While Another Crab’s Treasure may be colorful and whimsical on the surface, there is a sad, decaying world found in its darkest depths. This is because one goal that developer Aggro Crab had when making Another Crab’s Treasure wasn’t to introduce fans to a stripped-down Soulslike experience, but a Soulslike experience that is unique and more approachable as a result. It’s unlikely “Crab-like” games take off—though never say never in the gaming industry—but Another Crab’s Treasure isn’t just “Baby’s First Soulslike.”
Another Crab’s Treasure is a bonafide Soulslike game through and through, meaning fans should expect a challenging experience underneath it all. Of course, doing so required Aggro Crab to juggle a few balls: it had to balance humor and dark storytelling, it had to balance a colorful art style with a powerful message about the sad state of the world, it had to balance difficulty with accessibility, and it had to make this underwater world feel relatable to the fundamentals of Soulslike design. It remains to be seen if it achieves all of that, but Game Rant recently spoke with Aggro Crab studio head/art director Nick Kaman and creative director/narrative lead Caelan Pollock about all things Another Crab’s Treasure. Our key takeaway, from its origins to its upcoming launch, is how important nailing a certain vibe was to its development.
Souls-like Games With The Darkest Lore
The layer of tragedy and brutality in the lore of games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne is why so many players love these titles in the first place.
The Vision for Another Crab’s Treasure Has Been Vibin’ for a Long Time
The World of Another Crab’s Treasure Has a Strong Vision
Development is a long and iterative process, but one key thing that helps it is a strong vision. Another Crab’s Treasure wasn’t an idea that came out of nowhere and, in fact, existed on a paper map for eight years, circa 2016. Kaman explained that the game’s map was originally made on paper, with Another Crab’s Treasure written on the top of it, and it was originally supposed to be a mobile game. However, a mobile game didn’t vibe with the core of what the game was, and as the world evolved, so did Another Crab’s Treasure‘s gameplay. From an 8-year-old paper map years ago to a legit video game today, Another Crab’s Treasure had to find the right vibe for its content.
Of course, as much as things change in game development, sometimes they don’t. A strong vision for Another Crab’s Treasure‘s world from the get-go, left to marinate over several years, transferred almost entirely to the Soulslike game. It’s not all exactly 1:1, but both Kaman and Pollock discussed how the map has not changed too drastically since that initial concept. As Pollock explained,
There hasn’t been much change, if you look at the map. Not everything’s completely the same, but it’s very easy to say: This is the parallel to that area. This changed in this way. It’s pretty easy to see “A to B” of that original design vs. where we are now.
This map is obviously a very important element of Another Crab’s Treasure‘s origins and modern vibe, and Kaman is open to sharing it someday. He did say, however, that he’d have to blur the map for a couple of reasons.
Most of the locations on the map made it into the game in some way. I’m going to post them on the Internet at some point, but I’ll have to blur half of it out. These locations that I drew eight years ago are still present in the game and I would say they constitute spoilers.
This represents the vision the team had for the underwater world. They’ve known for 8 years that they wanted a big city in a coral reef and an adventure in the “deep, dark depths of the ocean.” What’s down there remains to be seen, but it’s exciting to know how long this vision for the area has lasted. Alongside this vision of the world, there has been a strong vision of what the protagonist was meant to be as well.
In Another Crab’s Treasure, players take on the role of Kril – a hermit crab seeking to get his home back after being kicked out by the Duchess of Slack Tide. He has to pay taxes on land he never did before and ends up on a long journey across the world, from the large Sand Castle at the center of Slack Tide and smaller, naturalistic villages to company towns and New Carcinia, a bustling underwater city. Trash has kicked off an industrial revolution of sorts in New Carcinia, while a lot of different areas explore different ways people form society. Pollock explained that these locations are not super alike:
“All of these different spaces coexisting, and sometimes not coexisting, was a very interesting part of the lore for me.”
Kril is Designed on Vibes
When we asked Pollock and Kaman what designing Kril was like, Kaman had a very potent answer: “It’s just vibes.”
He’d go on to explain that the overarching goal was to create a protagonist that matched the “scrimblo bimblo 3D platformer mascot-like character archetype” and iterate from there. They wanted Kril to read similarly to a platformer mascot like Banjo-Kazooie, and this understandably took several sketches to get the right vibe. Some versions of Kril were more hermit crab-like, and others went in different directions before settling on the current version of Kril. In designing him, both Kaman and Pollock acknowledged that one consistent hardship was the legs.
Not only did they need to nail down how Kril’s legs worked, but also how many he should have. Hermit Crabs have ten legs, but realism would have caused a lot of agony for the animator and could potentially confuse players. In the end, as Pollock explained, they settled on an easier-to-read bipedal approach, with Kril’s other legs playing a different role:
Eventually, we settled on this design where some of his legs are in the back holding up his shell. Like, that’s just kind of how this sort of more humanized hermit crab chooses to move around.
It’s also worth noting that, in designing Kril and Shells, Kaman also spent about two years occasionally thinking about what a crab could fit its butt into. There were obvious contenders like a soda can, but many of them were not so obvious as well.
Humor and Tragedy Vibe Side-By-Side in Another Crab’s Treasure
When someone thinks of a Soulslike game, they probably don’t think of something colorful and they almost certainly do not think of something humorous. Pollock doesn’t see the dark worlds of FromSoftware and humor as opposing vibes, however; instead, he insists FromSoft and Dark Souls gamesare funny. It’s an interesting take that’s easy to see in hindsight.
“I think it’s also worth bringing up that classic Soulslike games – FromSoftware,
Dark Souls
games – are funny. They are. The jokes are explicitly few and far between. We have a lot more written jokes and one-liners than FromSoftware, by a lot, but I will laugh my ass off playing
Elden Ring.
I don’t think that is by any means an accident. Look at how they animate skeletons. FromSoftware understands that skeletons are silly. They understand that being a little guy hit around by massive f*cking demons is a very silly slapstick experience. I think that element of lightheartedness is a part of FromSoftware games that often gets overlooked. I think that’s an important counterbalance to the very depressing lore, for example.”
Of course, just because he sees that Soulslike games and humor are not opposing forces, that doesn’t mean the two studio’s approach is similar. As he notes, this light-hearted aspect of Soulslike games is often overlooked by the difficulty, whereas humor, one-liners, and jokes have a much stronger presence in Another Crab’s Treasure. Communicating humor in games can be difficult because humor itself is subjective. Pollock explains that Aggro Crab does not start at a place where the games are just meant to be laughed at, but instead as stories with an important and emotional core—stories with a lot of heart. Humor, in that, is included and then balanced with the weight of the narrative. In developing humor in these weighty stories, Pollock explained,
I think it’s about finding that balance and spending time interrogating that balance. Is this too dark for people to still be having a good time? Or is this line too silly for where the stakes are here in the game? We spend a lot of time evaluating and discussing that sort of stuff. But ultimately, I think a splash of humor can make intense or emotional stories more intense and emotional. And, in the same way, being hit with a funny line when something dramatic is going on at large makes it even funnier.
Kaman also added that it’s important for humor to “permeate throughout the whole experience” instead of just being used sparingly, especially in narratives with such stakes. He explained that there are jokes in most NPC conversations, in the description of items players find, the items themselves are meant to be funny, bosses have a pun, and combat has that Soulslike slapstick element to it. That’s what players should expect from humor in Another Crab’s Treasure, but that is balanced alongside a heartfelt narrative.
Trash is raining down from the sky, crabs like Kril are losing their homes and rights, and the world finds itself manipulated by The Gunk. In Another Crab’s Treasure, The Gunk is how the denizens of the world explain this substance spreading throughout the ocean—to players, it’s going to look a lot like crude oil. Over time, players will learn that it’s not just a representation of physical pollution destroying the world, but “this mental deterioration that’s taking place across everyone as their world starts to crumble,” according to Pollock.
It might be too easy to see the colorful nature of the game alongside the emphasis on humor and overlook the existential horror, but that won’t be possible in the game. As Kaman explained,
“When you look at the plot, the lore of our game, and the inspiration for it, it’s that decaying, sad world that you would expect from any
Souls
game. It’s just presented differently, but that aspect of the genre is really important to us.”
When we asked about that inspiration—real-world pollution—and what the game is trying to say about that, Pollock did not miss a beat with his immediate response: “I mean, you could keep the ocean clean, you know? How’s that for a lesson?”
Pollock would go on to explain how pollution tied into the original vision for the game. It was something Aggro Crab talked about from the beginning when deciding the game’s premise. It was very important to figure out what the studio was saying and what it wasn’t saying. Ultimately, Another Crab’s Treasure is not a game for an audience of people somehow ignorant of the fact that throwing trash in the water is bad. It’s not a game meant to tell people who are somehow ignorant of the fact that pollution and climate change are real. It’s not about saying anything like that or even solving climate change or pollution; it’s about the emotion underneath it all, what a lot of folks today are feeling. Another Crab’s Treasure is saying that, as people, how do we build a community, maintain something to live for in a world that feels like it’s dying, and find catharsis among the hardships of modern-day life. (Reminder: this is a humorous game). As Pollock himself said,
This is very much a game about not just climate change, but climate catastrophe. That’s what’s shown to be going on in the underwater world here. I think a lot of people in general, especially people growing up right now, have this sense of “the crumbling world” right now. Sharing how we feel about that, or helping people find catharsis and what that feels like, was always much more important to me than “Oh, hey, the moral is pollution is bad.” That’s taken as a given in the game’s storyline. “What do we do from here?” is more of the open question.
