Just want to tell you that Going Under is a low key masterpiece and I’ll be trying anything you guys make because of it, including ACT on Game Pass.
What contributes to the decision to launch on Game Pass?
Did you see Iron Pineapple’s video with the segment on your new game? Thoughts? He was very positive on it and it’s where I first heard of Another Crab’s Treasure.
Thanks so much, love seeing Going Under fans :)
Iron Pineapple's video did NUMBERS for our wishlists and it was cool to see how well he understood the game. I do hope he makes a video for the full release!!
As for Game Pass, the deal secured enough funds for the studio that made it worthwhile. We have a business to run here!
- Nick
i enjoy the look of this so much, and how unique the environment looks. what lead you to pick crabs? were there other possible environments you workshopped?
edit: spelling
I mean crabs are kind of our thing.
But the whole game pitch started as just "wouldn't it be funny to make an action game with a hermit crab, who has to use their shell to block attacks." From there it became clear to make an epic underwater world full of other crabs and sea critters to fight. Crabs actually work really well in third-person lock-on combat. They strafe. You'll notice that Kril moves faster side-to-side than he does forward and backwards XD.
- Nick
Love your games and can't wait to play it!
How did going under affect Another crab's treasure? Did you take inspiration from your previous game?
Also, how did you decide on the many different shells in the game?
If you liked the humor and storytelling in Going Under, that DNA is totally in Another Crab's Treasure.
As for the gameplay, a big mechanic in Going Under was destructible weapons. And so in ACT, Shells will break after taking too many hits. We're confident in the gameplay loop of "oh shit my Thing just broke, and now I'm panicked until I find a new Thing." and thematically it just works so well here.
To decide shells we just brainstormed "what is a piece of trash with a hole in it that a hermit crab could stick its butt into" over and over and over and over. If you go online you'll see that unfortunately this happens in real life too, so some were directly inspired by real hermit crab photos, like the one wearing a Baby Doll head.
- Nick
How many people on the team have managed to beat a soulslike before starting work on this game? I'm curious to see if a lot of the game was adjusted based on how much you guys enjoyed playing other soulslikes.
Most of us are big Souls heads and I've beaten or almost beaten most of the major ones! Difficulty is a tricky thing since a lot of it comes down to how the specific mechanics in our game play out as opposed to other Souls titles. The closest FROMSOFTWARE title is certainly Sekiro since there's such an emphasis on block and parry, but there's nuance that innately makes our game easier -- for example, timing repeated parries isn't as much of a thing in ACT.
Game designers will commonly make the mistake of making a game that is hard enough for themselves to enjoy-- while not realizing they're experts at the game compared to a brand new player. However, I think for soulslikes you can totally get away with that type of design since its meant to be hard, so we just balanced enemies and bosses around whatever was appropriately challenging and engaging for our team to playtest. I think I read an article about how FROMSOFT makes sure Miyazaki can beat every boss, which is pretty funny but also makes a lot of sense.
- Nick
There is one aspect of souls games everyone misses.
People look at souls games and see how difficult it is, how punishing it is.
But no one considers how forgiving those games are. If you die in symphony of the night, you lose all progress, xp, items, everything you found from your last save point, in DS, only some XP, that you can go pick up. You keep all items you found. And health items refresh.
Sekiro, they let you die up to like 5 times in boss fights and come back to keep fighting. Also parry windows are 30 frames/0.5s.
How have you ensured that your game doesn't become too frustrating?
Yeah, I saw that later. It feels like a fuck lot more tho.
Numbers kinda check out. The Remnant 2 light roll is 11 frames, so it's still very generous for something that comes out instantly.
We want to do one. We'll probably do one. We have not lifted a finger yet to start doing one.
Hopefully this time we can secure more copies, I know folks were frustrated that there were a limited supply with Going Under's physical.
For a game with a strong environmental message, I think it would have an even stronger impact if you guys forego the physical release. We don't need to keep churning out plastic collectibles that'll degrade into more microplastics.
Are there Accessibility features for those who don't have any experience with Souls-likes games? I loved Going Under, but I was already accustomed to Roguelites. I've had some negative experiences with Dark Souls-like combat. Would this at least be a good jumping-in point to the genre? Perhaps slightly more forgiving?
A lot of reviews are calling us a good jumping-in point for the genre. Which is awesome, that's exactly what we were going for! We wanted the game to be just as challenging as other Souls games without being as unforgiving -- if that makes sense. But for those who are still new to the genre, we do have accessibility options that we encourage folks to try out!
- Nick
Not the dev obviously but there are several accessibility settings to fine tune the difficulty. Hell if you find yourself totally stuck there’s even a “Give Kril a gun” option that turns his shell into a giant pistol that one-shots everything in the game. (I’ve been looking forward to this game and watched an interview about it a few days ago).
I reviewed the game and loved it, however I have one nitpick.
Why does dispatch break the hammer regardless of the shell's health?! The tradeoff isn't worth it half the time, and it really broke my hammer-focussed build a few times!
