Summary
Arguably FromSoftware’s magnum opus,Elden Ringhas been the most successful game in the studio’s surprisingly long history, with its 23 million sold copies beating out every entry in theDark Soulsseries, everyArmored Coregame, and even the Game Awards' 2019 Game of the Year winnerSekiro: Shadows Die Twice. A truly immense success both critically and commercially, it didn’t take long before a paid DLC was announced forElden Ring, and after a year of waiting, fans finally have a release date.
Set to launch on July 23, 2025,Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC looks incredibly promising already, introducing brand-new environments, bosses, enemies, weapons, and characters to the already jam-packed game. But whileElden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLCwill undoubtedly be the talk of the town right up until, and well after its June release, there’s one game that Soulslike fans shouldn’t forget about so quickly, and that’sAnother Crab’s Treasure.
Elden Ring Fans Should Keep an Eye on Another Crab’s Treasure
What Another Crab’s Treasure Does Differently From Other Soulslikes
First announced back in May 2022,Another Crab’s Treasurehas been slowly making a name for itself in the wider Soulslike community. Coming from Aggro Crab, the developer behind the refreshingly funny 2020 roguelikeGoing Under,Another Crab’s Treasuretakes a similar tongue-in-cheek approachwith both its content and its adopted genre, though rather than poke fun at the conventions of roguelikes,Another Crab’s Treasureis set to put a fun new spin on the Soulslike genre.
Putting players in the non-existent shoes of Kril the hermit crab,Another Crab’s Treasurewill see players make their way through various undersea biomes and face off against countless underwater foes, all in an attempt to find Kril’s prized shell. It’s an extremely simple premise, but it’s this simplicity that allows the developer to really focus on being as creative as possible when it comes to the game’s satire and moreunique Soulslike mechanics.
Another Crab’s Treasurereceived a lot of buzz back at the end of 2023, with a demo being made available during Steam Next Fest. Though the demo had its technical issues, many players were very happy with the gameplay itself, comparing the responsiveness of the game’s controls and combat toSekiro.
The core gimmick ofAnother Crab’s Treasure, and the biggest thing that sets it apart from other Soulslikes, is its shell feature. Strewn all acrossAnother Crab’s Treasure’s underwater biomes, players can find over 50 different types of shell, all of which grant the player a unique ability. These shells range from random pieces of trash that simply act as a shield against enemy attacks, to more distinctive repurposed everyday items that grant the player a unique “Shell Spell” such as launching spikes into an enemy.
Based on all the pre-release trailers, it seems as though these shells will be central toAnother Crab’s Treasure’s core gameplay loop, with the game’s durability system encouraging the player to experiment with every type of shell available to them. Along with its strong focus on humor, this shell gimmick could be more than enough to setAnother Crab’s Treasureapart from other recent Soulslikes, and with it dropping just over a month beforeElden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, it could act as a nice light-hearted refresher for fans who haven’t gone back to the genre sinceElden Ring’s initial release back at the start of 2022.
Elden Ring
WHERE TO PLAY
ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware, Inc. and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to date. Hidetaka Miyazaki - President and Game Director of FromSoftware Inc. Known for directing critically-acclaimed games in beloved franchises including Armored Core and Dark Souls.George R.R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
