I bumped into an unlucky softlock throughout my evaluation 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 world and by chance despawned the NPC and the interplay. Regardless of this, I nonetheless actually loved One other Crab’s Treasure and needed to maintain enjoying it, so I booted up one other file and tried my highest to speedrun the sport and get again to the place I left off.
At first, I used to be enjoying it straight and doing simply wonderful. Having turn out to be fairly proficient on the recreation’s mechanics through the evaluation interval, I cleaned up among the early bosses with minimal points (fuck you, Royal Shellsplitter), and even used among 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 completely hilarious recreation, however considered one of its best possible 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 characteristic of the sport. Since Soulslikes are sometimes troublesome video games (typically infuriatingly so) Aggro Crab developed a number of sensible and cautious accessibility options, resembling the flexibility to maintain your XP and foreign money after loss of life, or the addition of one other parry window. Some options scale back the quantity of injury you’re taking, or nullify it utterly if you fall off the sting of the map. However the perfect accessibility possibility within the recreation merely offers 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 actually insane and in addition laugh-out-loud hilarious, but in follow, it’s by some means even wilder. The gun, which sits on Kril’s again like a shell, has probably the most well being of any shell within the recreation. It mitigates injury so totally that you simply’re principally invulnerable in it and by no means need to depend on one other shell. If you maintain the guard button and conceal inside it, you’re successfully simply a strolling gun. And its shell spell, which is solely referred to 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, ability, and Adaptation ineffective, and so I did what every other affordable hermit crab on a deadline does, and shot my approach by the goddamn sea. It was a delight.
One other Crab’s Treasure is 2024’s most stunning shooter
Any stress this second run of One other Crab’s Treasure may’ve had evaporated into skinny air. I’ve by no means cleared rooms stuffed with enemies faster. Actually, it was even cathartic to revisit locations the place I’d endured hardships throughout my evaluation and wipe the ground with the enemies there. The lock-on characteristic in One other Crab’s Treasure is so deeply beneficiant that you could 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 might 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 world. I don’t assume I’m enjoying the sport or utilizing the characteristic as Aggro Crab meant, 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 practical because the SFX you’d hear in an ordinary FPS, which makes it much more welcoming and cartoonish slightly than menacing. So far as I do know, nobody at Aggro Crab went to a spread, aired out a clip, and grabbed a recording of it to implement into the sport. If you hearth at an enemy, there’s a quick second the place the spherical catches and sort of freezes them in place. Then increase, their lifebar depletes and so they fall again. Briefly, the gun’s highly effective, and a number of work went into making it look and sound that approach.
Regardless of the admittedly gratifying energy journey, I wouldn’t suggest this strategy on a primary run of One other Crab’s Treasure. Like every Soulslike, there’s tons of pleasure available in slamming your head into the wall earlier than ultimately breaking by. However I am saying that if you wish to give it a second cross, and even simply crack up at one thing that’s absurd in each attainable 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 effectively and actually end the sport, and I’m happy I used to be in a position to take pleasure in this title I like in a completely new approach.
Alternatively, given how large One other Crab’s Treasure’s attain is, and the way possible it’s to usher in people who could not love Soulslikes, fuck it: Use the gun. Blast your approach by this side-splitting recreation and put a number of holes within the rotting husk of capitalism for you and me. If the system gained’t play honest, why ought to we? Furthermore, video games are supposed to be gratifying, and if that’s the way you derive your pleasure from this recreation, who am I to yuck your yums?
In conclusion, crab gun enjoyable.