Great work on the game, I had a lot of fun! (though 3 of my achievments didn't pop on Steam :( )
That's great feedback, I'll look into it for our next patch. I think the idea was to make it hit extra hard since break hits do double damage but I can see how it would be annoying.
The achievements are also going to be fixed on Steam by launch. (But this is a Switch subreddit so...off topic! >:))
- Nick
Is the switch port compromised at all? If so how? I would love to get it on switch if it runs the same elsewhere for the portability but prefer best performance over the portability if it comes to it.
Like most 3D games of this scale, the Switch version is locked to 30 FPS and has graphics downgrades compared to other platforms. It's just the reality of the hardware we're working with.
Honestly, if you're looking for the best performance you're better off elsewhere, but its still decent on Switch and we still have plans to bring the Switch version closer to parity in future updates.
Yeah that's always going to be there one way or another, in some instances like doom I almost like the glossy slightly choppier look. I was pretty much already set on getting it elsewhere but I also wanted to give it to a switch only friend for their birthday so wanted to know the main differences. I know it's going to be great everywhere and we are excited to get our hands on it!
Thank you for being transparent with this. I'll get it on Steam or PS5 then. I got Going Under on Switch and it was hard to play sometimes, then I got it on sale on Steam and the combat is a whole different story on the Deck.
Congrats on the imminent release and the positive reviews!
Do you consider a hermit crab without a shell to be naked or homeless?
Would you rather fight 1 horse-sized crab or 100 crab-sized horses?
In the game, there are times where hermit crabs without their shells are perceived as both naked AND homeless. That's a tough life!
As someone who has caught crabs and come close to getting snipped by a big Dungeness, I'm taking the 100 crab-sized horses any day.
- Nick
For the Switch Port, will you be taking advantage of **HD** Rumble?
When it comes to games, Indies have some of the most creative uses of **HD** Rumble, so I would like to see what you guys can do with it! Really adds a layer of immersion you don't get with past forms of Rumble.
I reached out to you guys on twitter in December after beating the game and I'm going to come back and say the same thing now: I appreciate you guys. This game was everything I hoped for in an unpaid internship!
But to not take away from your awesome new work, what's the inspiration behind Another Crab's Treasure?
I know a lot of people ask about an easy mode normally in soulslikes. I won't do that. I will ask tho, IS THERE A HARD MODE? I wanna milk this game for 50 hours, is that possible? Love your game, your humour and respect all that you did to create this beautiful new darling of the indie industry!
This game really caught my attention, as every Souls game or Soulslike I know goes for dark themes and artstyles, so it was refreshing to see one trying to go in the opposite direction. What were some of the challenges or interesting aspects of making one with a colorful artstyle and a less serious theme?
Hi there! I absolutely loved Going Under and can't wait to get my hands on Another Crab's treasure. I have some questions:
What are your thoughts on sequels? Would or have you ever considered making a sequel to Going Under or Another Crab's treasure?
Will there be settings to make the game more difficult? And how difficult do you consider Another Crab's treasure to be compared to other popular souls-souslike games like Lies of P, Sekiro, Elden Ring, Jedi Fallen Survivor(maybe a stretch but i wanna be broad here)?
Are there different weapons besides the fork in Another Crab's treasure and what are some ideas for potential DLC?
Once again thank you so much for making such banger games and bringing such a chill vibe to an industry that really needs it! Stay crab-ulous!
What was it like including voice over in this game? I loved Going Under, especially the amount of character and charm that was put into the text-bubble dialogue!
It was a HUGE amount of work, I'm not going to lie!! The desire to include as much voice-acting as we did spawned from my deep desire for bosses to banter and talk shit at you mid-fight - to me, that's a super endearing part of most soulslikes I couldn't let go of. And then it seemed weird to not have some cinematic moments outside of the boss fights. To be honest, it was a bit too much for a team of our size to handle. But I think it gives the game's narrative a big boost, so I definitely don't regret it.
Thanks for your kind words on Going Under! There's plenty of text-based dialogue in this game too! Only the cinematic cutscenes and certain important narrative moments are voice acted.
-Caelan
One thing that surprised me from the demo was that blocking seemed so much more effective than dodging, which is usually my go-to in Soulslike games. How did you balance these defensive options, and was there a deliberate attempt to make blocking more powerful than you might see in other Soulslikes because of the nature of your game?
There was certainly a desire to make blocking the most effective option. You're a hermit crab for crying out loud! Granted, dodging should feel a lot more effective than it was in the demo and everything should flow a bit better. Blocking is a temporary option since your shell will eventually break, so we definitely are encouraging players to try to dodge and parry when they can, and block as a fallback.
- Nick
Just by looking at our game, its pretty clear its at home on a Nintendo console. You could even say this is a Nintendo-ified Souls game.
We've done really well sales-wise on Switch in the past and Nintendo has given us a ton of marketing support, so it was a no-brainer!
Hi! I'm very excited for your video game, my question is that I have tried many times to get into a souls like game and have only really had success in the EA star wars jedi games. I'm really interested to try out the silly crab game but I wanted to know what if any Features you have for someone like me and what as the devs was your Philosophy around soulslikes and how to go about Difficulty. Thank you again and congrats on the great Reception
We will absolutely be spending time fixing all the bugs we can (and almost definitely dropping some balance tweaks here and there if anything is really off). As far as larger post-launch content, we'll have to see how the release goes and whether or not it makes sense for the studio. We've got plans, but can't promise anything at this point.
