I Came to Hunt Crabs, But They Hunted Me: A Review of the Dark Horror Game Crabmeat

Crabmeat, a point-and-click horror game, offers a concise experience, with its current early access content completable in roughly two hours. Players must navigate treacherous Antarctic waters, seeking out prime locations for catching King Crabs to settle their debts and save their family. However, this isn't a simple fishing trip; aggressive, mutated crabs actively sabotage any seafarer daring to enter their domain.

The game unfolds in a bleak, dystopian world dominated by the fictional Feodarchy. The protagonist, having borrowed money from the authorities for rent and failed to repay it on time, is sent to the perilous Antarctic. Their mission: fulfill a daunting quota of King Crabs. Failure means execution, with the debt then transferred to their family.

Players will quickly adapt to the game's intuitive mouse-centric controls, which govern all actions from movement and environmental interaction to item usage. Within an hour, navigating the game and even confronting the crab threats becomes a straightforward task.

Operating your vessel involves manual steering, adjusting speed, and managing the anchor. A detailed map highlights rich crab fishing grounds and locations where previous debtors left their traps. Progress is often hampered by harsh weather conditions and environmental obstacles, with collisions resulting in hull damage.

The process of crab fishing is remarkably detailed. It requires players to deploy bait, lower traps into the water, await a catch, retrieve the traps, and carefully sort suitable crabs for the quota from debris. Salvaging traps left by past debtors can yield valuable supplies like medkits, keys to hidden stashes, and ammunition.

Periodically, aggressive crabs will board the ship, actively seeking to damage essential equipment. Failing to repel these intruders promptly leads to extensive repairs. I recall one particularly bold crustacean, shouting what sounded like "Crabonimo," latching onto the steering wheel, causing my vessel to collide with a bait replenishment station and nearly capsize.

Larger crab variants emit piercing cries reminiscent of the Witch from Left 4 Dead before they attack. Players can fend them off using an axe or a shotgun. The shotgun, however, inflicts low damage, has scarce ammunition, and suffers from a slow reload speed, making it best reserved for the climactic final boss encounter.

Timers on board the vessel track the allotted time for completing the mission. Even with a relaxed playstyle and occasional missteps, fulfilling the crab quota is achievable well before the deadline. The ship also features scattered propaganda materials from the Feodarchy, condemning any deviation from its rigid norms.

Conclusion

While Crabmeat currently offers a limited amount of content, its quality is undeniably high. Many actions are accompanied by unique animations, the crab fishing process is rich with intricate details, and the game world feels deeply realized. Even subtle nuances, such as snow accumulating on the deck, are meticulously accounted for.

Presently, the game concludes rather swiftly. There's a strong hope that the final version will introduce a variety of unique endings, as the game's captivating world is too engaging to bid farewell to so soon.