I bumped into an unlucky softlock throughout my assessment of One other Crab’s Treasure, an lovely however nonetheless intimidating Soulslike, that has to this point barred me from finishing the sport. Close to the top of the sport, you’re prompted to activate an elevator by an NPC that takes gamers to the ultimate main space and the previous few bosses, however I left the realm and by accident despawned the NPC and the interplay. Regardless of this, I nonetheless actually loved One other Crab’s Treasure and needed to maintain taking part in it, so I booted up one other file and tried my best to speedrun the sport and get again to the place I left off.
At first, I used to be taking part in it straight and doing simply positive. Having turn out to be fairly proficient on the sport’s mechanics in the course of the assessment interval, I cleaned up a few of the early bosses with minimal points (fuck you, Royal Shellsplitter), and even used a few of the similar methods I did the primary time round, however it wasn’t going fairly as quick as I hoped. That’s when it hit me, “Gun.”
One other Crab’s Treasure is a fully hilarious sport, however one in every of its very best jokes isn’t even a written, or spoken, line. Earlier than it was launched, the builders joked that they added a handgun as an accessibility function of the sport. Since Soulslikes are sometimes tough video games (typically infuriatingly so) Aggro Crab developed a bunch of sensible and cautious accessibility options, equivalent to the flexibility to maintain your XP and foreign money after demise, or the addition of one other parry window. Some options cut back the quantity of injury you’re taking, or nullify it fully if you fall off the sting of the map. However the perfect accessibility possibility within the sport merely provides Kril a gun that dwarfs him a number of instances over. Eat your coronary heart out, Remnant 2, there’s a brand new Soulslike shooter in the marketplace.
The sight of the gun is really insane and in addition laugh-out-loud hilarious, but in observe, it’s by some means even wilder. The gun, which sits on Kril’s again like a shell, has essentially the most well being of any shell within the sport. It mitigates harm so completely that you just’re principally invulnerable in it and by no means should depend on one other shell. While you maintain the guard button and conceal within it, you’re successfully simply a strolling gun. And its shell spell, which is just known as “Shoot,” does simply that, besides it doesn’t waste any of your Umami costs (MP) and is a one-shot kill. The gun renders any and each approach, talent, and Adaptation ineffective, and so I did what another cheap hermit crab on a deadline does, and shot my approach by means of the goddamn sea. It was a delight.
![A screenshot of Kril guarding with the gun shell, making it appear as if you're just a floating gun.](https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fit,q_60,w_645/8fd833cf30c611dcbe6a7aa1a361e346.jpg)
One other Crab’s Treasure is 2024’s most stunning shooter
Any rigidity this second run of One other Crab’s Treasure may’ve had evaporated into skinny air. I’ve by no means cleared rooms filled with enemies faster. Truthfully, it was even cathartic to revisit locations the place I’d endured hardships throughout my assessment and wipe the ground with the enemies there. The lock-on function in One other Crab’s Treasure is so deeply beneficiant which you can perch at vantage factors and simply flip a room right into a sniping gallery. I used to be taking out crabs I may barely see on the opposite facet of a number of arenas. I shot one boss earlier than they may even get their opening line of dialogue out, and put one other one down earlier than their animation performed out. As a check, I sniped a boss earlier than I even entered the sector. I don’t suppose I’m taking part in the sport or utilizing the function as Aggro Crab supposed, however by god it’s enjoyable to twist it into one thing it’s not meant to be.
Plus, the gun appears and feels so rattling good to make use of. One other Crab’s Treasure was already a visible and audio deal with, however the work that’s gone into making the gun greater than only a low-cost trick is admirable. The pop of the pistol isn’t fairly as sensible because the SFX you’d hear in a normal FPS, which makes it way more welcoming and cartoonish fairly than menacing. So far as I do know, nobody at Aggro Crab went to a variety, aired out a clip, and grabbed a recording of it to implement into the sport. While you hearth at an enemy, there’s a short second the place the spherical catches and type of freezes them in place. Then increase, their lifebar depletes and so they fall again. In brief, the gun’s highly effective, and a variety of work went into making it look and sound that approach.
Regardless of the admittedly pleasing energy journey, I wouldn’t suggest this strategy on a primary run of One other Crab’s Treasure. Like all Soulslike, there’s tons of pleasure available in slamming your head into the wall earlier than ultimately breaking by means of. However I am saying that if you wish to give it a second move, and even simply crack up at one thing that’s absurd in each doable approach, give Kril a gun. For me, it’s been a good way to revisit the sport and catch again as much as the place I left off, which I’ve now achieved! The gun is now toggled off, I’m able to nicely and really end the sport, and I’m happy I used to be capable of take pleasure in this title I like in a wholly new approach.
Alternatively, given how huge One other Crab’s Treasure’s attain is, and the way seemingly it’s to usher in of us who could not love Soulslikes, fuck it: Use the gun. Blast your approach by means of this side-splitting sport and put just a few holes within the rotting husk of capitalism for you and me. If the system gained’t play truthful, why ought to we? Furthermore, video games are supposed to be pleasing, and if that’s the way you derive your pleasure from this sport, who am I to yuck your yums?
In conclusion, crab gun enjoyable.