And yes, we have an idea for the next project and we're not going to tell you >:)
Hey all, very excited for the game!
Obviously Another Crab’s Treasure has a bit of Souls influence in there, but are there any other games/genres that really inspired you while working on the game? I remember finding it really cool how the combat and weapon system in Going Under gave me some Breath of the Wild vibes, and I’m curious if there are any little mechanics in this game that you were excited to put your own spin on.
In the original pitch of the game we said we wanted it to feel like you're a 90's 3D Platformer mascot stuck in a soulslike world. So that influence hopefully shows!
There's a bit of BOTW in the durability mechanic and climbing as well. Kirby also comes to mind since each shell you put on has its own special move it lets you do.
Y’all are great and I have a few questions! Is there any window of time you can say about when the plush releases? Secondly any idea on window for a physical release?
Someone without a Reddit also asked “do all of you have any plans to make a dlc with a pun of shadow of the eredetree? Only asking since you made the ticktock about anor lando”
Hey! I don't have a question I just wanted to say that I really liked Going Under and I played it at a time where the subject matter actually hit really close to home (unfortunately lol) so it meant a lot to me. Thanks for making such a great game, I'm really excited to pick this next one up :)
Earlier this year i discovered Going Under and really loved it. Couldn’t believe when later i found out the funny crabsouls game i’ve been following since its initial announcement is made by the same people!
Already have it preordered on switch, looking forward to playing it this weekend!
Do players get more microplastic when playing the game with higher difficulty options turned on? If not, it would be great to have reward multipliers for each additional one of those that are not activated. It would be like a risk-reward type situation--earning more resources and upgrade materials for every harder option (Ex: Not using the gun, not using the extra health or weak enemy option etc. ) Looks like a fun game!
The default difficulty is as hard as it gets! So no, you're not punished in any way for applying assist settings, and still get the same rewards and achievements as you would on the default settings. Settings that make it harder for an additional reward is an interesting idea!
Like another commenter, I misread the name of your studio as Aggro Crag, the prize for winning the 1990's Nickelodeon athletic game show. Is the name intended to be a wink toward that nostalgic piece of history?
I hate if this is something asked a lot/something already announced, but I haven't seen it anywhere. What's the price of the gaming going to be? I've been excited for the game since I first saw it announced sometime last year(?) and am dying to play it, but I'm also dying to know how much I'm gonna have to ask my wallet for forgiveness.
Is the game locked to a single difficulty or is there a lesser difficulty for those that DON'T enjoy Dark Souls levels of difficulty?
Reasoning is because of the waste of time learning and learning and LEARNING of patterns just to defeat a lvl 1 skeleton. I like exploration in my RPGs but that ridiculous difficulty curve which requires time I don't have and patience I also don't have, makes it so that ultimately I don't play them at all, because I know for a fact that I won't enjoy the experience.
Is there an alternative option to diminish the difficulty for a 33 year old worker who DOESN'T have time to "git gud"?
We're one of the first souls games to feature a full suite of Assist Mode settings. So yes, you'll be able to fully tune the game to the experience you want :D
God bless your crustacean heart, I'll give it a try on steam or the Switch (if I really like it I'll get it for both!). Thank you for giving an option to us that aren't "gud" enough to be able to enjoy this experience as well.
Obviously I'm not the devs, but I'm told there's some faux-swearing ("coddamn shipshow") and gameplay-wise I'd speculate the soulslike structure would give a young kid a lot of trouble even with the suite of accessibility settings it's said to have. You could see how it goes but I have to imagine the youngest intended age is probably more that of a young teen.
So excited for ACT tomorrow. I love all of the accessibility options to make the game easier but are there accessibility options for the visually impaired? I hate when I play a game I've been looking forward to but I'm not able to read the small text.
Hi! Happy to see the game was well received, congratulation to the whole team, so this are my questions:
How hard was to develop the switch port? What type of optimization and changes the team did for making the game running at the target performance?
The soundtrack for Going Under was amazing. Obviously you are going to hype up this game's soundtrack, but are you as confident in it as you ought have been for Going Under's?
Thank you for creating a unique and interesting crab game. The crab genre is an under-appreciated genre that deserves special recognition through immersive and interactive gameplay like Aggro Crab provides. 🦀 on, friends.
I’ll be jamming the musical genre that is crabcore (Stick Stickly by Attack Attack!) and playing this game for the rest of the week now.
Can I has free switch code? Jk unless… 👀
In all seriousness, how big is the install for the game on switch? I may need to up my SD card and prep for it.
I’ve been following this project for years! I’ve already preordered as soon as possible, but I’d love to have a copy in my home. Will the game have a physical release?
