Another Crab's Treasure review: Yet another Xbox Game Pass pleasure

So you're looking for another soulslike to dig your teeth into? Got Game Pass? Well, you're in luck with the release of Another Crab's Treasure. A delightful little game that I saw come up across multiple YouTube channels, and more is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, Switch, and PlayStation 5! 

If you're into soulslike games as much as I am, make sure to check out our coverage on Remnant 2's latest DLC, The Forgotten Kingdom. Another soulslike that's already on Game Pass!

What is Another Crab's Treasure?

Another Crab's Treasure is a soulslike experience the likes you've never seen! An underwater world strewn head-to-toe in the remnants of human civilization (a fancy way of saying garbage) stands between our fateful hermit crab hero and his barnacle-cladded shell. From beginning to end, players will work their way towards the discovery of not only a once comfortable abode but also their true selves.

Along the way, you'll meet a spirited cast of characters that only want treasure in the form of rubbish. These ocean creatures survive and thrive on the use of trash for buildings, tools, vehicles, structures, and more. You'll also make use of these items to grant multifarious forms of shells and level yourself through the use of microplastics. Who knew consuming microplastics could make you stronger and healthier?

The once crystal-clear waters of the ocean have been tainted by the ominous Gunk, a mysterious substance that seems to be spreading like wildfire and infecting every living creature in its path. The murky eyes of crabs, plankton, and lobsters alike show the seepage of the Gunk, which could lead to the end of ocean life. Rescue your shell, and maybe save the ocean along the way. You don't really have a choice, and every single character will remind you of that on your journey!

Another Crab's Treasure — $29.99 at Xbox | Steam (PC) | Nintendo (Switch)

Another Crab's Treasure is a soulslike experience the likes you've never seen! An underwater world strewn head-to-toe in the remnants of human civilization (a fancy way of saying garbage) stands between our fateful hermit crab hero and his barnacle-cladded shell. From beginning to end, players will work their way towards the discovery of not only a once comfortable abode but also their true selves.

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Another Crab's Treasure review: The good

The pros highlights

• A deeper combat system than meets the eye.
  • There are over 60 shells to discover, with about half as many abilities to match.
  • The barnacle buddy system adds a variety of boosts to damage, survivability, and even battle pets.
• Accessibility options that bring a soulslike experience to everyone. The git guds and the gotten guds.
• Fun, enjoyable dad humor that's stuffed full of sea-worthy puns.

First and foremost, the combat. If you're going to do a soulslike experience, you must ensure the combat is watertight. For much of the experience, it is. We'll tackle the leaks a little later, but for now, the positives!

Stamina monitoring is out the porthole in Another Crab's Treasure. You might be thinking, "Oh, so I can roll-2-win," not exactly. Often, you'll wish you had a shell to parry an attack, or at least block it, because enemies will attack far too fast or in numbers to make rolling a viable option. The stamina management found in soulslike games is replaced with keeping watch over their shell's durability. 

Shells have vast ranges in durability, defensive capability, and attack bonuses. Ranging from soda cans to miniature stuffed Among Us characters, there's as much variance in design as there is use. A shot glass will block twice the damage of a tennis ball, but the tennis ball will hold up to eight times the number of attacks. While a shot glass will break in one to two hits, the tennis ball will last eight to sixteen!

These shells also serve a weaponry function depending on the type of shell you're using. For example, glass or crystalline shells will grant a shard ability that turns the hermit crab into a mini version of Superman's Fortress of Solitude, while metallic containers grant electric-based attacks.

On top of the shell mechanics come magical abilities called Adaptations. These are magical abilities you'll unlock through boss encounters that grant you things like the power to electrocute enemies or cast bubble bullets like Squirtle. In my playtime, I found six of them, but there could be more!

If you find combat too difficult, outside of leveling your character, there are a myriad of accessibility options for players to browse through to offset the scurvy you face. Shell durability, enemy health, increased dodge windows, infinite health, and even a handgun. That's right, a pistol.

It's actually really shucking hilarious when it's equipped on the crab. The hermit loads into the magazine and can one-shot literally every single enemy in the game. No reload, infinite ammo, and bullets that don't mind being shot through water. You will use it, if not for the humor, but to take out your rage as you hand out black spots like candy on Halloween.

