Summary
- Another Crab's Treasure offers a unique learning system with Shell Spells and Umami Techniques for Kril.
- Umami Techniques are learned through exploration, based on defeating sea creatures to earn powerful attacks.
- Revealed Umami Techniques like Royal Wave and unnamed abilities from Mantis Shrimp and Bobbit Worm are on the way.
Aggro Crab's upcoming Soulslike Another Crab's Treasure puts players in control of Kril the hermit crab as he embarks on a dangerous adventure to recover his lost shell. While traversing the underwater seascape, players will encounter dangerous foes of all shapes and sizes, as well as Another Crab's Treasure's silly take on the Soulslike genre through its hilarious use of puns and its exaggerated art style not typical of the genre.
Apart from being an indie game, one way that Another Crab's Treasure sets itself apart from other Soulslike games is in how Kril learns different skills. One method for learning skills in Another Crab's Treasure involves finding and equipping various shells that provide armor-specific skills called "Shell Spells" for Kril to use while wearing a particular shell. However, players will also be able to learn powerful attacks called "Umami Techniques" that add another layer to Another Crab's Treasure's combat and will likely increase its accessibility in the process.
How Umami Techniques Work in Another Crab's Treasure
Another Crab's Treasure includes a skill tree where players can unlock various abilities like Parry and Riposte, but Umami Techniques provide a different method for learning new abilities that extend beyond such traditional combat skills. Instead of unlocking Umami Techniques simply by leveling or spending resources to unlock them, players will learn these special techniques as they explore the ocean. Each Umami Technique is based on the attacks and abilities of another sea creature, so it's likely players will be required to defeat these enemies before obtaining their associated attack. However, Another Crab's Treasure's demo allowed players to obtain their first Umami Technique by simply finding it on the ocean floor.
If players are required to defeat powerful creatures in Another Crab's Treasure's full release to obtain new Umami Techniques, it wouldn't be the first Soulslike game to have such a mechanic. For example, once players defeat a boss in Dark Souls, they can use the Boss Soul obtained from it to craft a powerful boss weapon. Although gaining the materials needed to craft a weapon after defeating a boss is different from simply acquiring a new skill, the feature is still similar. If the full release of Another Crab's Treasure allows players to learn new Umami Techniques as it did in the demo, they can expect to simply find them as they explore. Still, the full release could allow Umami Techniques to be learned in a variety of ways.
Umami Techniques Revealed for Another Crab's Treasure So Far
Although players can presumably expect a wide variety of Umami Techniques in Another Crab's Treasure, only a few have been revealed so far. A skill called "Royal Wave" was made available in the game's demo, which allows Kril to utilize the massive swipe of a Dungeness Crab's claw to attack multiple enemies over a wide arc, inflicting a debuff on them in the process that causes them to temporarily take increased damage from all sources. Other unnamed Umami Techniques have been revealed via the description on Another Crab's Treasure's Steam page, which states that players will be able to learn a powerful punch from the Mantis Shrimp and an ensnare ability from the Bobbit Worm.
While very little is currently known about Umami Techniques, it seems they will offer players plenty of playstyle variety, as well as a fighting chance against Another Crab's Treasure's Soulslike bosses. These unique skills, along with Another Crab's Treasure's unique art style, humor, and traditional platforming mechanics, are all a part of what distinguishes Aggro Crab's upcoming Soulslike adventure from others in the genre.
Another Crab's Treasure releases on April 25, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Dark Souls
- Released
- September 22, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Namco Bandai
- Franchise
- Dark Souls
- Platform(s)
- Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure
