Another Crab's Treasure Review: Underwater Soulslike

Players assume the role of a hermit crab named Krill, appropriately named since he's about to Krill the people that took his shell, all in the name of taxes. Yep, this game is anti-capitalist, and I couldn't be happier, or at least it starts that way before diverging into some surreal places that I cannot spoil here. Just understand that if you think you know where the story is going, you really don't. Either way, I wouldn't say I was entirely captivated by the story, as it's just something that's there to keep the game moving forward, but it was never so overbearing that I felt it detracted from the overall gameplay. 

We even see Krill undergo some serious character growth, and it gets into some pretty dark places at times. Yeah, remember when I said the game was more light-hearted than other Soulslikes? Well, it is and it isn't, especially when characters are dangerously close to swearing. Although it's not that offensive, so I'd say someone around their pre-teen years could still play without being traumatized, but like, have you met pre-teens?

Now, as for the game itself, Another Crab's Treasure is built off the bones of a Soulslike. There's an emphasis on locking on enemies, dodging their attacks, and if you're not careful, they can deal some serious damage. If you've played a Soulslike, you already know firsthand how they feel. Thankfully, the game does a lot to differentiate itself from the likes of Elden Ring and Searo, as it introduces some unique mechanics like the shells themselves.

Strictly speaking, they're not shells exactly as they are trash left behind in the ocean. We're talking soda cans, shot glasses, boxing gloves, you know, the typical stuff you'd find below the sea. They each have their own armor stats and weight levels, as the heavier the shell, the slower your dodges are, or rather, the recovery of those dodges, because you could spend a long time trying to get up from a dodge only to instantly be met with death because it took too darn long to get up. 

This is all stuff to consider when you find a shell, and the HUD conveniently displays the stats right next to your current shell so you can make the right decision. I think this is a clever mechanic that makes use of the game's underwater setting and the protagonist being a hermit crab because they change shells all the time, so it only makes sense that a fork-wielding hermit crab like Krill would use one to defend himself.

They're also utilized in other clever ways, such as using a round one to roll like a ball for greater speed. It really makes you feel like Metroid Prime pinball. There's even a section where you use a metal shell to latch onto a magnet so you can progress further in the level. I do wish there were more moments like these where the shells are actually incorporated into the level design. Still, at least they're cleverly utilized in the rest of the game. 

They're made even better through the skill tree, which isn't too big and actually has some meaningful skills like parrying enemy attacks and attacking their weak point for massive damage. Of course, they were going to make this reference, how could they not? The parrying is especially unique because it's not like other games where you press block right before an enemy attack, leaving them open to a counter. No, instead you have to hold down the block button and then release it right before the attack. It actually makes it a bit more challenging, which I appreciate because the game itself, when compared to other Soulslikes at least, is not that hard.

Now, if you're new to Soulslikes, this game will be absolutely brutal for you. But if you're someone who's played them before, you may find that this is quite a bit easier. I personally am more of a casual Souls fan. The only one I've really beaten is Elden Ring. But I still found myself breezing through most of these bosses and enemies with very few hitches. I wasn't disappointed nor really surprised by this because I kind of expected Another Crab's Treasure to be Soulslike for beginners. I mean, look at its art style, it kind of looks like a SpongeBob episode a little bit. I could tell that this game is kind of a sample platter of what new players are in for with this genre.

There's even an assist mode that brings all kinds of difficulty-based settings into the game like extra shell durability, reduced damage taken, lower enemy health, and what is that? Now we're back in heat time to Krill all the competition. I'm bringing all you fools down with me. No one can stop the almighty Krill. Yeah, Another Crab's Treasure definitely has a sense of humor. There is some funny dialogue thrown in there as well as some hilarious product placement, like these sulfur-flavored cheesy guns. I swear to God if this isn't butter, I'm seriously going to lose it.

As with most Soulslikes, you are able to upgrade yourself not just through the skill tree but also the game's main collectible microplastics, which is this game's version of the souls from Dark Souls, the blood echoes from Bloodborne, whatever you want to compare these two. You'll visit these rest stops called moon snail shells to upgrade the following stats: vitality, resistance, attack, and magic, or as this game calls it Umami.

As you fight bosses, you will unlock some special Umami attacks like a giant lobster claw as well as an explosive urchin. It also transfers to the shells so if you have something like a soda can equipped it'll emit bubbles that'll attack nearby enemies. A shot glass can transform into a spiky shield and a sauce nozzle will let you break dance.

But overall, I didn't really use the Umami as much as I could have as I didn't really find them that useful, which is most likely my fault as I didn't upgrade my magic power as much as I did my attack power. I found that the more I upgraded my attack, the easier the game got because even if my vitality or shell resistance wasn't that high, I got pretty good at dodging, so I really just made my character an attack-based build, and that really came in handy when I unlocked the skill tree power that would let me attach shells to my weapon so I could use it as a hammer.

The heavier the shell, the slower but powerful my attacks were, and that's the thing about Soulslikes in general, it's really up to you how you decide to upgrade your character. It really helps that there's a level cap of 30 so I didn't upgrade my attacks too much which let me upgrade my neglected attributes. I will say that even though upgrading my attacks made the game quite a bit easier for me, that did not translate to the final few bosses of the game as the difficulty absolutely spikes when you get to that section.

But if you're like me and you play this game thinking it might be a little too easy, just wait until those final few hours, man. So, I've been talking a lot about the combat in Another Crab's Treasure, which makes sense, it's the main focus of the game. But how is everything else? 

As for the art style, it's cute, it's fun. The NPCs don't really have much emotion to their looks, but overall, they still look fine, and the areas you visit are pretty diverse as well. There's a kelp jungle, there's a disgusting rustic factory polluting the ocean, and there's a field connecting all these areas together being guarded by a giant enemy crab. Oh, did I make that joke already? Well, the game did, not me. So, if you don't want to hear any more giant enemy crab jokes, be sure to subscribe and hit that notification bell. I promise you won't hear another giant enemy crab joke out of me.

What's funny is I actually beat this crab sooner than the game intended, and one of the NPCs got mad at me because that wasn't what I was supposed to do. That's kind of funny. I love it when games take into account sequence breaking, it's very charming. Another element that separates Another Crab's Treasure from other Soulslikes is its emphasis on platforming. Traveling through these areas requires the use of jumping and swim gliding because there's really not much gravity in the ocean, so Krill is able to flutter a bit like Yoshi. Early on, he gets a fishing hook that acts as a grappling hook so he can swing across areas for shortcuts, and he can climb on select walls with netting on them.

The platforming in this game is fine. It's not really there to stand out as the star is once again the combat. In truth, it's really just there as more fancy traversal and nothing more. Speaking of traversal, that's one area where Another Crab's Treasure suffers. Not in the movement itself, but in how the game directs you where you need to go.

There's only one NPC that guides you, named Conch. He's an adventurer's kind of crab. He explains to you what direction you need to be heading, but this game doesn't include the directions in a map or even a journal. If you forget where you need to go, you have to find and talk to him again, and it's just kind of annoying. Not a major inconvenience, but this did lead to some confusion for me as I was progressing through one level. I got to this closed door which I thought was part of a puzzle, at least it looked like a puzzle, but it turns out I wasn't even supposed to be there. Instead, I had to go in a completely different direction to collect a McGuffin that would let me open that door. I'm not saying a video game has to tell me every single thing I have to do, but I do wish in this instance there was something at that door telling me I shouldn't be here until I've collected X, Y, and Z.

It also doesn't help that the map screen is completely immobile. Yeah, it shows you your current location, but you can't move it at all. Even Elden Ring let me move the map around, and I understand that Soulslikes are inherently cryptic, but it seems like Another Crab's Treasure hasn't found that balance between telling the player too much and telling them too little in some aspects like this. 

The game also needs some overall polish in a few areas like the camera movement with enemies like these puffer fish that just jerk around like crazy when locked on. At the same time, it doesn't feel like a Soulslike game unless you have camera troubles, but this particular moment here is just flat out annoying.

But not nearly as annoying as the enemies that attack you through walls, which happened to me a few times. Thankfully, I was able to get revenge later on with these enemies right here, but even still, I'd rather this not be an issue at all. And there was one extremely annoying moment when I was in the middle of a boss battle and I fell completely through the arena. 

I'm glad this only happened once in the entire game, but still, once too many, and I hope this gets patched soon. Thankfully, none of these issues are so detrimental that it brings Another Crab's Treasure completely down for me as it's saved by its great combat design that is both friendly for newcomers and familiar to veterans. Another Crab's Treasure is similar to other Soulslikes in a lot of ways, but it differentiates itself with the shells and their magic powers. 

However, there are some ideas in this game that I feel could have been expanded upon further, such as the fishing grappling hook and the entirety of the platforming. I felt like they could have made these a whole lot more interesting if they had creative puzzles around them or just more interesting-level designs.