Last but not least is the game's waterfowl language, which is used in almost all instances of dialogue. You'll be kraken up in no time. It's shrimply amazing. If you've enjoyed the use of it throughout this review, then you'll love Another Crab's Treasure. Otherwise, you might want to skip the text and cutscenes.

Heck, you level in this game through the consumption of Microplastics. Countless bits of trash can be traced back to real-world equivalents, like long CVS receipts, Marbarolo cigarette containers, or even a giant Captain Crunch box!

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Another Crab's Treasure review: The bad

• The unlock system is cool, but too many standard soulslike abilities are locked behind it.
• Some unbalanced and unpolished combat mechanics can lead to critical moments going the wrong way.

Not everything in Another Crab's Treasure is sunshine and booty. In an otherwise pleasant experience, I have a few things that popped up far more often than they should have. There are some weird overall design choices that, at times, left me shouting, "You've got to be squidding me."

Remember when I mentioned the "leaky" parts of combat? It comes in the form of some questionable fighting mechanics. Such as the use of the lock-on camera system. Pretty standard in soulslike games, universal, in fact.

There's an automatic relocking mechanism that takes over after defeating an enemy. The problem is that it'll sometimes choose to lock on to an enemy maybe 60 meters or 200 feet away when the priority should go to one of the other three enemies still attacking me. I don't care about the enemy that's in a different shipping lane; I care about the pirate trying to plunder my booty right then and there.

A good fix would be to lower the range at which you can lock onto enemies; I'm not even sure why the distance is so great to begin with. There are no giant ranged abilities, so it shouldn't matter. Technically, you can turn off the automatic relocking. Still, you're removing an essential feature found in many soulslike games. Speaking of crucial features, let's talk about the upgrade system.

There are three branches for the player to peruse and unlock as they adventure. A patient gamer can unlock every ability before reaching the end of the game, and all of them add critical or robust upgrades. Some additions are great, like the hammer ability. You can pick up shells and attach them to your primary weapon, a fork, to grant damage bonuses for the cost of slower swings. That's a terrific addition, but they're not all new, and some are just standard soulslike abilities locked behind a skill tree.

For example, the game has an enemy balance system where you can knock them prone after a certain number of attacks. In games like Elden Ring and Dark Souls, knocking an enemy down like that opens them up to a critical strike. In Another Crab's Treasure, that's locked behind the skill unlock system. Knocking an enemy down doesn't even provide any added benefit to your damage other than the enemy can't attack you for a few moments.

When you finally unlock said ability, it's incredibly underwhelming, and the damage dealt isn't anything more than a few hits worth. To top it off, you also lose a shell if it's equipped as a hammer. Why?

Other things like a sprint attack, the ability to parry, or even follow up with a riposte are locked in the skill tree. These shouldn't be there, and it feels like they simply removed them from basic gameplay to flesh out the unlock system better. It's not a choice I enjoyed or agree with.

There are also some issues with balance, or at least I feel like there are. I won't go into massive detail because sometimes bias can come up when you're at your peak of trying to 'git gud'. However, an example from the top of my head is a shield enemy players encounter about halfway through. While holding their shield, with absolutely zero tell, they'll swing and hit the player almost instantly. It's annoying to deal with and doesn't have a counter outside of the block, but in a game where conserving your shell's durability matters, making block the only option isn't right.

Another nitpick is the camera system's clunkiness here and there. It's not very often, but sometimes, in crowded areas with walls or carton buildings, the camera will glitch out. You won't be able to see what you're attacking because the camera is outside of the building while you're inside it. There's a large section of empty boxes and cartons where this becomes painfully apparent and irritating to deal with.

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Another Crab's Treasure review: Final thoughts

You should play this if ...

You should not play this if ...

Despite a few downsides, I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Another Crab's Treasure. The game's humor was a standout feature that had me laughing out loud on several occasions. As a fan of soulslike experiences, I can confidently say that it's one of the few AA games that's truly worth playing through. What's more, it's incredibly accessible to play, making it a great entry point for newcomers to the genre.

In the near future, I'm planning on playing the game in its entirety through Game Pass and unlocking every achievement. While it may not have the same replay value as Remnant 2 or Elden Ring, I still intend to revisit it in a month or two. I just need a little time to refill my oxygen tank before diving back into the game's world.

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