Evolution is such a fascinating concept, be it in the scientific world or in video games. It only makes sense that creatures magically transforming would be something countless games latched onto, and Game Freak and Nintendo have ridden that wave all the way to the bank. When I think of evolution in gaming though I think of Spore, which allows you to go from a little water blob all the way to a space exploring civilization using the power of evolution. Everything is Crab really reminded me of my favourite parts of that Maxis classic, albeit with more of a survivors style twist.
In Everything is Crab your goal is to evolve and survive in the harsh world, which you mainly do by eating. At the start of a run you’re just a little blob that can move and bite, but can’t do a whole lot more. Wherever you go you’ll find other creatures, as well as various berries and mushrooms you can scoff. It’s up to you whether you want to try and tear apart anything that comes your way or just scavenge a route to victory, although often it’s the upgrades that decide that for you.
Once you’ve eaten enough food you’ll level up, and be offered three different upgrades to choose from. Whereas in most games these would be various weapons and power ups, in Everything is Crab they’re evolution options. You could evolve yourself a shell to enable you to take more damage, evolve some horns to gore down enemies, or grow yourself some fancy antenna that’ll charm animals into teaming up with you. Whichever option you pick will be physically added to your animal, and by the end of each run you’ll almost certainly look like an Eldritch monster. It turns out a woolly sheep with tentacles and tiny insect wings isn’t as cute as it sounds.
Evolving into weird and wonderful critters is endlessly entertaining, but you can’t just grab anything you want from the get go. You need to evolve a basic tail before you can grab something more advanced like a scorpion stinger or a happy wagging tail, or add arms before mighty pincers. Learning the different prerequisites will help you understand the best way to create a successful build, and enable you to start winning runs.
The variety of build options is probably my favourite thing about Everything is Crab. On my first run I tried to get by with basic attacks and raw strength with little success, so I chose to take a different path next time. I decided to aim to gather as many upgrades as possible to make myself tiny, and it became hard for enemies to successfully hit me. Then I invested in the herbivore trait to ensure that I maximised the potential of fruit and veg, and grabbed some extra passive upgrades to level up faster by being a puny prey animal. There are dozens of different routes to victory, and it’s fun playing the game in a variety of different ways.
Once you start actually succeeding at runs, you’ll unlock a heap of new customisation options for future sessions. There are absolutely loads of increased difficulty options, and by completing these you’ll also unlock new challenge modes that task you with playing in setups like a desert only stage or with entirely random evolutions.
You’ll also unlock splicing after your first success, which allows you to start a run with some starting perks. These can help you aim towards an evolutionary goal, while providing handy buffs in general. You’ll also unlock more of these randomised options by completing little objectives, which gives you something to work towards as you gorge your way to supremacy.
Everything is Crab is a fairly simple game to pick up and play, but there are plenty of different elements that’ll keep you invested for the long haul. The fun random aspects are what kept me coming back the most. Like the areas of interest that give you little perks, such as the mud bath that lets you add mud for thermal protection or use it to attract allies with the lovely smell. Mushrooms are another random element, providing food and even healing but also potentially poisoning you. All of these can be woven into different strategies too, and probably have all sorts of evolutions that buff them if you get lucky enough to find them.
Everything is Crab is such a charming take on the Survivors Roguelike formula, but it does have a few issues. The actual gameplay is fairly basic, and aiming your stubby melee attacks can be a bit frustrating thanks to the short range. You’ll also see the same evolution options on most runs, because the variety isn’t that massive especially if you focus on a certain type of trait. You have to specifically aim to play in a different way as opposed to having randomness thrust upon you, and this makes it easy to settle into old habits and get a little bored.
The evolutionary charm of Everything is Crab is clear from your first run, with loads of different ways to survive the wilds. There are so many unlockable modes and challenges that’ll keep you coming back for more too, if the prospect of creating new horrors isn’t enough for you. This Roguelike experience evolves in all sorts of delightful ways, and will leave you hungry for more runs and delicious berries.
