Another Crab’s Treasure’s Gun is About Making Accessibility Fun

Another Crab’s Treasure is setting itself up to be a Soulslike game like never before. Not only has indie developer Aggro Crab created a game almost completely underwater, but the studio has also given the hermit crab protagonist Kril some magic powers and methods of defense, all thanks to the life force of Umami.

In one of the trailers for Another Crab’s Treasure, players can see the different shells that Kril uses to protect himself against monsters and other sea creatures; he’ll switch through shells like an old sneaker, a busted metal can, and a handgun, should players so choose. In a recent interview with Game Rant, Aggro Crab studio head/art director Nick Kaman and creative director/narrative lead Caelan Pollock said that they initially added the handgun as a choice because they thought it was funny, and players and advocates for accessibility approved the humor.

Having consistent accessibility standards across video games has become vital nowadays. Accessibility features allow players with different impairments to still enjoy the game. Common features include customizable controls, text-to-speech and speech-to-text options, and difficulty options of varying customizations, to name a few. Aggro Crab added the handgun to the game because the studio thought it was funny, and then it added the gun to the accessibility menu because the studio thought it was funny too. However, it’s not all fun and games; Pollock would describe the handgun as the “ultimate difficulty option.” Kaman also explained that,

It was initially added because we were just like: “Wouldn’t it be funny if Kril had a shell that was a gun, a Glock handgun?” Then, we were right. It WAS funny. And then we thought, wouldn’t it be really funny if the gun was in the accessibility menu? And we were right. It WAS funny.

What we didn’t expect was that accessibility people – advocates for that community – also thought it was really funny. They thought it was a great feature.

Kaman would talk about how this feature hits at an important aspect of accessibility: fun. Games are meant to be fun, and at their core, accessibility options are about enabling more people to have fun with a game. The handgun removes some difficulty from the Soulslike game because, when equipped, players can one-shot any boss. Kaman explained that if something has to be removed for a game to be accessible, it should be done in a fun way, and one-shotting Soulslike bosses with a handgun sounds like a lot of fun, at least once. As Kaman explained,

The lesson here is that accessibility should be fun, right? Like it shouldn’t just be: “We can make a button that lets you skip the boss.” Isn’t it more fun to shoot it in one hit? That’s it. That’s the point of a video game. If you’re going to take away an aspect of it, do it in a fun way.

Shooting Guns Underwater in Another Crab’s Treasure

Now, Kaman said killing bosses in Another Crab’s Treasure with a gun is fun once, but it’s essentially up to the player how often, or if, they use it. The handgun kills everything in one hit, which is why the Aggro Crab developers don’t expect everyone to play the game that way, but it’s there for those who want it.

As a fun bit of lore, it fits into the world as well. It doesn’t necessarily make sense that a handgun works underwater, but Pollock explained that it operates like any shell in Another Crab’s Treasure. It’s a shell with a Shell Spell, which is empowered by Umami. This magical life force of sorts enables Kril to use Shell Spells that recall past functions of ocean trash, which is what the gun has become. Of course, crabs really shouldn’t have guns, with Pollock adding,

Just don’t throw guns in the ocean. We don’t want crabs getting them.

From its storytelling to its accessibility features, Another Crab’s Treasure seems to be adding its own twist to the Soulslike genre, a different approach that players might appreciate. It remains to be seen how it goes over, but equipped with a Glock, a different shell, and a mighty melee weapon, Kril is ready to take the ocean by storm on April 25.

Another Crab’s Treasure

Aggro Crab’s Another Crab’s Treasure provides a maritime twist on the Souls-like formula. Using the trash around him as armor and weapons, Kril must travel across an underwater kingdom while fighting off all sorts of impressive threats.

Released

April 25, 2024

Developer(s)

Aggro Crab

Publisher(s)

Aggro Crab

Genre(s)

Adventure , Soulslike , RPG

Engine

Unity

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Blood, Crude Humor, Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence