Even as accessibility turns into extra mainstream in gaming, there stay holdouts—none extra distinguished than the Souls-like subgenre, a class of video games constructed on the muse of From Software’s catalog of persistently inaccessible video games. In June, nonetheless, Seattle-based developer Aggro Crab announced a suite of accessibility options for its upcoming Souls-like, Another Crab’s Treasure, that highlights how video games influenced by From Software are beginning to depart the Elden Ring developer behind.

Aggro Crab’s announcement stands in sharp distinction to 2022’s Elden Ring, which represented a step again in From Software’s already meager consideration of accessibility. That similar mindset has contaminated Souls-like video games for years, because the trade embraced parries and dodge rolls as a staple of online game fight.

It’s an inaccessibility that Aggro Crab’s cofounders, Nick Kaman and Caelan Pollock, perceive nicely.

“There are a lot of factors that contribute to Souls games feeling unapproachable,” they are saying in an electronic mail dialog with WIRED, “from the punishing difficulty to the lack of explicit direction to the cryptic narrative.”

“From Software prefers to create work that is exactly what it is out of the box, with minimal knobs to turn on the part of the user,” they proceed. “Honestly, that’s a pretty cool vibe, but obviously it is always going to wind up restricting the player base to those who are comfortable playing that core product.”

This was very true for Elden Ring, which drew criticism from gamers and developers alike for its inaccessible UI and quest design—among an extensive laundry list of inaccessible design decisions.

Many gamers created workarounds for these design points; others merely stopped enjoying. But Kaman and Pollock imagine there’s room for various approaches in Souls-like video games to welcome a broader spectrum of gamers.

“With our game’s cartoony art direction and (somewhat) less grimdark themes, it made sense to be accommodating to players who might be experiencing the genre for the first time,” they are saying.

Those lodging embody methods to mitigate enemy injury, decelerate gameplay, and improve parry home windows—options that really feel overdue within the subgenre. Another Crab’s Treasure additionally contains the choice to present Kril, the titular crab, a gun. Kaman and Pollock say it “was just too good a visual gag to pass up.”

The means to one-shot undersea enemies with a gun could also be a little bit of enjoyable in line with Another Crab’s Treasure’s tone and an indication of how Aggro Crab is pulling away from the sometimes self-serious From Software. But it’s additionally, in response to Kaman and Pollock, “a great way to illustrate our commitment to letting players play the game however they want.”

Player management hasn’t been forthcoming in earlier Souls-like titles. Fortunately, nonetheless, builders are beginning to take heed to gamers about what they want on this type of sport.

For Aggro Crab, this started with the studio’s previous title, Going Under, understanding what labored there and iterating additional, helped by suggestions from gamers at occasions like Summer Games Fest.