Everything is Crab [REVIEW] – Survival of the Weirdest 

Have you ever thought, “I wonder what it’d be like to start life as a squishy little creature and munch my way up the food chain, evolving along the way until I’m a terrifying, multi-eyed monstrosity”? No, me neither, but you know what? If Everything is Crab is anything to go by, it’d be a lot of fun. At first glance, you might look at the screenshots and assume it’s just another horde-survival game, but jump in and you’ll quickly realise you’re getting an arcade-style experience that relies heavily on timing, movement, actively dodging threats, and, most importantly, evolution. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

A standard run of Everything is Crab lasts around twenty minutes, dropping your vulnerable little blob into an open map where the main goal is to simply eat and survive. Simple enough, right? Combat is handled in a twin-stick style, with players aiming with the right stick to line up attacks and hit foes – it’s mostly melee-based, but you’ll unlock new combat abilities as you progress through runs that give you a few extra tricks up your sleeve. However, you don’t have to fight other creatures if you don’t want to, with players able to scavenge for mushrooms and berries to progress, which is just as effective and gives the game a totally different feel. But if you DO fancy a fight, your aggression allows you to feast on the local wildlife… nom, nom. Gobbling up food grants experience, and levelling up brings the game’s biggest draw: mutations. You’re presented with three upgrades at a time, allowing you to bolt on everything from protective shells, scorpion stingers, horns, antlers, arms, legs, a sick set of abs… you name it, you got it, with each bringing with it a variety of buffs that ensure your little creature is prepped for the dangers they are about to face. 

The customisation is brilliant because it physically alters your character’s pixel art. So yeah, if you combine a pair of horns with tiny insect wings and a muscular physique, you’ll see that little horrifying creature form in real time. And believe me, the game likes to get REALLY weird with it, and whilst I won’t spoil some of the wackier upgrades available, it was always a delight to see what changes I’d make to what was once just a little blob. Sure, it can look like an absolute monstrosity by the end of the run, but it’s YOUR monstrosity, and we all must love our babies, right? 

“Everything is Crab is a delightfully weird and addictive roguelite experience that offers plenty of fun and creativity with the varied mutations on offer.” 

The mutations you choose along the way will ultimately determine how your playthrough will go. You can easily spec into a tiny, untouchable build if you’re playing the pacifist, or go all out on damage output and adding to your repertoire of moves. Interestingly, specific mutations bring with them specific paths of upgrades too, meaning there’s plenty to play around with when looking for a build that suits you. It’s really rewarding, and whilst it can be easy to find yourself looking for specific mutations as you play, the fact there’s so much to tinker around with makes each run stay engaging and fun. 

This flexibility extends to the boss encounters too, which are brilliantly designed to accommodate any playstyle: if you’re playing a pacifist run, you don’t actually have to kill the big bads, but can simply dodge and outlast them until they get bored and leave. Doing so rewards you with unique fruits that offer special evolutionary paths, though you do miss out on the meat and DNA drops used to reroll upgrades, so there are pros and cons either way. It’s a fantastic bit of design that ensures that Everything is Crab offers diversity for each player’s playstyle, encouraging experimentation and different approaches from players to get the most out of the game. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

Beyond the gameplay loop, the map itself keeps things engaging with a day-night cycle, varied terrain, and additional mechanics that you can utilise to your benefit. Plus, successfully finishing runs unlocks new starting perks, separate challenge modes, and ‘pressures’ that incrementally dial up the difficulty, ensuring that Everything is Crab has plenty to keep roguelite fans invested for hours on end. 

So, what stops Everything is Crab from scoring a little higher? The main issue lies in its moment-to-moment combat – because you start with incredibly basic moves that aren’t super effective, the actual act of fighting feels a bit shallow and clunky, especially at the start of a run. The focus on melee attacks means that combat can fall into a slow-paced, hit-and-run rhythm too, which almost encouraged me to attempt pacifist runs just to make things a bit more exciting. Is it a big problem? I don’t think so, especially since there’s plenty of fun to be had with the modifiers, but the slower and less rewarding pace of the start of each run does become increasingly noticeable the longer you spend with the game.

Developer: Odd Dreams Digital 
Publisher: Secret Mode 
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed) 
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3526710/Everything_is_Crab_The_Animal_Evolution_Roguelite/