Every year, snubs at The Game Awards prove to be a major talking point. It might as well be its own TGA category now: Biggest Snub of the Year at The Game Awards. For example, many fans are upset that Silent Hill 2‘s remake was not nominated for the Game of the Year category, with many believing that Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC stole its spot. No one is denying the pedigree and quality behind Shadow of the Erdtree, but there’s been a lot of debate around the role of remakes, remasters, DLCs, and other forms of expansion at the showcase. Many also believe that EA Sports College Football 25 was snubbed in the Sports category, while Palworld was snubbed with no nominations in any category. This conversation will no doubt go on through TGA 2024, but I am honestly surprised by one snub: Another Crab’s Treasure.
Another Crab’s Treasure didn’t get nominated for any categories in the Geoff Keighley-hosted show, despite being more than worthy in several categories. It’s not just one of the best indie games of 2024, but it’s easily one of the best Soulslikes as well. It hits all of the genre’s benchmarks to the letter, while providing a unique take on each of them. The combat is punishing, but fun; the world is dark, despite looking bright; the bosses are equally dark and engaging; and the environmental storytelling is as poignant as any FromSoftware Souls game. Its cutesy graphics hide an otherwise dark and engaging Soulslike game, packaged around an apocalyptic environmental tragedy. It definitely belongs at least in a handful of categories, but to get absolutely none is the ultimate punch in the gut.
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Another Crab’s Treasure Ending Explained
Another Crab’s Treasure is a unique take on the Soulslike genre for many reasons, and the ending of the game only amplifies what makes it stand out.
It’s also worth pointing out that Another Crab’s Treasure was nominated—and won—best indie game at the 2024 Golden Joystick Awards. It’s well deserved, and even if we break it down into numbers, a lot doesn’t add up. Black Myth: Wukong is the lowest-rated nominee for Game of the Year, with an overall Metascore of 81, which Another Crab’s Treasure barely trails behind at a 78, indicating generally favorable reviews. According to Metacritic, this score is based on 33 critic reviews, 70% of which were positive, 0% of which were negative. On OpenCritic, it has a Strong rating, a 78 Top Critic Average, and over 81% of critics recommend the title. From a fan perspective, it holds a Very Positive review status on Steam, with its most recent reviews hitting Overwhelmingly Positive.
Another Crab’s Treasure Could Wear So Many Categories Like a Shell
It also fits in several major categories. The best indie game of the year makes the most sense, and it’s been a great year for indie games. It’s hard to say that it would win there like it did at the Golden Joystick Awards, as I suspect it’ll be a tight competition this year, but to not even be nominated is a real shock. There’s also a strong argument for it in the Innovation in Accessibility category, given its focus on making an accessible Soulslike game, but also Another Crab’s Treasure gives a crab a gun. Aggro Crab was very focused on making sure that accessibility features were fun, and the novelty of taking out a gun, underwater, as a crab, and one shot killing a powerful Soulslike boss is fun at least once.
Games for Impact is another category I could see it easily fitting into. While a lot of it is told through environmental storytelling, it has plenty to say on the state of the world, the rent crisis even, and finding the will to carry on after dealing with such world-shattering issues. In fairness, that should also give it nominations in Best Narrative, and the environmental storytelling via art should have seen it picking up a nomination in the best art direction.
I don’t necessarily think it deserved every single one of these nominations, nor would I necessarily take anything away from these categories as they stand. But to see Another Crab’s Treasure not nominated in a single category is a shocking snub. Since Kril had his shell “repossessed,” he’s lived that hard-knock life, and it just seems to keep coming. It’s a bad day to be Kril…not that there’s ever really a good day to be Kril.
- Released
- April 25, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Aggro Crab
- Publisher(s)
- Aggro Crab
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong