Update: The original article was about the first playtest, but Odd Dreams Digital and Secret Mode are back with another playtest for Everything is Crab: all you need to do is head over to Steam and do your part!
As you’ll discover if you keep on reading my thoughts from back in September, you should absolutely check this one out, especially if you’ve got even the slightest interest in genetics and evolution.
Returning players should also consider checking it out because there’s a new Challenge mode in the playtest now, so you can push your evolved creations to even greater heights.
Finally, I’ve slipped a little on this one and should have told you about it last week, when this second playtest kicked off. I’m not sure when it’s due to end; however, yesterday (Dec 11), the devs pushed out a performance-boosting patch, so it’s not going anywhere imminently.
Original: “Spore mixed with the gameplay of Vampire Survivors (with the dodge roll from Enter the Gungeon)” was the pitch, and my gosh, it was effective at 1: persuading me to check out the game, and 2: conveying what said game is all about. It also helps that it has one of the nerdiest titles that I’ve encountered in ages.
Everything is Crab: The Animal Evolution Roguelite shows its hand in the headline. This is a game about eating things – often crabs – and then evolving your playable character-creature into something new and, hopefully, better. Then, dying, because it’s a roguelite, engaging in some meta-game evolution, before having another go.
Everything is awesome (when you’re an evolved species)
So let’s go back and address the games mentioned in that opener. First, of course, is Spore. This 2008 RTS-hybrid is the very definition of “cult classic”, and its weirdly compulsive character creation-focused formula inspired so many other games in the years that have followed.
Then there’s Vampire Survivors. The similarities there include their top-down perspectives, pixel-art graphics, as well as the in-game unlocks and the roguish meta-progression between runs.
Finally, there’s Enter the Gungeon. This reference alludes to the dodge mechanic in the game. Enemies will telegraph their attacks, and you come equipped with a slowly-recharging dash that you can use to stay out of harm’s way. Mostly.
However, one thing that this isn’t is an auto-shooter. Here you have to time your own attacks, but I don’t mind that at all and actually, in this instance, being in full control of your actions, even the aggressive ones, makes a bunch of thematic sense.
What’s in the Everything is Crab playtest?
I just spent an hour sipping coffee and evolving my blue starting creature in a bunch of different ways. The most basic gelatinous blob comes with a slight health bump to keep you in the game of life that bit longer, but there are also several additional starting profiles that will unlock through play.
I switched at the first opportunity, picking a more pacifistic playstyle where my blob had less damage but evolved more quickly. Instead of focusing on chasing after little crab-like things, or even flying dog-insects with gnashing teeth, I decided to run around and chomp down apples and improve my regen powers.
Whether eating my enemies, scavenging whatever was around, or even going vegan, I still got my butt kicked by the first boss. He has a long dash that kept catching me because I mis-timed my dodge a bunch of times. Still, it was a fair fight, and I’m sure I’d have taken him down next time…
There are different biomes that are stitched together and ready for exploration; however, your character is going to be better suited to different areas, dependant on upgrades. The cold, for example, will chip away at your health bar if you’re not equipped for it. Similarly, there’s a day/night cycle, and I really love how your interactions change as the light fades away into darkness. It’s clever stuff.
In fact, “clever” is the prevailing feeling I have about Everything is Crab: The Animal Evolution Roguelite after putting down the demo in order to write up this missive. There already appears to be a number of different abilities to play with, and therefore oodles of potential build variety, and the whole thing is held together with a simple yet charming pixel-art style that lets you see your character evolve.
It’s not immediately clear how long the playtest will be available, so if you want to evolve your own blue ball of gloop into an antlered snail with fangs, I’d hop/slide to it if I were you. You can sign up for the Everything is Crab playtest over on Steam (Win).
Alternatively, hit the same link to wishlist the game and then stay tight for its final form, which developer Odd Dreams Digital reckons is due to emerge from the primordial soup around Q2, 2026.