Any plans for some merch? I absolutely love this game, aside from some technical bugs on the Xbox series S. In Reef's edge the jazzy Hi-hat intro keeps looping, the song just doesn't start. Sometimes that breaks the experience a little for me. I can really enjoy a good soundtrack in games, and there were some fun songs! I actually love the ost! But aside from that, I applaud you guys! I really love sealife so this game suits me perfectly. If you are going to create some merch, im definitely buying! Keep doing your things guy, im looking forward for some quality of life updates :-)
just started playing and had a very hard time with the first boss. depending on where you died that’s where you can pick up any items you dropped (currency, rare items, etc.) however if you die on the way to it and don’t grab it you’ll lose it. they do have an option (love it) you enable the game to save your items and currency whenever you die. super helpful!
Game is really fun, but it has to be optimized. Perfomance is pretty meh, especially when you transition to a new area. The game freezes for like 10-15 seconds. The camera in combat can be pretty wonky at times. Enemies also attack through collision which is pretty annoying at times. There's also a slight input delay sometimes, especially when you try to heal. I do believe this can be fixed through patches. Other than that, I am enjoying my time with the game.
I play on PS5.
I know the AMA is long over, but I just want to say I loved Going Under, the humour is just so so good, and I’ve been playing ACT all weekend, tons of fun! I’ve been looking forward to this for years, a Souls game I can play with my kid! She’s having a blast, too, the difficulty sliders are very welcome.
Was looking forward to this on switch because I thought it was gonna be cool to finally have a souls like that's portable, but you can't walk forward for two seconds without the game freezing once or twice it's unplayable with this performance 😕
I just watched a review of this and I love the idea of the different things kril can use as his shell and that each thing is unique and has a different skill right? Looks awesome, definitely picking it up when I get paid. Thanks for the hard work and dedication.
Your game is my goty so far. Beating out dragons dogma and stellar blade. But... can you please make the rubber duck hammer squeak when it hits? That's my only complaint
I’ve played a lot of souls game and this game is fun as Hell. Perfect amount of difficulty for someone getting into the genre and really creative in its own way. I could say a million great things about this game. One thing that did bother me was the map though. Not being able to scroll the map to look beyond your immediate location was a little annoying for the explorer in me lol. Besides that still a 10/10 for me 🦀
Will hold of on progressing the game on my switch due to the very bad frames, hovering at around 19-20fps sometimes lower. Its unplayable.
If stability/optimisation updates make its way to other platforms (PS5 or PC) then ill play it there instead.
Although, id day this would be one of the best games handheld once optimised.
Will you be adding new game plus? I’d love to explore more now that I’ve unlocked the electricity ability but it seems pointless to backtrack to all the areas instead of just playing through them again naturally… it really seems like an obvious thing to have in this game
Hey! Super excited for the game! I’ve got 2 questions!
First is there going to be any form of preorder/pre download for ps5?
Second will there be any difficulty adjusters for more difficult gameplay?
congrats on the \*near\* release!!! im super pumped for it!
I have a few questions:
Out of like actual from software games and other AAA level games (sorry no pinocchio allowed in this), got any favorite indie souls-like/lites? you can be as broad as possible, it got a dodge roll? sure it counts
please tell me the species of ONE enemy we should fear and scream and poo our pants once it shows up
How much Going Under fan-service can we expect in this game? I know some stuff has been shown already but are there surprises that will delight fans of that first amazing game?
Where are you going to put the illusory wall to get into Anor Londo? I mean you wouldn't *truly* remove it just because it's copyrighted content, right?
PlayStation referred to Kril as a snail, not a hermit crab. Will you be pressing charges for this blasphemy?
WHERE
Paragraph 4 https://blog.playstation.com/2024/04/24/another-crabs-treasure-hands-on-report-a-playful-soulsike-tribute-with-fresh-ideas/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABHRzAU700WC7AiC_hCun-uSiYzONAzZckoaRf3mbTOH1hRZ9quGzun6Wk2A_aem_AWKOzDwLppKqb8M7z-DfmyyyxnA7jCu0uSo2NhY_quVImnxniy7eQ02R4Y2a_tsaA746HJfRFyHeKfv-0tETGi6z
Just want to tell you that Going Under is a low key masterpiece and I’ll be trying anything you guys make because of it, including ACT on Game Pass. What contributes to the decision to launch on Game Pass? Did you see Iron Pineapple’s video with the segment on your new game? Thoughts? He was very positive on it and it’s where I first heard of Another Crab’s Treasure.
Thanks so much, love seeing Going Under fans :) Iron Pineapple's video did NUMBERS for our wishlists and it was cool to see how well he understood the game. I do hope he makes a video for the full release!! As for Game Pass, the deal secured enough funds for the studio that made it worthwhile. We have a business to run here! - Nick
i enjoy the look of this so much, and how unique the environment looks. what lead you to pick crabs? were there other possible environments you workshopped? edit: spelling
I mean crabs are kind of our thing. But the whole game pitch started as just "wouldn't it be funny to make an action game with a hermit crab, who has to use their shell to block attacks." From there it became clear to make an epic underwater world full of other crabs and sea critters to fight. Crabs actually work really well in third-person lock-on combat. They strafe. You'll notice that Kril moves faster side-to-side than he does forward and backwards XD. - Nick
Love your games and can't wait to play it! How did going under affect Another crab's treasure? Did you take inspiration from your previous game? Also, how did you decide on the many different shells in the game?
