Reviews

I have a really hard time enjoying “Soulslike” games. It’s not necessarily that I hold the Souls series in such high regard that nothing can measure up – but the Soulslike moniker definitely sets certain expectations for me, and I have a hard time adjusting when they aren’t met. I usually end up feeling like something is missing whenever I try a game like Lies of P, for example. I’ve given the game three tries now, and I simply can’t enjoy the feel of the combat. Parries felt finicky, and even the dodges seemed clunky and unreliable. Even though that’s just one instance of a game I haven’t been able to get into, I can’t think of a single other Soulslike that has really impressed me – one that gave me the same satisfaction of learning enemy patterns, timing dodges and parries, executing perfectly, and feeling the high of conquering a challenge that, at one time, felt impossible. Combat aside, I’m always looking for a game that piques my curiosity to explore, that rewards me for searching its world for hidden treasure. And of course, one that has at least semi-excellent storytelling.

I did start Another Crabs Treasure a long time ago, back when it first came out, but you know… tale as old as time, I dropped it for some reason and didn’t go back. My sister had been streaming it recently, and after finishing it, insisted I give it another try. Which got me thinking, “why did I stop playing in the first place?” and all my brain had to offer was “idk lmao.” So with that encouragement (and some help from Coach Lindsay) I dove back into Dark Shoals, and was reminded of why this particular Soulslike worked for me, when so many others didn’t.

While it doesn’t seem very Souls-y at first glance, with its bright colours and fairly lighthearted nature, Another Crab’s Treasure has a combat system that feels very familiar to my FromSoft favourites. The only element that initially surprised me was the lack of the classic Souls staple – the stamina bar. But even without having to be mindful of your limited energy for attacks and dodges, the game will make sure you aren’t button mashing your way through enemies and bosses. You aren’t able to stagger enemies, or interrupt their attacks and combos, so you do have to time your moves carefully – if you go for too many hits at once, you WILL get your clams clapped. As always, being methodical with any encounter is the key to success; learning attack patterns, and knowing when you have an opening to counterattack (or go for a cheeky heal) is critical. This game also has a fantastic set of accessibility options for players that might find aspects of the game too difficult. You can opt to give yourself more parry frames, take less damage from enemies, or even slow said enemies down to give yourself more time to react. And of course, my personal favourite, the “give Kril a gun” option – if a particular enemy type is giving you a lot of trouble, you can simply choose to pull out a glock and dispatch them immediately. There was one specific late game area where I was sorely tempted to blast my way through and never return.

My favourite element of the combat in Another Crab’s Treasure was the “Capsize” mechanic that follows a string of successful parries – similar to Sekiro, where you parry attacks to inflict posture damage (breaking an enemies posture opens them up to a fatal blow) this game allows you to capsize enemies, or knock them down, after parrying them enough times to fill their Capsize bar. You can unlock skills that allow you to follow up your parries with a riposte, and even a special plunging stab to deal a significant chunk of damage once you have your foe capsized. I love that the game incentivizes you to go for these parries, because despite the high risk, the result is hugely rewarding. Especially during boss fights. Taking the time to learn attack patterns and parry timings can make these encounters so much more manageable – and of course, it’s super satisfying to be able to parry an attack that’s been giving you trouble. Bosses tend to have some moves that can be interrupted with a single parry, while others are unstoppable, and will require you to parry or dodge each hit. It was a fun addition to the learning process, figuring out which attacks I could parry and follow up immediately, and which ones required me to stay defensive for longer, or else get decked while I tried to counterattack in the midst of a combo. Part of the reason I love Souls games and find them so gratifying is this “puzzle” element to combat, and the learning curve that comes along with it. Another Crab’s Treasure gave me that same sense of satisfaction every time I had a new boss down to a science.

The combat system has a fair amount of depth to it, with the addition of Stowaways (equippable items that increase your stats and give you other buffs), Adaptations (Umami, or magical-based special attacks), and other unique moves unlocked via a skill tree. Arguably one of the most important elements of battle is your shell – the best offense is a good defense, I guess? And the shell system in Another Crab’s Treasure is probably the most tolerable version of a “durability” system I’ve ever experienced in my life. There are 69 (hehe) different shells to discover, all with their own weight class, Shell Spells, and durability bar – once a shell’s durability bar is drained, it will break, and leave you Naked and Afraid. As you might expect, glass shells, like the shot glass, or salt shaker, will have low durability and break quickly. Others, like the not-Scrub-Daddy sponge, or the rubber ducky, will be a little more resistant. Obviously watching your shell health is something to be aware of, but my normal issue of durability systems being incredibly intrusive was a non-issue here. Thank god. Shells are so abundant (there’s always a pop can, or plastic lid laying around somewhere) that losing one is rarely a massive problem. I wasn’t forced into a menu every 3 seconds when something broke, and it wasn’t enough to derail any of my exploration attempts. All the different shells also allowed for some neat environmental story-telling, which was only occasionally depressing.

And while I will always praise the Souls series for its abstract way of communicating with the player, with its level design and item-description-story-telling, I don’t think I’d argue that the games are particularly light-hearted or full of whimsical charm. I would say that most of the Souls games do have their own particular brand of humour, but it might not be as, erm… traditional. Another Crab’s Treasure, on the other hand, is very much built around its fun nature – the cartoony style sets a much lighter tone, matched by the goofy dialogue and clever visual design. See, a lot of the story of this game has to do with the ocean adopting a trash economy (no environmental messaging in the silly crab game, haha, don’t worry) and I consistently got a kick out of seeing the ways that discarded garbage and random items were incorporated into the environment and enemies. There’s the Curdled Village, which is entirely comprised of empty milk carton houses (I bet they’re affordable, at least), knight lobsters with straw lances and plastic dome lid shields (there’s also a winged maxi-pad variant, and yes, they can fly), and crabs with LEGO – sorry, LEGAL brick – hats and toothpick swords. One of my favourite bosses, the Duchess, attacks with a tea steeper that she swings around like a ball and chain.

Despite all the opportunities for comedy, the game does deal with some heavy themes to balance out all that brevity. I appreciated the way that Another Crab’s Treasure alludes to issues of classism, environmental destruction, and the pitfalls of capitalism (to name a few), because it wasn’t done in a beat-you-over-the-head-with-its-messaging type of way. I don’t know if I’d call it subtle, but it was definitely more of a “haha – wait, what” presentation style. The signature brand of humour works to dilute some of the harsher elements of the story – and while the game does get darker as you get closer to the finish line, I enjoyed that I was able to sort of digest things on my own, rather than having the narrative shove its ideas down my throat and tell me what to think about them. So, what initially seemed like a cute and simple game about a hermit crab trying to get his shell back, instead turned out to be surprisingly deep.

The more I think about it, maybe my new favourite Soulslike wasn’t very Soulslike at all. Or, maybe I’ve just reframed my thinking a bit when it comes to the definition of the term. Sure, the methodical combat is exactly what I’d expect from a game that compares itself to the Souls series, but Another Crab’s Treasure definitely created a system unique enough to stand on its own (ten?) legs. The hilarious dialogue and charming characters are definitely going to stick with me, and I was genuinely sad to see the credits roll on this one. I ended up a lot more invested in the story than I initially expected. And it was a very Soulslike ending – not exactly good, but not exactly bad. I was hopeful that the ocean could be put to rights, that Nemma and the rest of the crabs could find some sense of stability and comfort, and that Kril could find what he was looking for, even if he wasn’t quite sure what that was. We did defeat the final boss, Capitalism, but nothing is ever that simple. We didn’t exactly swim off into the sunset, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I loved discovering the world with Kril and seeing him come out of his shell – one way, or another.