All of this is to say that Another Crab’s Treasure, from that 8-year-old map to its modern iteration, has always had a strong vision with a powerful story and message, a compelling world, interesting characters, a purpose in its humor, and in-depth lore. That vision for Another Crab’s Treasure vibes perfectly with Soulslike game design.
Another Crab’s Treasure is Just Vibin’ Alongside Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Sekiro, and More
Nailing the Combat Vibe of Soulslike Games
If the protagonists of Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Sekiro, Bloodborne, and practically any Soulslike game are these representations of stoic, brooding protagonists trapped in an otherwise horrific world where they must fight and die to ultimately survive, then Kril in Another Crab’s Treasure is the kid standing next to them, dancing to some TikTok trend, while masking their overarching anxiety and existential dread. Which is darker is ultimately up to player perception, but the world of Another Crab’s Treasure fits perfectly among the various themes of Soulslike games. In making sure Another Crab’s Treasure was a Soulslike game from a gameplay perspective, with the vibe already lined up perfectly, it’s not surprising that Aggro Crab began with combat.
From there, Aggro Crab looked at how a crab fits in with other Soulslike protagonists. It’s no secret that different Soulslike games give more weight to dodging or parrying, both of which are possible in Another Crab’s Treasure, but its combat emphasis ended up on Kril’s Shells. Players already know that Kril can equip various shells in Another Crab’s Treasure, and they each work differently with spells in the game. They also emphasize how important blocking is in the game’s combat, as players will want to block attacks, counter, and parry where they can, punish their opponents when necessary, but quickly get that defense back up. Some shells, like Glass shells, will break in one hit, while others will react differently in this scenario, meaning players have to express themselves in combat through their Shell use. As Kaman explained about Another Crab’s Treasure’s combat,
“In that sense, it gets us closer to a
Sekiro
style of gameplay, as opposed to straight-up
Dark Souls,
where you’re encouraged to stay up close in the fight. Our game doesn’t have stamina, either, so you really do just want to get in there, take some hits with your shell, dodge when you can, but keep whaling on your opponent.”
A lot of conversation also focused on Soulslike elements and what did make it into Another Crab’s Treasure and what didn’t. The core of their approach was for it to be a Soulslike game, but not Baby’s First Soulslike game. Another Crab’s Treasure is an invitation into the Soulslike genre, but it didn’t want to make the genre more approachable by cutting out its defining elements. Therefore, every feature essentially went through a vibe check to see if it was necessary to define it as a true Soulslike game.
Vibe Check: Pollock on Corpse Runs in Another Crab’s Treasure
“
We argued a lot about the existence of the “corpse run” in the game, where you essentially drop your money when you die and need to go collect it from the world. It does exist in the game. You will lose your money if you don’t re-collect your corpse. Since we’re going for a more approachable game, it was a big question for us. We think this sense of risk and real stakes to dying is really important to the
Souls
vibe in a way that’s much deeper than just ‘Oh, this makes the game harder.'”
Vibe Check: Pollock on Long Run-Backs to Bosses
“We did mostly eliminate long run-backs to a boss. Almost every boss in the game, you can respawn very close to it. It was kind of inspired by
Elden Ring
doing something similar to a lot of their bosses. They’ve got the Stakes of Marika, where you can respawn very close by. We decided, once we started doing that, why not take it all the way and eliminate pretty much all of them. I mean, people who are real gluttons for punishment do enjoy it. I don’t think it’s an objectively bad part of early
Dark Souls,
but I do think it’s something that keeps a lot of people away and makes the game a lot more frustrating. Ultimately, it isn’t necessarily totally required to achieve the right vibe.”
Vibe Check: Pollock on Difficulty in Soulslike Games
“We had a big sort of open question as to whether or not we wanted the game’s default difficulty to be considered the gold standard. Is this something that people can increase the difficulty of? Is it something you can decrease the difficulty of? Ultimately, we have the assist settings to make it easier, but the default version of the game is its hardest version, which is something that wasn’t known from the beginning. We originally had thoughts on adding options to make it harder, but I think that was kind of our version of that sort of “difficulty bragging rights” that
Souls
presents. I’m definitely against the idea that somebody else choosing to play the game in an easier mode devalues your victory. But, at the same time, it’s really nice to have a version of that victory that’s like a signpost where you can feel proud of it if you do it right, just without tearing anybody else down.”
