Another Crab Treasure, as the name suggests, is a world full of humor and puns where the sea is an oyster like your soul. A fork serves as your defacto sword, while various leftovers from above, such as shot glasses, soda cans, and more, serve as your shield. With fork in hand and box on his back, Krill, a shy but easy-going crab, ventures into the aquatic kingdom to find his favorite shell, stolen from him by a loan shark tax collector. What follows is an adventure that departs from the otherwise dark and horror-filled genre of ghosts by being an entertaining and lighthearted take on the genre. However, the action does not come at the same height. While unique and expansive in some ways, it feels too floaty, too inaccurate, and often too distracting, polluting a fun 15-hour journey through a sea of ​​trash.
Developer Agro Crab cleverly leans on the game’s premise, and the results often make me laugh. Whether it’s inside jokes, talks about the real world and man-made problems with the ocean, or simple wordplay (substituting words like shuck, carp, cod, and similar real-world curse words) take), I was constant. Smile while interacting with various sea creatures. Solid voice acting and design also make every NPC and boss a treat.
This tilt at the premise also extends to the action of the game, but is less successful. To Aggro Crab’s credit, combat moves meaningfully with distinct, eccentric mechanics and abilities. Instead of a standard weapon-based parry, you must hide in your shell and attack before the enemy can properly parry; Defeating a large crustacean boss gives you a special ability like hammer claws for large sweeps. The “umami” magic within each shell manifests in interesting ways, such as a shot glass that shatters into shards when struck, a tennis ball rolling like a bowling ball inside the shell, or carbonation bubbles escaping from a soda can. like
Most of my joy in combat came from seeing the “new” – a special Umami spell in a new shell, a new ability gained after defeating a big boss, or a new stowaway attachment that increased my strength or defense. For example. There’s no shortage of quirks to the combat, and there’s a respectable amount of departure that works from what I’d normally expect in a Soulslike.
So it’s a shame that the foundation of the fight is so shaky. It’s floaty, possibly on purpose, given Krill’s adventures take place largely underwater, but the trade-off for a feel that doesn’t work with such challenging gameplay is unfair. . The camera is also poor, I’m left to fight different enemies at the same time who surround me against the wall leaving me with no real idea of ​​what’s going on. Critically, when I died in combat, it usually felt less like something I could personally improve on – a key aspect of the genre – and more like something the game did. I was put to death.
It all adds up to a story that starts off strong before quickly spiraling into the finale, which features my least favorite area and several bosses that each seemed like they were the finale in the game. could have been It doesn’t help that various game crashes and bugs have slowed down my progress here in the last few hours.
Although the combat, which veers between serviceable and annoying, jeopardized my enjoyment, I still found joy in another crab treasure trove. Krill’s reluctance to become a hero and his subsequent journey, messaging corporations around the threats to our oceans, and clever twists on the Soulslike formula make for a satisfying, albeit uneven and flawed, passage through uncharted waters.