'Fight Crab' is the most unique game of 2020 - and so utterly addictive.
Calappa GamesFight Crab is the best game you’ll ever play about fighting crabs, whether you asked for it or not. Well, you didn’t ask for it, but you really should play it–it’s an experience every gamer needs to have.
Admittedly, this recommendation is a bit selfish: other people need to have their senses assaulted by Fight Crab, because after hours of playing it, I still don’t know whether it’s great, terrible, stupid, or clever. Or all four at the same time. Or none of them. All I know is that I can’t stop playing it, and as soon as I finish a session, I can’t stop thinking about it until I play it again.
While its basics are explained so succinctly by its name–you are a crab that fights crabs–Fight Crab’s overall experience is so utterly bewildering that the best way to describe it is by calling it a malicious version of Octodad, with tank-like controls, heavily saturated visuals, and a soundtrack that leans on the type of Japanese power metal you regularly hear in the Yakuza series.
Tying this all together are the stars of the show: a spectacular array of violent crustaceans with weapons, hell-bent on brutally flipping you onto your back as a show of dominance.
First things first: before you throw yourself into the game’s “story”, you’re immediately presented with a delightfully unpolished system of menus, featuring no fewer than four different typefaces, from stylized 80s lettering to those basic web fonts you only seem to see on Chinese and Japanese websites when Latin characters are required. Information is laid out all over the place; overlays are confusing and hard to read.
As far as polish goes, 'Fight Crab' doesn't know the meaning of the word.
Calappa GamesBut while Fight Crab may be poorly wrapped, getting past these hastily taped-together menus is a genuine gift: a solid, if not hard to learn, game. Its developer, Calappa Games, emphasizes the need for a controller from the start, and it’s not wrong. Trying to play Fight Crab on a keyboard is like trying to decipher the Enigma Code, but instead of unearthing the secrets of Nazi war machine, you’re frantically trying to defeat a lobster armed with a machete and a candleabra.
The control system is utterly unique. Shoulder buttons are used to attack and block; the D-pad locks you into a direction of movement until you counter it (it turns out that crabs can apparently walk forwards and backwards); various primary buttons are used for throwing and, er, wall running.
It’s hard enough to learn, never mind master. While collision detection is absolutely spot-on, the gravity of the game is bewildering. Everything feels floaty, slow, ham-fisted and heavily influenced by luck. But you learn to come to terms with it; you start getting good, but you need to be patient. It turns out crab fighting is more like chess than Soulcalibur VI.
'Fight Crab' even has a photo mode, which is just as addictive and janky as the game itself.
Calappa GamesOnce you’ve completed the tutorial, the story is simple. You, a snow crab, are attacked by other crabs on the beach. At first, they’re just trying their luck with pincers. Then the crabs have bladed weapons. Luckily, your crab can also pick up weapons. You dispatch your foes and move forward. Soon after, you’re in a medieval banquet hall, because of course you are. Crustaceans are lowered into the room via a chandelier. You succeed, despite heightened odds. So far, so good.
Suddenly, you’re about 40ft wide and rumbling around a cityscape like a kaiju. A lobster with a pocket knife and a comically oversized Smith & Wesson Model 3 is teleported in, and absolutely destroys you and the surroundings. You soon realize you have a lot to learn.
Not that the madness stops here: later, you’ll encounter coconut crabs with chainsaws, elbow crabs on Vespas, and king crabs with lightsabers. Again, this is it: this is the game. Sometimes, you’re the size of a blue whale, then you’re the size of a keyring. But one constant issue remains: you are a crab that fights crabs, and that core element is wonderfully realized.
Just two crabs, on a supermarket fish counter, fighting with lightsabers.
Calappa GamesAs you progress, you earn cash to spend on an ever-growing armory, meaning you can pimp out your chosen crab with weapons, from simple knives and Scottish claymores to guns, explosives and more. As more things are unlocked, you get more excited at the possibilities of Fight Crab, especially as you come up against bigger and better-equipped foes.
Ultimately, no-one ever asked for this game, but we got it anyway–and the world is much richer for it. For all its absolute madness, a lovingly created game is there: a weird, inelegant, clumsy and odd game. And everyone should give it a try.
Fight Crab is now available on PC via Steam for $19.99 ($17.99 until August 5). It will launch on the Nintendo Switch on September 15.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of Fight Crab in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The Link LonkAugust 03, 2020 at 06:00PM
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Review: ‘Fight Crab’ Is The Most Bafflingly Addictive Game Of 2020 - Forbes
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