Highlights
- 2024 is shaping up to be the year of Soulslike games with hits like Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade gaining popularity.
- Both games focus on platforming and combat mechanics, utilizing a Balance system to give players advantages in battles.
- Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade also emphasize fashion, with players able to collect various gear and shells for their characters.
2024 began giving the impression that it would be the year of survival games, with hits like Palworld and Enshrouded making unexpected waves in the gaming industry. Now, further into 2024, it looks like it might be the year of Soulslike games as well, with Aggro Crab’s Another Crab’s Treasure and Shift Up’s Stellar Blade being greeted with a warm reception. Another Crab’s Treasure sees Kril the hermit crab setting off on an underwater adventure to reclaim his repossessed shell, and Stellar Blade follows EVE, a superhuman warrior sent to Earth to eliminate an alien threat.
Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade may seem like two entirely different games, but they’re actually more alike than they may seem. Both games implement traditional elements of the Soulslike genre but also take their own liberties in combat, exploration, and skills. As it turns out, many of these liberties taken are the same between them.
Why Stellar Blade Is Not Exactly a Soulslike
Stellar Blade might possess a lot of Soulslike characteristics, but one unfortunate trait ultimately disqualifies it from being a true Soulslike.
How Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade Are Alike
Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade Emphasize Platforming
Platforming is not a common feature in traditional Soulslike games, as it typically requires higher mobility and can therefore take a bit of the challenge out of the experience. Despite being descendants of the Soulslike genre, both Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade emphasize platforming. Another Crab’s Treasure‘s platforming is arguably more polished than Stellar Blade‘s, as it’s very easy to miss ledges and ropes in Stellar Blade. However, both games require plenty of platforming throughout their explorable zones.
Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade Have Similar Combat Mechanics
Combat is one of the most prominent features of any Soulslike, and that is the case for Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade. While both games have similar basic attacks for their protagonists, it is in the combat mechanics as a whole that they show their similarities. One particular mechanic, Balance, is a core feature in both games’ combat.
In Another Crab’s Treasure, players can build up an enemy’s Balance meter by repeatedly attacking it. Once it’s full, they can perform a Charged Attack on the enemy to Capsize them, knocking them down for several seconds and rendering them vulnerable to subsequent attacks. In Stellar Blade, players can whittle away at an enemy’s Balance by performing perfect parries on their attacks. Once an enemy’s Balance is depleted, players can perform an attack called “Retribution” that deals tremendous damage.
In short, both games use their Balance mechanic to give players the upper hand in battle.
Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade are comparable also in their special abilities. Another Crab’s Treasure has special abilities called “Shell Spells” that come equipped on the shells that Kril wears. Each of these spells differs according to the shell, but they can be very powerful. Additionally, Kril can eventually learn Adaptations — potent skills that can turn the tide of battle. In Stellar Blade, EVE can use a variety of Beta and Burst skills, which are far more destructive than her normal attacks. These unique skills are just another similarity Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade share with one another.
Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade Take Fashion Very Seriously
Stellar Blade and Another Crab’s Treasure are similar in their emphasis on fashion as well. There are dozens of Nano Suits for players to collect in Stellar Blade, and even more in its New Game Plus mode. In Another Crab’s Treasure, players can find various “shells” on the ocean floor that not only protect Kril but also make him look good, and Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade take the so-called “Fashion Souls” very seriously.
It’s interesting that Another Crab’s Treasure and Stellar Blade share so much in common, as they are starkly different in so many other ways. Perhaps this is a sign of the Soulslike genre beginning to innovate itself beyond its traditional roots.
Stellar Blade
Stellar Blade is an action-RPG developed by Shift Up and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game follows protagonist Eve as she attempts to save a devastated Earth from invaders called Naytiba.
- Released
- April 26, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Shift Up
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- Metascore
- 82
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A