Crab Champions

Crab Champions
File:Crab Champions cover art.webp Cover art featuring a crab holding a shotgun
Developer(s)	Noisestorm Limited
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)	Roguelike

Crab Champions is a fast-paced third-person shooter with roguelike elements developed by Irish music producer and solo game developer Eoin O'Broin, also known as Noisestorm. The premise of the game is based on his hit single titled "Crab Rave", which features a 3D animated music video featuring dancing crabs, which quickly became a meme and internet sensation upon its release. The song garnered millions of views on YouTube, and millions more plays across all music streaming platforms. The game was first announced on April 1st, 2019, one year after the song was released, and became available on Steam as Early Access on April 1st, 2023, five whole years after the song made its debut.

Gameplay

In Crab Champions, players take control of a crab and use firearms to destroy other crabs, critters, and crab bosses. After each level, the player can chose from a selection of upgrades, which will stack and become stronger each level. The game features both single-player and multiplayer modes, allowing players to play together with friends, and the possibility of online multiplayer in the future.

Players can customize their crabs with a range of skins, all available for free, after completing in-game achievements.

Development

After seeing the success of Crab Rave, O'Broin had an idea, and saw an opportunity for a video game. This was facilited by the fact that O'Broin had already gotten experience in Unreal Engine 4, the 3D computer graphics game engine, as his previous two music releases, "Crab Rave" and "Breakout" both included a 3D animated music video which he produced. As a result, O'Broin silently started development on Crab Champions at the end of 2018 using Unreal Engine 4, being inspired by other roguelike games such as Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac. He wanted to create a game that was both challenging and fun, and he felt that the combination of third-person shooter and roguelike elements would be a perfect fit.

O'Broin began working on Crab Champions full-time after putting a pause on his music career in 2018, following his release of "Breakout". He released a trailer of the game in 2019, which resonated well with his new fanbase. Unfortunately, things did not go as smoothly as he had hoped, because with a planned release date of August 20, 2020, O'Broin decided that the game was not quite polished enough, and wanted it to be a genuinely fun and replayable game, as opposed to a meme, or joke of a game, so he cancelled the release indefinitely.

Moving forward, O'Broin listed the game on steam as unreleased/coming soon, and would post near-monthly updates to the game's steam news hub, and share what he had been working on. Finally on January 9th, 2023, O'Broin announced that the game will release on April Fool's Day, or April 1st, on the 5 year anniversary of Crab Rave's release.

Reception

Crab Champions was met with positive reviews when it entered Early Access. Critics praised the game's fast-paced gameplay, its variety of weapons and abilities, and its charming art style. The game has also been a commercial success, receiving hundreds of positive reviews in its first week of Early Access, which included a 15% discount on the game.

External links

• Official website