This video game rated 93% is Elden Ring with a hermit crab and it’s a pure delight!

Game news This video game rated 93% is Elden Ring with a hermit crab and it’s a pure delight!

I’m going to tell you a secret: I have a weakness for plump, colorful universes, and after having re-finished Elden Ring to prepare Shadow of the Erdtree, I clearly needed a cup of good humor (with, if possible, a minimum of demanding gameplay). And I found the perfect blanket: Another’s Crab Treasure, a very cute Souls-like where you play as a hermit crab in search of his shell. If this speaks to you, this is the second title from the Aggro Crab studio, which had already offered us the very nice Going Under in 2020, a rogue-lite which openly mocked corporate abuses, particularly unpaid work. This time, the team imagines an underwater society loaded with micro-plastics and which is gradually becoming crazy because of the “Gunk” (basically pollution). Once again an ultra-important subject, treated with lightness and humor.

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A surprisingly relevant formula

I know what you’re saying to yourself: beyond the eco-talk and the delirium of playing a hermit crab, what can a game like this do? Really to propose ? Well imagine thatAnother’s Crab Treasure is a perfectly relevant mix between platform and demanding action-RPG (as noted earlier, the fights are immediately reminiscent of Souls). Basically, you have to imagine an underwater Elden Ring where your character is a little freer in his movements. Although underwater, our little hero has his paws glued to the ground but can jump, glide – while swimming – for a few moments, climb fishing nets and even throw a hook as a grappling hook to propel himself into the air, reach reefs normally out of reach. In short, it’s simple and effective, and it goes really well with the whole action dimension – with the addition of zones that are neither too large; nor too small.

Besides, on the combat side, what does Another’s Crab Treasure have in the shell? Here, Aggro Crab focuses on more affordable gameplay than in a classic Souls (no endurance bar, a unique weapon – fork – limited to a few shots), but has put its finger on a great twist which gives the title a real identify ! Our hermit crab being deprived of his beloved shell, he will have to put on whatever he can get his hands on to protect himself… We are talking about an empty can, a plastic bottle cap or a sauce cap sriracha. The interest? Each of these shells of fortune hides a specific power. The can is used for example to release a cloud of foam which rushes straight towards the enemy, the cap gives access to a vertical attack, while the sauce cap will make you spin like a top. Moreover: all this waste also serves as a shield. The little hermit crab can take refuge inside at any time, absorbing 100% of the damage dealt by an opponent. However, even the most robust plastics are not eternal, and after a few hits, the hero will be in open water, defenseless (except for dodging).

Another’s Crab, from surprise to surprise

A gameplay loop then begins which is reminiscent of the wear and tear of weapons in Zelda Breath of the Wild : see its shell destroyed, sometimes in the middle of combat, it requires the player to make do with what they have on hand and to regularly change special abilities ! And I really liked that. It’s both funny and clever, and it gives rise to some truly brilliant scenes, like this boss who wields Japanese chopsticks and waits for you on a tray of sushi… Guess what our hero can use as a shell? Yes, lemurs, whose power allows you to regain a little health (in return for a shield that is gradually eaten away). If that’s not a good idea, that is.

Another’s Crab Treasure is about 50 different shells (but not 50 unique abilities, some powers being shared by several shells), enough to pace the adventure – around twelve hours according to How Long To Beat. Especially since the hermit crab itself evolves over time. Apart from classic statistics (health, strength, defense), here reduced to only four categories, Aggro Crab offers a rather vast skill tree – powered by crystals hidden under the ocean… Ultimately: the crustacean will be in able to lure an enemy down to his feet with his hook, to perform a diving attack from the air, and – this is my favorite – to skewer the waste with his fork (those which serve as his carapace of fortune) to create a big hammer. The icing on the cake is that the hermit crab can swap the trash on his back with the trash at the end of his weapon on the fly, to take advantage of 2 different powers.

After about ten hours of play, I am really under the spell of Another’s Crab Treasure! Its offbeat concept clearly goes further than a good joke… This hermit crab story irrigates all the layers of the title – from the fights to the platform phases through the subject, to form a coherent whole which is really worth the detour. At this stage, I only regret a few collision and camera problems as well as clashes which sometimes lack immediacy and fluidity (like a shot that doesn’t go away without you really understanding why). For the rest, it’s like Ordralfabetix fish, it’s fresh from home, and even the rather simple technique manages to win thanks to a beautiful palette of colors and some pretty effects. Another’s Crab Treasure is available on PC, PS5, One, Xbox Series and Switch for €29.99 (or via Game Pass).