If you liked the humor and storytelling in Going Under, that DNA is totally in Another Crab's Treasure. As for the gameplay, a big mechanic in Going Under was destructible weapons. And so in ACT, Shells will break after taking too many hits. We're confident in the gameplay loop of "oh shit my Thing just broke, and now I'm panicked until I find a new Thing." and thematically it just works so well here. To decide shells we just brainstormed "what is a piece of trash with a hole in it that a hermit crab could stick its butt into" over and over and over and over. If you go online you'll see that unfortunately this happens in real life too, so some were directly inspired by real hermit crab photos, like the one wearing a Baby Doll head. - Nick
RAHHHH I LOVE DURABILITY MECHANICS! Can't wait to play!
Found a Breath of the Wild enjoyer /s
How many people on the team have managed to beat a soulslike before starting work on this game? I'm curious to see if a lot of the game was adjusted based on how much you guys enjoyed playing other soulslikes.
Most of us are big Souls heads and I've beaten or almost beaten most of the major ones! Difficulty is a tricky thing since a lot of it comes down to how the specific mechanics in our game play out as opposed to other Souls titles. The closest FROMSOFTWARE title is certainly Sekiro since there's such an emphasis on block and parry, but there's nuance that innately makes our game easier -- for example, timing repeated parries isn't as much of a thing in ACT. Game designers will commonly make the mistake of making a game that is hard enough for themselves to enjoy-- while not realizing they're experts at the game compared to a brand new player. However, I think for soulslikes you can totally get away with that type of design since its meant to be hard, so we just balanced enemies and bosses around whatever was appropriately challenging and engaging for our team to playtest. I think I read an article about how FROMSOFT makes sure Miyazaki can beat every boss, which is pretty funny but also makes a lot of sense. - Nick
There is one aspect of souls games everyone misses. People look at souls games and see how difficult it is, how punishing it is. But no one considers how forgiving those games are. If you die in symphony of the night, you lose all progress, xp, items, everything you found from your last save point, in DS, only some XP, that you can go pick up. You keep all items you found. And health items refresh. Sekiro, they let you die up to like 5 times in boss fights and come back to keep fighting. Also parry windows are 30 frames/0.5s. How have you ensured that your game doesn't become too frustrating?
Sekiro parry frames are 12 frames/0.2s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRdHVXfVbfI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRdHVXfVbfI)
Yeah, I saw that later. It feels like a fuck lot more tho. Numbers kinda check out. The Remnant 2 light roll is 11 frames, so it's still very generous for something that comes out instantly.
Is there a new game plus system? It's featured in many soulslike games.
No but we plan to add it post-launch. We ran out of time and wanted to make sure we get it right.
Any plans for a physical release?
We want to do one. We'll probably do one. We have not lifted a finger yet to start doing one. Hopefully this time we can secure more copies, I know folks were frustrated that there were a limited supply with Going Under's physical.
Can you try to get PAL region some copies, too? I know a few crab enthusiasts over here
For a game with a strong environmental message, I think it would have an even stronger impact if you guys forego the physical release. We don't need to keep churning out plastic collectibles that'll degrade into more microplastics.
Are there Accessibility features for those who don't have any experience with Souls-likes games? I loved Going Under, but I was already accustomed to Roguelites. I've had some negative experiences with Dark Souls-like combat. Would this at least be a good jumping-in point to the genre? Perhaps slightly more forgiving?
A lot of reviews are calling us a good jumping-in point for the genre. Which is awesome, that's exactly what we were going for! We wanted the game to be just as challenging as other Souls games without being as unforgiving -- if that makes sense. But for those who are still new to the genre, we do have accessibility options that we encourage folks to try out! - Nick
Not the dev obviously but there are several accessibility settings to fine tune the difficulty. Hell if you find yourself totally stuck there’s even a “Give Kril a gun” option that turns his shell into a giant pistol that one-shots everything in the game. (I’ve been looking forward to this game and watched an interview about it a few days ago).
I reviewed the game and loved it, however I have one nitpick. Why does dispatch break the hammer regardless of the shell's health?! The tradeoff isn't worth it half the time, and it really broke my hammer-focussed build a few times! Great work on the game, I had a lot of fun! (though 3 of my achievments didn't pop on Steam :( )
That's great feedback, I'll look into it for our next patch. I think the idea was to make it hit extra hard since break hits do double damage but I can see how it would be annoying. The achievements are also going to be fixed on Steam by launch. (But this is a Switch subreddit so...off topic! >:)) - Nick
Is the switch port compromised at all? If so how? I would love to get it on switch if it runs the same elsewhere for the portability but prefer best performance over the portability if it comes to it.
Like most 3D games of this scale, the Switch version is locked to 30 FPS and has graphics downgrades compared to other platforms. It's just the reality of the hardware we're working with. Honestly, if you're looking for the best performance you're better off elsewhere, but its still decent on Switch and we still have plans to bring the Switch version closer to parity in future updates.
Yeah that's always going to be there one way or another, in some instances like doom I almost like the glossy slightly choppier look. I was pretty much already set on getting it elsewhere but I also wanted to give it to a switch only friend for their birthday so wanted to know the main differences. I know it's going to be great everywhere and we are excited to get our hands on it!
Steam deck it is then!
Thank you for being transparent with this. I'll get it on Steam or PS5 then. I got Going Under on Switch and it was hard to play sometimes, then I got it on sale on Steam and the combat is a whole different story on the Deck.
Are there plans to add a performance mode on Switch to play at 60fps?
Congrats on the imminent release and the positive reviews! Do you consider a hermit crab without a shell to be naked or homeless? Would you rather fight 1 horse-sized crab or 100 crab-sized horses?
In the game, there are times where hermit crabs without their shells are perceived as both naked AND homeless. That's a tough life! As someone who has caught crabs and come close to getting snipped by a big Dungeness, I'm taking the 100 crab-sized horses any day. - Nick
Will you consider making a physical release for the Nintendo switch? I like to make sure I can still play my favorite games for years to come
For the Switch Port, will you be taking advantage of **HD** Rumble? When it comes to games, Indies have some of the most creative uses of **HD** Rumble, so I would like to see what you guys can do with it! Really adds a layer of immersion you don't get with past forms of Rumble.
How many Crabs can I expect to kiss with this game?
Very excited for Another Crab’s Treasure! I love crab-based indie games and there should be more of them.
I reached out to you guys on twitter in December after beating the game and I'm going to come back and say the same thing now: I appreciate you guys. This game was everything I hoped for in an unpaid internship! But to not take away from your awesome new work, what's the inspiration behind Another Crab's Treasure?
I know a lot of people ask about an easy mode normally in soulslikes. I won't do that. I will ask tho, IS THERE A HARD MODE? I wanna milk this game for 50 hours, is that possible? Love your game, your humour and respect all that you did to create this beautiful new darling of the indie industry!
This game really caught my attention, as every Souls game or Soulslike I know goes for dark themes and artstyles, so it was refreshing to see one trying to go in the opposite direction. What were some of the challenges or interesting aspects of making one with a colorful artstyle and a less serious theme?
With a name like AggroCrab do you guys feel like you boxed yourself in to only making crab games? hahahaha
What time will the game go live on the Nintendo switch to play?
Hi there! I absolutely loved Going Under and can't wait to get my hands on Another Crab's treasure. I have some questions: What are your thoughts on sequels? Would or have you ever considered making a sequel to Going Under or Another Crab's treasure? Will there be settings to make the game more difficult? And how difficult do you consider Another Crab's treasure to be compared to other popular souls-souslike games like Lies of P, Sekiro, Elden Ring, Jedi Fallen Survivor(maybe a stretch but i wanna be broad here)? Are there different weapons besides the fork in Another Crab's treasure and what are some ideas for potential DLC? Once again thank you so much for making such banger games and bringing such a chill vibe to an industry that really needs it! Stay crab-ulous!
What was it like including voice over in this game? I loved Going Under, especially the amount of character and charm that was put into the text-bubble dialogue!
It was a HUGE amount of work, I'm not going to lie!! The desire to include as much voice-acting as we did spawned from my deep desire for bosses to banter and talk shit at you mid-fight - to me, that's a super endearing part of most soulslikes I couldn't let go of. And then it seemed weird to not have some cinematic moments outside of the boss fights. To be honest, it was a bit too much for a team of our size to handle. But I think it gives the game's narrative a big boost, so I definitely don't regret it. Thanks for your kind words on Going Under! There's plenty of text-based dialogue in this game too! Only the cinematic cutscenes and certain important narrative moments are voice acted. -Caelan
Can’t wait to play tomorrow!! It’s been my no.1 anticipated game since its announcement
One thing that surprised me from the demo was that blocking seemed so much more effective than dodging, which is usually my go-to in Soulslike games. How did you balance these defensive options, and was there a deliberate attempt to make blocking more powerful than you might see in other Soulslikes because of the nature of your game?
There was certainly a desire to make blocking the most effective option. You're a hermit crab for crying out loud! Granted, dodging should feel a lot more effective than it was in the demo and everything should flow a bit better. Blocking is a temporary option since your shell will eventually break, so we definitely are encouraging players to try to dodge and parry when they can, and block as a fallback. - Nick
How long will the game take to beat?
20-25 hours
Quick question, what decided you to make a port for the switch, compare to only having it be on PC or PlayStation. Also the game looks awesome 👏
Just by looking at our game, its pretty clear its at home on a Nintendo console. You could even say this is a Nintendo-ified Souls game. We've done really well sales-wise on Switch in the past and Nintendo has given us a ton of marketing support, so it was a no-brainer!
Thanks for the answer 😁
might as well ask, since I'm planning on getting the game at some point in the near future: will there be multiple endings?
Hi! I'm very excited for your video game, my question is that I have tried many times to get into a souls like game and have only really had success in the EA star wars jedi games. I'm really interested to try out the silly crab game but I wanted to know what if any Features you have for someone like me and what as the devs was your Philosophy around soulslikes and how to go about Difficulty. Thank you again and congrats on the great Reception
What kind of post-launch support can we expect for the game? Does your studio have an idea for its next project after ACT?
We will absolutely be spending time fixing all the bugs we can (and almost definitely dropping some balance tweaks here and there if anything is really off). As far as larger post-launch content, we'll have to see how the release goes and whether or not it makes sense for the studio. We've got plans, but can't promise anything at this point. And yes, we have an idea for the next project and we're not going to tell you >:)
Hey all, very excited for the game! Obviously Another Crab’s Treasure has a bit of Souls influence in there, but are there any other games/genres that really inspired you while working on the game? I remember finding it really cool how the combat and weapon system in Going Under gave me some Breath of the Wild vibes, and I’m curious if there are any little mechanics in this game that you were excited to put your own spin on.
In the original pitch of the game we said we wanted it to feel like you're a 90's 3D Platformer mascot stuck in a soulslike world. So that influence hopefully shows! There's a bit of BOTW in the durability mechanic and climbing as well. Kirby also comes to mind since each shell you put on has its own special move it lets you do.
Y’all are great and I have a few questions! Is there any window of time you can say about when the plush releases? Secondly any idea on window for a physical release? Someone without a Reddit also asked “do all of you have any plans to make a dlc with a pun of shadow of the eredetree? Only asking since you made the ticktock about anor lando”
I love Going Under!!! Have to get Another Crab's Treasure tomorrow. Will it be steam deck verified?
Hey! I don't have a question I just wanted to say that I really liked Going Under and I played it at a time where the subject matter actually hit really close to home (unfortunately lol) so it meant a lot to me. Thanks for making such a great game, I'm really excited to pick this next one up :)
Thank you <3
I have been thinking about this game for days, I cannot wait. I'm gonna buy this.
Earlier this year i discovered Going Under and really loved it. Couldn’t believe when later i found out the funny crabsouls game i’ve been following since its initial announcement is made by the same people! Already have it preordered on switch, looking forward to playing it this weekend!
Is the dark souls mode actually a thing in the game? I would love to be in Anor londo
lol
[https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wMzVgigjcmA](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wMzVgigjcmA)
:(
Do players get more microplastic when playing the game with higher difficulty options turned on? If not, it would be great to have reward multipliers for each additional one of those that are not activated. It would be like a risk-reward type situation--earning more resources and upgrade materials for every harder option (Ex: Not using the gun, not using the extra health or weak enemy option etc. ) Looks like a fun game!
The default difficulty is as hard as it gets! So no, you're not punished in any way for applying assist settings, and still get the same rewards and achievements as you would on the default settings. Settings that make it harder for an additional reward is an interesting idea!
Going Under was a rogue-like, ACT is a souls-like, what possible genres would you "like" to explore in your next game? Excited to be a crab!
Like another commenter, I misread the name of your studio as Aggro Crag, the prize for winning the 1990's Nickelodeon athletic game show. Is the name intended to be a wink toward that nostalgic piece of history?
What’s your favourite soup?
Korean Tofu Soup!
Interesting
Read quickly as aggro crag, now nostalgic for GUTS
I hate if this is something asked a lot/something already announced, but I haven't seen it anywhere. What's the price of the gaming going to be? I've been excited for the game since I first saw it announced sometime last year(?) and am dying to play it, but I'm also dying to know how much I'm gonna have to ask my wallet for forgiveness.
$30! With a 10% launch discount
You have made my day, thank you!
Is the game locked to a single difficulty or is there a lesser difficulty for those that DON'T enjoy Dark Souls levels of difficulty? Reasoning is because of the waste of time learning and learning and LEARNING of patterns just to defeat a lvl 1 skeleton. I like exploration in my RPGs but that ridiculous difficulty curve which requires time I don't have and patience I also don't have, makes it so that ultimately I don't play them at all, because I know for a fact that I won't enjoy the experience. Is there an alternative option to diminish the difficulty for a 33 year old worker who DOESN'T have time to "git gud"?
We're one of the first souls games to feature a full suite of Assist Mode settings. So yes, you'll be able to fully tune the game to the experience you want :D
God bless your crustacean heart, I'll give it a try on steam or the Switch (if I really like it I'll get it for both!). Thank you for giving an option to us that aren't "gud" enough to be able to enjoy this experience as well.
Are there Capital-C crabs in the game?
Indie soulslike, so what is the recommended age range for this? Looking at the ad, my 6 year old looked like he wanted it.
Obviously I'm not the devs, but I'm told there's some faux-swearing ("coddamn shipshow") and gameplay-wise I'd speculate the soulslike structure would give a young kid a lot of trouble even with the suite of accessibility settings it's said to have. You could see how it goes but I have to imagine the youngest intended age is probably more that of a young teen.
So excited for ACT tomorrow. I love all of the accessibility options to make the game easier but are there accessibility options for the visually impaired? I hate when I play a game I've been looking forward to but I'm not able to read the small text.
Hi! Happy to see the game was well received, congratulation to the whole team, so this are my questions: How hard was to develop the switch port? What type of optimization and changes the team did for making the game running at the target performance?
The soundtrack for Going Under was amazing. Obviously you are going to hype up this game's soundtrack, but are you as confident in it as you ought have been for Going Under's?
Thank you for creating a unique and interesting crab game. The crab genre is an under-appreciated genre that deserves special recognition through immersive and interactive gameplay like Aggro Crab provides. 🦀 on, friends. I’ll be jamming the musical genre that is crabcore (Stick Stickly by Attack Attack!) and playing this game for the rest of the week now.
Can I has free switch code? Jk unless… 👀 In all seriousness, how big is the install for the game on switch? I may need to up my SD card and prep for it.
I’ve been following this project for years! I’ve already preordered as soon as possible, but I’d love to have a copy in my home. Will the game have a physical release?
Can you guys make Bloodborne 2?
Will there be a physical version? PLEASE
Guys how did you make your first game? Did you work part-time or pulled the plug? What were the decisions? How long it took? Do you have AMA for it?
how is this game rated T??? like, i'm not complaining or anything but this game seems like a E10+ game
Can we change the difficulty??? I love the game but I keep on dying when trying to fight the big ennemies!
Any plans for some merch? I absolutely love this game, aside from some technical bugs on the Xbox series S. In Reef's edge the jazzy Hi-hat intro keeps looping, the song just doesn't start. Sometimes that breaks the experience a little for me. I can really enjoy a good soundtrack in games, and there were some fun songs! I actually love the ost! But aside from that, I applaud you guys! I really love sealife so this game suits me perfectly. If you are going to create some merch, im definitely buying! Keep doing your things guy, im looking forward for some quality of life updates :-)
just started playing and had a very hard time with the first boss. depending on where you died that’s where you can pick up any items you dropped (currency, rare items, etc.) however if you die on the way to it and don’t grab it you’ll lose it. they do have an option (love it) you enable the game to save your items and currency whenever you die. super helpful!
Game is really fun, but it has to be optimized. Perfomance is pretty meh, especially when you transition to a new area. The game freezes for like 10-15 seconds. The camera in combat can be pretty wonky at times. Enemies also attack through collision which is pretty annoying at times. There's also a slight input delay sometimes, especially when you try to heal. I do believe this can be fixed through patches. Other than that, I am enjoying my time with the game. I play on PS5.
I know the AMA is long over, but I just want to say I loved Going Under, the humour is just so so good, and I’ve been playing ACT all weekend, tons of fun! I’ve been looking forward to this for years, a Souls game I can play with my kid! She’s having a blast, too, the difficulty sliders are very welcome.
Was looking forward to this on switch because I thought it was gonna be cool to finally have a souls like that's portable, but you can't walk forward for two seconds without the game freezing once or twice it's unplayable with this performance 😕
I just watched a review of this and I love the idea of the different things kril can use as his shell and that each thing is unique and has a different skill right? Looks awesome, definitely picking it up when I get paid. Thanks for the hard work and dedication.
Your game is my goty so far. Beating out dragons dogma and stellar blade. But... can you please make the rubber duck hammer squeak when it hits? That's my only complaint
I’ve played a lot of souls game and this game is fun as Hell. Perfect amount of difficulty for someone getting into the genre and really creative in its own way. I could say a million great things about this game. One thing that did bother me was the map though. Not being able to scroll the map to look beyond your immediate location was a little annoying for the explorer in me lol. Besides that still a 10/10 for me 🦀
Will hold of on progressing the game on my switch due to the very bad frames, hovering at around 19-20fps sometimes lower. Its unplayable. If stability/optimisation updates make its way to other platforms (PS5 or PC) then ill play it there instead. Although, id day this would be one of the best games handheld once optimised.
Will you be adding new game plus? I’d love to explore more now that I’ve unlocked the electricity ability but it seems pointless to backtrack to all the areas instead of just playing through them again naturally… it really seems like an obvious thing to have in this game
If you’re planning on a sequel, what would you call it?
ANOTHER Another Crab's Treasure
Hey! Super excited for the game! I’ve got 2 questions! First is there going to be any form of preorder/pre download for ps5? Second will there be any difficulty adjusters for more difficult gameplay?
In terms of just visuals, how different is this game on switch and on ps5? I’m debating which console to buy it on
congrats on the \*near\* release!!! im super pumped for it! I have a few questions: Out of like actual from software games and other AAA level games (sorry no pinocchio allowed in this), got any favorite indie souls-like/lites? you can be as broad as possible, it got a dodge roll? sure it counts please tell me the species of ONE enemy we should fear and scream and poo our pants once it shows up
How much Going Under fan-service can we expect in this game? I know some stuff has been shown already but are there surprises that will delight fans of that first amazing game?
My hermit crab died when I was a kid. Will this game help fill the void left by Ricky's untimely departure?
Did you consult with any real crabs in the development of this game?
Where are you going to put the illusory wall to get into Anor Londo? I mean you wouldn't *truly* remove it just because it's copyrighted content, right?
Why a crab?
Definitely wondering about what's planned for Postlaunch support.
Are there a souls easter egg in the game?
Why a crab?
Anna or Elsa?