The soulslike genre is often imitated and rarely duplicated, especially when attempting to match the precedent set by Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki. Titles inspired by the series normally aim high for certain aspects of the formula, yet fall short in other departments, never fully realizing core elements like the unforgettable atmosphere of Bloodborne, the grandiose scale of Elden Ring, or the nail-biting combat of Sekiro.
The folks over at Seattle-based Aggro Crab, however, may have uncovered the secret ingredient with Another Crab’s Treasure, their newest endeavor into the soulslike genre. The answer is crabs. Lots and lots of crabs.
Wait, It’s All Crabs? Always Has Been
Another Crab’s Treasure stars Kril, an introverted hermit crab and a shy little guy who, until recently, peacefully lived inside his beloved shell on his personal stretch of land and sea. When a new Duchess is instated to rule over Slacktide and its surrounding areas, Kril is, quite literally, evicted from his shell by a loan shark, rendering him homeless until he can pay his dues to the Duchy.
Unable to make ends meet through his savings of Kelp, Kril is forced to venture out into a deeply polluted capitalistic hellscape, wading through aquatic societies formed around the exchange of microplastics and fueled by exploitation, greed, and a mysterious curse that befalls the greater ocean. Ah right, there’s always a strange curse involved. I guess that means we’ll have to file this one under fiction, in that case. Shoot, we were nearly there!
Another Crab’s Treasure is a delightful mixture of all the right things; the precise tug-of-war combat you’d find in a game like Sekiro, the verticality and exploration of old-school 3D platformers, and the light-hearted goofiness of classics like Banjo-Kazooie. There’s a sort of endearing quality about a game that’s self-aware of how silly it is, and Another Crab’s Treasure wears that silliness with pride; between the humorous conversations you’ll have with NPCs, to its endless, groan-inducing crab puns, to the way a tin can waddles side to side as it sits on Kril’s dumpy little crab butt.
“…Another Crab’s Treasure remains consistent in one critical aspect – it’s just fun.”
While it could primarily be described as a soulslike action RPG, Another Crab’s Treasure opts for a more simplistic gameplay approach. There’s a handful of stats to spend your hard-earned microplastics on and a skill tree to learn new actions from, but neither are as intimidating as your usual RPG, making leveling up a more carefree process. There’s no worrying about whether this weapon scales off that stat, or if committing to that one node on the skill tree breaks your build.
Instead, you’ve got one single weapon throughout the game – a fork. You’ll upgrade its strength throughout the adventure, but in the end, it’s still the same fork with the same moveset, supplemented by various “shells” you’ll swap out as you come across them, Adaptations to use for neat special moves, and stat-boosting Stowaways you can equip, or as I like to call them, “ocean doodads”. Also, there’s a parrying mechanic, which automatically makes any game better. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
Rather than concentrating on stat allocation and gear synergy, Another Crab’s Treasure will have you focused on its satisfying combat and enjoyable platforming segments. Shortly into the roughly 25-hour playthrough, Kril gains access to a fishing line equipped with a hook, which you’ll use as a grapple to help explore the vast, big blue world and latch onto enemies, should you choose to upgrade it.
Throughout its various, albeit polluted, locales, aggressive crustaceans, and the plethora of knick knacks to collect, Another Crab’s Treasure remains consistent in one critical aspect – it’s just fun. Scratch that, two aspects. Crabs. Lots and lots of crabs.
Feelin’ Crab, Might Delete Later
If I could describe Another Crab’s Treasure in one line, I’d say that it feels like an indie game – and I mean that in the best way possible. There’s something special about games that aren’t wrapped in the safety net of a multimillion-dollar triple-A budget; games that allow you to play by the rules or bend them a little, whether by accessing areas through unintended methods or accidentally glitching enemies via oddly shaped in-game assets.
It’s got just the right amount of fallibility to it which, to me, serves as a gentle reminder that it’s a game painstakingly made by humans. It’s a world not generated by automation, but instead meticulously crafted piece by piece, and sometimes those pieces don’t always make the most sense, and that’s wonderful.
In a way, Kril’s cracked shell is sort of the perfect metaphor for the game as a whole, if you’ll excuse my cheesy comparison. A beautiful little creation that, while not without its flaws and blemishes, serves as a perfect imperfection for Kril to treasure, and.. Oh, wait.. oh okay, that’s the whole point of the game’s title. Right, carry on. Great game, by the way!