Vibe Check: Another Crab’s Treasure’s Gun is Elden Ring’s Mimic Tear
“I would argue, with
Elden Ring,
the easy mode is items that do make the game somewhat objectively easier, like Mimic Tear. The summons are a big one, but Mimic Tear in particular takes a long time to get, and a lot of the summons aren’t good. It’s far from a cut-and-dry easy mode, but I did think it’s interesting how
Elden Ring
offered these options that you don’t have to use that do make the game easier. That was pretty new to
Dark Souls,
but they do it just in like playstyle. Have you heard about the gun? We’ve got the gun. That’s our Mimic Tear.”
Vibe Check: Kaman on the Breadth of the Soulslike Genre
“We would really like to see
Another Crab’s Treasure
be kind of the mark of a new era for the genre, where there is more breadth to the genre in general. Credit to
Lies of P
for doing what they did, but, if
Souls
was here, they’re over here, and we’re like
waaaaaay
over here on the other side…With what we’re doing, I think by making it this far different from every other
Souls
game, there’s now room for everything in between to exist. If we do well, it opens the door for a lot of different kinds of games to be Soulslikes, and I think that’s exciting.”
Vibe Check: Kaman on Boss Difficulty in Soulslike Games
“There’s this rule in Game Dev: if it’s hard for the devs, it’s way too hard for the players since the devs are going to be the best at the game. I think that rule doesn’t apply to Soulslikes. The fun here is that we get to just make the bosses as hard as we want them to be, as hard as they need to be to be fun for us, and then the players will also have to deal with that.”
Another Crab’s Treasure Has Plenty of Features for Players to Vibe With
While the world of Another Crab’s Treasure dances to the beat of its own drum yet vibes with Soulslike game design as well, its most important partner in any of this must be its players. As anyone who follows its social media would know, Aggro Crab has a great relationship with its fans. Whether it’s legitimately adding features like The Glock or the ability to pet a “dog” because of fan demand, simply putting out fun trolls, or responding to Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree‘s release date looming over its own, its social media presence as a video game company is second to none.
It’s on the smaller end of things, but there’s also the fact that Another Crab’s Treasure has plenty of builds for fans to have fun with. If someone doesn’t like one shell, they can simply find another, and they’ll be swapping a lot in combat as is. There are exactly 69 shells in Another Crab’s Treasure, after all, and each operates very differently from the next. How players engage with their own build, how they swap on the fly, and otherwise engage in the combat itself ensures that players are vibing alongside Another Crab’s Treasure.
The Glock in Another Crab’s Treasure is the Ultimately Difficulty Option
Another example of a player option in Another Crab’s Treasure is the handgun. While Kaman doesn’t encourage a full playthrough using the handgun, it’s there for players who want it for whatever reason they want it. It will instantly kill anything, and its story is as funny as its inclusion. As Kaman explained,
“It was initially added because we were just like: “Wouldn’t it be funny if Kril had a shell that was a gun, a Glock handgun?” Then, we were right. It WAS funny. And then we thought, wouldn’t it be really funny if the gun was in the accessibility menu? And we were right. It WAS funny.”
What Kaman and Aggro Crab did not anticipate, however, were advocates for the accessibility community enjoying it as much as well. Kaman ended up doing a speech in Redmond at an accessibility conference, where he discussed the lesson here being that accessibility should be fun. Kaman ended on a rather poignant point for accessibility in video games: “If you’re going to take away an aspect of [the game], do it in a fun way.”
Pollock also pointed out another important lesson regarding the gun: “Just don’t throw guns in the ocean. We don’t want crabs getting them.”
Another Crab’s Treasure Will Vibe Alongside Players Soon
Giving fans plenty of builds to experiment with, optional features like the handgun, the ability to pet a dog, and much more represent the relationship between Another Crab’s Treasure and its player base. Another Crab’s Treasure releases on April 25, and as just another option for players, it’s going to be a day-one Xbox Game Pass release too. The relationship won’t end there, as Aggro Crab will continue to iron out any issues with the game post-release, and it’s hard to imagine the shenanigans that’ll take place on social media once the game is out too.
For the future of Aggro Crab, Kaman and Pollock did confirm the studio was already working on its next game. They also expressed interest in providing more content for Another Crab’s Treasure, but they understandably won’t commit to anything before seeing how it is received. As Pollock said: “As an indie dev, the success of the game can just make such a huge difference as to what you can or can’t do.” The future of Another Crab’s Treasure is in the players’ hands then and, hopefully, they vibe with it as much as it vibes with itself, with the state of the world, and with Soulslike game design.
Another Crab’s Treasure
Aggro Crab’s Another Crab’s Treasure provides a maritime twist on the Souls-like formula. Using the trash around him as armor and weapons, Kril must travel across an underwater kingdom while fighting off all sorts of impressive threats.
- Released
- April 25, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Aggro Crab
- Publisher(s)
- Aggro Crab
- Genre(s)
- Adventure , Soulslike , RPG
- Engine
- Unity
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Crude Humor, Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence