There has been something about the Souls and Soulslike genre that hasn’t clicked with me. I don’t get into Elden Ring like the masses, I can’t get passed Father Gascoigne, who is considered the make-or-break boss in Bloodborne, and the Team Ninja games have always left me wondering if the grind to “Get Good” is worth it. Outside of the Star Wars games Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor, which doesn’t feel like a Soulslike game IMO I haven’t found that game to make me a fan of the genre. That’s why I was surprised when Another Crab’s Treasure was hitting for me. You can tell it pays homage to the Souls series, yet there’s something different about it. It has a bit of extra sauce that made me want to play the hell out of it and even write this Another Crab’s Treasure review.
So let’s dive into it.
The Narrative:
In Another Crab’s Treasure, you play as a crab that has its shell taken due to not paying the Queen’s taxes. He then goes on a journey to get his shell back, by using items that he finds on the way as weapons and a makeshift shell for defense.
The story is silly, but it’s also charming and does the job of setting the stage for a goofy and challenging adventure. I wasn’t expecting this indie to have much of a story, but I quickly found myself engaged into what was going on. The main character, the crab is naive to the way this ocean works and is ran, which was a smart move since we the gamer are learning about this world as well. Your Crab also is a easy-to-like protagonist who is relatable.
While this isn’t going to win narrative of the year, this story slaps harder than it needs to. I also enjoy that it’s a more traditional way of storytelling in games as opposed to its Dark Souls inspiration where the story is given to you moreso by lore.
The Gameplay:
Just like its inspiration, Another Crab’s Treasure plays similarly to the Dark Souls games. You take down enemies to get exp, rest, and upgrade in designed areas, and when you die your experience in where you died is gone forever if you don’t get to it before you die again. The game plays like a semi-open world, where you can explore and farm exp from the fish, crabs, and other sea critters that’s trying to do you in. I’m not the biggest fan of the Souls formula and for me even though I liked this game more than the Souls games, this formula is still the lowest point in the game for me.
Additional Pros:
I love that this game has accessibility options that you can use to make this game easier for those who aren’t able to handle some aspects of the combat. You can adjust the party window to make it longer, change the difficulty of the opponents, and other sliders that you can adjust. These options makes this game an easy one to recommend for those trying to get into this genre.
Cons/Flaws:
At first, I was really vibing with the narrative, but as the game progresses the story loses momentum until it feels like you’re stumbling towards a rushed conclusion. There is a part in the game that grated on me that consisted of an unwelcome detour, littered with bosses that each could have served as the final showdown. And to make things worse I did run into some performance problems like technical glitches and crashes.
Another aspect that I disliked is the combat’s foundation because it feels unfair and at times finicky. It feels floaty, perhaps deliberately because you are in the water, but the trade-off is a frustrating lack of precision, especially in such demanding gameplay. The camera adds to the headache, constantly jostling as I fend off multiple enemies, often leaving me blindly struggling against a wall. Worse still, dying in combat often felt less like a chance to improve my skills—a cornerstone of the genre—and more like the game unfairly dealt me a losing hand.
Overall/Should you Play Another Crab’s Treasure Review:
I think if you want to get into Souls games, yet the way that narrative is presented in those games has also been holding you back then you should check out Another Crab’s Treasure. It has an easy to follow the narrative that still has Lore drops and has all the feel of Dark Souls gameplay. The game allows you to adjust the accessibility options to make it more enjoyable for you, the story is humorous, and the gameplay is fun. Another Crab’s Treasure is the biggest surprise of the year for me. I didn’t expect to like it nor did I expect it to be a gateway into the Soulslike genre. Go check this fun ass game out.
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Reviewed on PC and Xbox
