Crab Champions

Crab Champions is an upcoming 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 1 April 2019, one year after the song was released, and became available on Steam as Early Access on 1 April 2023, five years after the song made its debut.[1][2][3][4][5]

Crab Champions
Cover art featuring a crab holding a shotgun
Developer(s)Noisestorm Limited
Platform(s)Windows
Release1 April 2023 (early access)
Genre(s)Roguelike, third-person shooter

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 choose 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.[2][6][4]

Development

After seeing the success of "Crab Rave", O'Broin saw an opportunity for a video game. This was facilitated by the fact that O'Broin was experienced in video game engine Unreal Engine 4, 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 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. Development did not go as he had hoped, because with a planned release date of 20 August 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. On 9 January 2023, O'Broin announced that the game would release in early access on April Fool's Day, 1 April, on the 5 year anniversary of "Crab Rave"'s release.[6][7][4][8][9][10]

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 been a commercial success.[2]

References
  1. Wang, Zijin (4 April 2023). "Crab Champions is a crab shoot 'em up sequel to that dancing crab meme". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  2. "Crab Champions on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. Bolding, Jonathan (3 April 2023). "Obviously, this is a fast-paced roguelike where you are a crab with a gun". PC Gamer. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  4. "@crabchampions" on Twitter
  5. Noisestorm - Crab Rave [Monstercat Release], retrieved 17 April 2023
  6. DiCerbo, Anthony (6 April 2023). "Crab Champions Review: Fulfilling the Crab Fantasy". Gamelevate.com. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  7. "@noisestormmusic" on Twitter
  8. Crab Champions Reveal Trailer, retrieved 17 April 2023
  9. "Solo Project From The Creator Of Crab Rave, CRAB CHAMPIONS, Claws Its Way To Steam Early Access Later This Year". GameTyrant. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  10. "Crab Champions - Steam News Hub". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
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