Another Crab's Treasure – Test, Action-Adventure, PlayStation 5

Another Crab's Treasure: Of Sharks and Houses

Actually wanted to Hermit Crab Kril is just spending another day on his secluded sandy beach when a long plastic neck with a shark's head emerges from the water and identifies himself as the person responsible for the property taxes. A new queen rules the seabed and Kril is apparently in a lot of default, which is why the loan shark quickly seizes his shell house. Of course, the little crab doesn't just put up with this and pursues the greedy intruder. But Kril's mission to regain his home escalates Another Crab's Treasure soon becomes an adventure on which the future of the entire sea depends.

Already the absurd intro of the game sparkles with charm and wit: The plastic toy with the shark head, the concept of taxes in the fish kingdom and a hermit crab who will do anything to reclaim his very own shell are ingredients for an entertaining starting point. You also have other things a lot of humor kneaded into Another Crab's Treasure: Microplastics are used as currency, many crustaceans have casual sayings on their lips and the animations, especially the grabbing attacks in which Kril is thrown around or repeatedly hit on the ground, are always one incredibly funny sight.

The metropolis of Neu-Krebsing does not remain untouched by people's garbage. An economic system quickly emerged from microplastics.

He still manages to pull off the balancing act: appropriate situations and topics become treated with the necessary seriousness, for example when it comes to the harmful effects of greedy capitalists or unrestrained environmental pollution. Because the so-called Pörre, which is spreading like a plague due to the increasing amount of garbage in the water, is driving many of the sea creatures crazy and poisoning the environment. This is how it is sent Social criticism in the colorful crustacean aesthetics wrapped and seasoned with a lot of humor as Kril's search for his stolen shell leads like a red thread through the great sea.

The only downside: A lot of the jokes or funny menu descriptions ignite better in the English original than in the German translation. An example: For us, the catchy “Acknowledge Knowledge” becomes the sober “press to confirm”. And also “The Sands Between,” an obvious reference to Elden Rings “The Lands Between” loses a bit of its humor with its translation to “The Sand Between.” If English isn't a language barrier for you, I can only recommend Another Crab's Treasure to enjoy in its original version.

Just swim, jump, swing

Kril's ambitions to get his shell house back in his claws seem to annoy many other sea creatures, which is why the underwater adventure quickly becomes quite brutal. Equipped with a pointed forkwhich with its two prongs of course not only coincidentally looks like the silver cutlery with which shellfish are usually eaten, the courageous hermit crab reluctantly plunges into battles Samurai crabs with chopstickscrayfish with lances and seahorses with shotguns.

Ooooooh, who lives in a pineapple deep in the sea? Those who explore diligently can look forward to special treasures and places.

In addition to a light punch and a charged punch, Kril is also able to dodge, sprint, and jump, as well as after to briefly paddle through the air – or to swim, after all, you are in the sea. Apart from the attacks, these maneuvers are of course not only useful in both fights, but also also when exploring to use: In the 3D platformer you dive from coral to coral, climb up submerged fishing nets and use sponges as springboards.

The creative cancer also has needle and thread made a grappling hook, with which you can move to selected locations or pull distant enemies towards you – if the crustacean in question is particularly heavy, a short fishing mini-game follows, very charming! Even if the platforming passages are rarely really sophisticated and don't come close to titles that are entirely dedicated to the genre, they do offer one pleasant, varied contrast to the fights and allow plenty of room for secrets thanks to a healthy mix of vertical and horizontal level structures.

To make the next death or fall less nerve-wracking, keep an eye out for the fishing rods. They are the shortcuts in Another Crab's Treasure.

But although swinging and jumping through the water is a lot of fun, it makes it difficult chunky object hitboxes sometimes precise platforming. It's also really easy to fall into the numerous abysses: whether Kril narrowly misses landing because the coral is a bit higher than it appeared to be, or because one of the many fish enemies once again hits the hermit crab you're controlling like a tennis ball bounces wildly around; the Falls are numerous and often frustrating.