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As a Soulslike,Another Crab’s Treasuredeliversintense boss battlesand a punishing gameplay loop. However, while the genre leans towards fantasy and science fiction, Another Crab’s Treasure uses its story to discuss real-world economic issues.
The game follows a crab named Krill as he slowly wraps his head around the vicious economic system that determines the fate of sea creatures everywhere. By the time the credits roll, it’s clear there will be no happy ending for Krill and the inhabitants of the ocean, which might lead you to wonder what the point of it all was. Here’s what Another Crab’s Treasure truly means.
What’s At Stake In The Battle Between Firth And Krill?
Another Crab’s Treasureclimaxes in an intense final boss battle against Firth.
For the whole adventure,Firth is a secondary NPC who follows the same path as Krill.
However, contrary to Krill,he is unphased by the destruction resulting from the trash economythat pollutes the ocean’s hearts and minds.
Firth steals the Perfect Whorl, determined to use the mystical treasure to crash Trash Island into New Carcinia.Firth believes there’s nothing wrong with the trash economyand that the only problem is that the people who controlled it were evil.
He sees himself as a benevolent savior who will be able to use trash to make everyone’s lives better. So, covering the city in the trash wouldlead to a golden age of abundance in his eyes.
Krill, on the other hand,grew far away from the trash economy, so he can see the damage this vicious system does. In addition, Krill is well aware thatthe Gunk curse derives from greed and the lack of meaning in the trash economy.
That’s why he decides to stop Firth at any cost.
After a fierce battle, Krill defeats Firth. In a burst of rage,Krill unleashes the repressive emotions he has been locking inside at each turn of his journeyevery time he realizes how people were cruel for the sake of accumulating trash.
Krill’s final blow destroys Trash Island, with the rubbles raining over the city. It’s a disturbing end for the conflict, asKrill becomes responsible for what he tried to prevent Firth from doing.
What Will Happen To New Carcinia?
Another Crab’s Treasure doesn’t hide the factit is a parody of capitalism. So, with its depressive ending, the game underlines thata heroic figure can never save the world.
There’san extensive economic system that erodes relationships, and regardless of how angry this makes you,there’s not much to change alone.
When Trash Island crumbles and fills New Carcinia with trash,people are happy because of the immediate relief this abundance brings them. Sadly, the situation is unsustainable in the long run.
People will once againaccumulate useless things to keep the trash’s value. The citizens also didn’t break the pattern of constantly comparing themselves to each other andconsidering that a person’s worth is equivalent to how much trash they have.
Soon,the trash that covers New Carcinia will feed mistrust, and the Gunk will slowly corrupt the citizens of the megalopolis.New Carcinia is doomed to follow the Old Ocean’s footstepsand let their greed destroy them from the inside.
It’s a depressive way to finish a game, but one thatforces you to consider the irrationality of the global economic system.
Why Did Krill Kill Prawnathan?
Another Crab’s Treasure begins asKrill is visited by Prawnathan, who’s collecting taxes for Slacktide’s Duchess.
Krill has always lived in peace on his island anddoesn’t understand why he would have to pay to keep this privilege. When Krill reveals he has no trash, a worthless thing with no value in itself,Prawnathan steals his shell.
On his journey to retrieve his home, Krill learns about the trash economy and howeveryone’s love for useless things has made the ocean’s inhabitants angry and untrustworthy. Nevertheless, he pushes forward, taking every opportunity to regain his shell.
After getting to New Carcinia,Prawnathan makes a deal with Krill, sending the hermit crab on a treasure hunt in exchange for his shell. It’s during this treasure hunt that Krill uncovers the secrets of the Gunk and the Old Ocean, realizing that much more is at stake than his home.
After the battle against Firth, Krill’s soul is crushed. Hegives up trying to fix the trash economy and wants to return to his quiet life.
Krills tells Prawnathan that he’s responsible for the trash raining from the skies, so he has brought a treasure to the vicious tax collector as expected.All he wants now is his shell.
Prawnathan tells Krillhe won’t give the hermit crab his shell. Now that Prawnathan is rich, he feels he doesn’t need to respect those he deems unworthy. That pushes Krill beyond the brink, withthe hermit crab slaying Prawnathan on site.
Krill istired of being abused by those who deem themselves wealthy, and he realizes that in a cruel world, you can only get what you want by doing cruel things.
What Happens To Krill?
After his ultimate act of violence against Prawnathan,Krill realizes there’s no way to escape the grim effects of the trash economy.He just wants to be left alone, but the system ensures everyone is part of it, whether they want it or not.
In the final moments of Another Crab’s Treasure, weglimpse a homeless hermit crab resting inside Krill’s home. The broken protagonist of the game hasleft his shell behind to a person who needs it more than him.
Even thoughKrill has accepted violence as a tool, his rage is aimed directly at the trash economy. While he got his shell back,he won’t just go back to his island.
Instead,he will attempt to use his power to help those in need, just as Chiaton taught him. The trash economy keeps ruling the ocean’s life, but Krill is still out there,filled with rage and ready to start a revolution.
