Another Crab's Treasure Review (PS5) | Push Square

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Another Crab's Treasure might not look like a soulslike action RPG, but it is one. Take out the dark, oppressive nature of FromSoftware's output and replace it with SpongeBob, and you're more or less there. Purposely juxtaposing the established tropes of the genre, this title offers a fresh, more lighthearted experience without sacrificing the level of challenge you'd expect.

Playing as Kril, a small hermit crab living a simple life in a cosy tide pool, the journey begins when his shell is unceremoniously taken away by a suspicious-looking shark. This forces the cute crustacean into action, delving into the ocean proper to track down the thief. What you'll discover is an underwater world full of aggressive aquatic life — mostly crabs — and locations littered with, well, litter.

Indeed, there's an environmentalist theme woven into the game, providing a dark (and slightly too real) edge that means it shares the doomed world through-line with other soulslikes. A poisonous gunk plagues certain areas and enemies, and human objects are everywhere you turn; in fact, one environment is a literal garbage heap.

So prevalent is all this trash that it's become this world's economy. Microplastics are the equivalent of souls, and are used not only to level Kril up, but also to purchase items from vendors. However, trash plays right into the game's combat system, which has you hopping in and out of makeshift shells.

From bottle caps to banana skins, tissue boxes to tennis balls, there are dozens of shells Kril can inhabit. Each one has its own stats, weight, and special ability. You basically don't have a defence stat unless you have a shell equipped — that's how important a role they play. The differing levels of protection and abilities means you'll want to experiment, trying out new shells as you come across them throughout the adventure.

Combat is a tense ebb and flow that'll be familiar to anyone who's played a soulslike before. Starting off, Kril has a basic combo and a