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- Crab Champions
Crab Champions
Armed crabs dodge enemy swarms and collect upgrades together in a third-person roguelike shooter.
Online co-op for up to 6 players.
- 6 online
Where to buy
Playing together
- Online co-op6 players
- Local co-opNot confirmed
- Not confirmedFriends on different platforms, such as PC and PlayStation, can play together.
- Not confirmedA friend can join or leave while you are already playing, without starting over.
- Not confirmedFriends play free with a Friend's Pass or similar.
- Steam DeckPlayableValve's own rating
About the game
You play a crab with a gun, an ability and a melee weapon. Each run sends you through small islands of enemies, with loot choices after fights and shops between them. You slide, jump and flip through incoming fire while trying to turn separate upgrades into a useful build. A clear can end the run, or you can keep looping into harder fights.
Friends fight across the same islands while choosing their own upgrades. The game is balanced around four players, with experimental support for six. You can revive teammates, compare equipment and choose the next portal together. Weapons and cosmetic unlocks give you reasons to return, but the upgrades that make a run powerful need to be earned again. It suits a group that enjoys quick movement, repeated attempts and experimenting with unusual combinations.
How it feels
Kind of game
A team takes on missions or runs full of enemies. You pick gear, cover each other and pick each other up.
- At its heart
- Now and then
- Laughter and chaos
- Calm and coziness
- Working in sync
- Time to hang out
- Exploring
- Unlocks and progress
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- About
- Monsters
Rated on our own feel scale. 5 sources back these ratings.
Screenshots
From the Steam store page. Open one to see it full size.
If you liked Crab Champions
You will probably enjoy these too. Each one says why.
Gunfire Reborn
Why it scores 89%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Squad shooter
- About
- Monsters
- Core to both
- Fighting
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Notable in both
- Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Getting better
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How Gunfire Reborn differs
- Less jumping and climbing than Crab Champions
- 4 online
- Crossplay
Both send your squad into fights where you watch each other's backs. Both are about monsters that hunt you. Both have a lot of fighting side by side.
But less jumping and climbing than Crab Champions.
Killing Floor
Why it scores 86%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Squad shooter
- About
- Monsters
- Core to both
- Fighting
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Notable in both
- Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Getting better
- Co-op
- Online co-op for up to 6 players
How Killing Floor differs
- Scarier than Crab Champions
- Less jumping and climbing than Crab Champions
- 6 online
Both send your squad into fights where you watch each other's backs. Both play in runs or missions you repeat. Both are about monsters that hunt you.
But scarier than Crab Champions.
Risk of Rain Returns
Why it scores 86%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Squad shooter
- About
- Monsters
- Core to both
- Fighting
- Notable in both
- Jumping and climbing, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Getting better
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Co-op
- Online co-op
- 32 online
- 4 on one screen
Both send your squad into fights where you watch each other's backs. Both are full of jumping and climbing together. Both are about monsters that hunt you.
No big difference from Crab Champions.
All co-op facts
Last checked 24 October 2026. The small numbers link to the page that states each fact.
Co-op
- Fewest players online
- Not confirmed
- Local co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on one screen
- Not confirmed
- Split or shared screen
- Not confirmed
- Separate-device co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on separate devices
- Not confirmed
- Free base co-op
- No
The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
- 2
- Confirmed free setups
- Does not apply
- Crossplay
- Not confirmed
- Crossplay between
- Not confirmed
- Friends can join mid-game
- Not confirmed
- Only one of you needs to buy it
- Not confirmed
- Voice chat by distance
- Not confirmed
Sources
9 pages
crabchampions.comOfficial site, read 24 October 2026
Backs Release date.
- Release date: The maker gives April 1, 2023 as the Early Access launch.
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Online co-op, Release status, Release date, Genres, Sessions, Fighting, Unlocks and progress, Free base co-op.
- Online co-op: The product lists native online co-op.
- Release status: The live purchase page still identifies an Early Access game.
- Release date: Early Access began April 1, 2023.
- Genres: The maker describes a roguelike shooter and lists Action.
- Sessions: The maker describes 20 to 40 minute attempts with optional looping.
- Fighting: Defeating enemy hordes is the main activity.
- Unlocks and progress: Challenges unlock cosmetic skins. Run power comes from loot collected during each attempt.
- Free base co-op: The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 24 October 2026
Backs Steam app ID, Platforms.
- Steam app ID: The response identifies Crab Champions as app 774801.
- Platforms: The current purchasable build supports Windows.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 24 October 2026
Backs Steam Deck.
- Steam Deck: Valve rates the game Playable on Steam Deck.
store.steampowered.comOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Most players online.
- Most players online: The shipped December 25, 2023 update explicitly adds experimental support for six. Balance remains designed around four players.
steamcommunity.comOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Working in sync, Exploring, Unlocks and progress.
- Working in sync: The Island Update adds reviving teammates and a majority vote for portals. Each player still controls a separate combat build.
- Exploring: The Island Update discusses secret chests within small islands.
- Unlocks and progress: Account ranks and medals unlock challenge modifiers. These are unlocks rather than a lasting character power curve.
gamelevate.comPress, read 24 October 2026
Backs Kind of game, About, Tension and danger, Calm and coziness, Jumping and climbing, Getting better, Unlocks and progress.
- Kind of game: Gamelevate, April 6, 2023, describes friends fighting the same enemy islands with separate weapons.
- About: The review describes hostile crabs, ants, pufferfish and other creatures.
- Tension and danger: Enemy waves and bosses punish missed movement, with recovery and shopping between fights.
- Calm and coziness: Shopping islands let players heal and choose upgrades between hostile islands.
- Jumping and climbing: Sliding and flipping through long jumps are regular movement tools. Separate parkour islands were later removed.
- Getting better: The reviewer describes early failures followed by learning movement and combat.
- Unlocks and progress: Boss keys unlock additional weapons. The current official update confirms further unlock systems.
moviesgamesandtech.comPress, read 24 October 2026
Backs Planning ahead, Time to hang out, Fighting.
- Planning ahead: Movies Games and Tech, May 1, 2023, describes upgrade tradeoffs and limited inventory slots that make build choices matter.
- Time to hang out: The review describes fast movement shooting and upgrade decisions. Room for unrelated chat is mainly between fights.
- Fighting: Enemy fire and movement define ordinary play.
pcgamer.comPress, read 24 October 2026
Backs Laughter and chaos.
- Laughter and chaos: PC Gamer, April 3, 2023, describes comic crab characters and unusual builds within controlled shooter play. It does not establish recurring shared slapstick.