed by a loan shark (a children’s toy shark head on a stick to be specific), his mission is to get his shell back by whatever means necessary. Kril has no idea what tax is but apparently, this is why his home was taken, and he needs to get his home back, so off he goes into the reef to find out how.
A Claw-some setting
On the journey, Kril meets a delightful mix of characters, unfortunately, most of whom are aggressive and must be destroyed … in self-defence of course. This game’s mix of humour, environmental storytelling, and combat make it an unusual but welcomed addition to the genre. You’ll meet an enemy early on who the other crabs all love and make out to be a wonderful and funny crustation … but he will try to murder you the second you see him! I haven’t felt guilty for defeating a character in a souls-like game before, but this game has given me that first.
Usually, a souls-like game provides a dark fantasy or a very grey and dystopian setting for their story. Another Crab’s treasure is both very different and exactly the same all in one. The setting is a beautiful reef with bright colours and sunlight streaming through the water. But then you notice, the colours are all from plastic waste like sauce packets, crayons, and plastic spades. The path you walk on is made from microplastics and the streets are lined purposefully with cigarette butts.
You even use microplastics to upgrade your character. The not-so-subtle environmental impact of humans on the oceans is never stated openly but you would have to be a fool to miss it. The statement made by the game is so ingrained into the story itself that it feels like it should always have been this way, which seems to be exactly the point the creators were trying to make.
Thankfully with such a hard-hitting and relevant social commentary, this game uses humour to cut through the grime. If you think I didn’t chuckle when a large crab wearing a plastic tiara, and holding a tea strainer as an ornament said “Je ne Sais Claw!” you would be wrong, I laughed a lot. There are so many fish puns throughout the game that it makes it hard to not smile constantly, and even seek out new crabs to speak to just to see if they have a new one! For a souls-like game to have this kind of humour is incredible and it is so well done.
Reel-y immersive gameplay
Another Crab’s treasure plays like any other souls-like game. You have your main weapon, slow and specific attacks and a way to doge and block that are vital for you to survive, even the smallest of enemies are a danger if you play wrong. As you are a hermit crab your shell plays a big role in the gameplay mechanics. You can use your shell as a shield to block and parry, just like other souls-like games but each type of shell, whether it be a can of soda, a bottle cap, or a banana peel, each has a different defence rating as well as a special ability.
There is magic in Another Crab’s treasure, kind of. Your shells have different abilities, my personal preference is actually from the first shell you find, the soda can. With this shell, you can shoot some fizzy bubbles that barrage the enemy and deal damage as well as affect their balance. Other shells have different abilities and there are many to find. Unfortunately, these can be destroyed and sometimes you might have to be a naked little hermit crab for a moment until you find another one, but don’t worry they’re around.
You only get one weapon, unfortunately, and that’s the trusty rusty fork from the tutorial level. While it has no durability so you always have a weapon, that’s something at least. You do get skills that can help you do more damage and give you other ways to strike your enemies, but that is about it for the attacking side of things in terms of gameplay. It was a bit of a letdown for someone like me who loves skills and abilities, but for a souls-like player, it would feel at home. But if you’re really just here for a fun time, why not give kril a gun? Yes, I’m serious, in the options menu there is a toggle on a setting called “give Kril a gun” and you get a very overpowered hermit crab.
The skill tree in this game is also something smaller and more specific, than other games. With only 20 skills in total, it’s a more succinct skill tree than a lot of games, but this means that the skills are more utility than in other games. With upgrades like the ability to parry and the ability to fast travel inside the skill tree, it is worth maxing it out when you can.
While this game is Souls-like it also features some platforming with a grappling hook to support your leaps. Unfortunately, this isn’t the most polished part of the game. While the grappling works very well and helps to open up the game, the platforming element can be a bit unstable at times. I got stuck behind some of the fish nets (yes that’s what you climb on, horrific I know) and was unable to climb out of the area I was in while trying to escape from a bunch of enemies so I died multiple times in the same area and lost my shell and my microplastics. While I like the addition of platforming myself, it would have been improved if it was more of a puzzle-style platforming section to uncover puzzles that progress through the actual story.
With this game’s social commentary on the environment, it isn’t surprising that you upgrade your character’s health and attack with microplastics. You collect microplastics through the game and these are what become your levels and allow you to upgrade Kril to become even stronger. It is a very clever way to have you thinking about microplastics often.
Worth a shell-abration!
Overall Another Crab’s Treasure adds a beautiful new addition to the Souls-like genre with its pun-based humour and a vibrant environment to explore it is a worthy game to sink time into. With some 4th wall breaking and a very cutesie moon snail, you never know what you’ll be in for when you walk around the next corner. The humour alone was enough for me to power through this game to get to the next pun, so I would recommend playing for that reason alone. This is the perfect Souls-like for people who are either new to the genre or who, like me, are just not skilled enough to beat classic Souls-like games.
Pros:
- Pun-based humour that always hits the mark
- Fun and bright setting
- Inventive abilities from the different shell types
- Enemy types vary quite a bit and can be very funny but also challenging
- Fun easter eggs to find
- Collectable scarves for a new look for Kril
- Accessibility options for when the game gets too challenging
Cons:
- Platforming is a bit unpolished and can be inconvenient
- Can get repetitive as dying is expected