Another Crab’s Treasure demo shows off the brilliance of garbage

destructoid.com:

The soulslike genre is hardly an unexplored frontier these days. While I generally detest using the “like” nomenclature, it’s hard to deny that FromSoftware made some very specific tweaks to the action-RPG genre that keep getting lifted wholesale. I was recently perturbed by Lies Of P essentially just lifting Bloodborne, sprinkling some variations from other Souls games, and then just calling it a day. I have trouble applauding someone for just copying the successes of another company wholesale.

But I’m not against the soulslike genre, in general. A developer just needs to put their own twist on things. Take Another Crab’s Treasure, for example. There is a lot of Souls DNA mixed in here. The fundamental systems boil down to essentially the same place. But simply by mashing it with the polluted ocean floor and fascinating creatures that are hermit crabs, the developers at Aggro Crab have created something that is uniquely theirs.

I actually keep land hermit crabs as pets. One of them I’ve had for 13 years. They’re interesting little crustaceans, having their own small personalities and their own shell preferences. Ugly butts, though. You just usually don’t see them.

Another Crab’s Treasure stars saltwater hermit crab, Kril, as they explore the polluted ocean depths. The demo doesn’t have much in the way of narrative, but I’m reading the press release, and he’s apparently trying to find treasure so he can buy back his repossessed shell. That’s fantastic.

The big twist here is that Kril can jump into various trash to wear as a shell. Each piece of garbage has its own “Umami Ability” that can be used in combat. Not only that, the shells have different durability, and you’ll be swapping them out all the time as they break,