An independent player guide

Everything is Crab: Builds, Evolutions and Tools

By Nocti · Last updated

Use this guide to look up an evolution, prepare a run or investigate a result that did not unlock the expected achievement. The directories separate card effects, starting Genetics, encounters and progress conditions; build pages connect those references to a particular goal. Start with the problem in front of you rather than assuming one setup fits every run. Current route notes distinguish version changes, official conditions and individual player reports, including the separate damage restrictions for Dove and Zen. The popular guides below cover platform availability, mushrooms, Carcinisation and Stoner, with sources and the site’s review method linked from each relevant page.

New here? Read these three pages

  1. Get a first win

    Plan a first victory around food access, a usable attack and an escape. Compare offered choices with those needs before committing to a named build.

  2. Food and leveling

    Separate food progress, feeding speed, feeding distance and diet effects. Match the improvement to the shortage: finding food, reaching it safely or spending less time eating.

  3. Prepare for regular bosses

    Diagnose the failed encounter through movement, escape space, recovery and useful damage windows. More damage does not replace a path to food or a safe retreat.

What are you working on?

Get a first win

Plan a first victory around food access, a usable attack and an escape. Compare offered choices with those needs before committing to a named build.

Understand Highborn

Separate Highborn’s returned-damage unlock from its starting effects. The guide preserves the developer’s damage-type distinction so that retaliation and other damage are not treated interchangeably.

Plan a Zen attempt

Prepare for a win with neither damage dealt nor damage taken. The guide separates the official meteor restriction from attributed player tactics and unshipped feature requests.

Choose whether to eat a mushroom

Compare mushroom effects, food needs and detour costs. Identify the pickup before changing a safe route, and distinguish documented interactions from uncertainty about an unknown mushroom.

Prepare for the final boss

Compare a kill in under fifteen seconds, a Cataclysm finish and whole-run damage restrictions. Each objective needs a different final event, not merely survival.

Put a build together

Choose Genetics and evolutions, compare card composition, arrange the proposed route and preview body parts. Share a link or image without treating the preview as calculated winning odds.

Browse the guide

Cards and collections

  • Evolutions — Find an evolution by name, type or affinity, then compare its effect and role. Merged entries stay in the directory; retained detail guides explain specific interactions.
  • Genetics — Compare starting Genetic effects with their separate unlock conditions. Keep version-specific changes and unresolved interactions visible before selecting the modifier for the next run.
  • Achievements — Compare forty Steam achievement conditions with eight additions described in version 1.2. Distinguish a single hit, accumulated damage, a victory and an all-Genetics completion requirement.
  • Codex — Find the record for a missing unlock, Challenge mark or highest Pressure clear. Compare evolution roles and affinity directions without assuming the website reads your save.
  • Bestiary — Identify a missing discovery, disguised creature or shiny objective. The guides separate seeing different shiny kinds, defeating one and filling the broader Bestiary collection.
  • Biomes — Compare grass, sand, snow and water through food access, temperature hazards and movement needs. Choose the next route by the shortage your current build must solve.

Routes and encounters

  • Guide overview — Choose between first-win planning, food and leveling, boss preparation and exact unlock conditions. Player-guide comparisons retain the version limits of the advice they summarize.
  • Build routes — Compare beginner, poison, charm, stone, small-body and Carcinisation routes. Choose a goal that fits your current tools, then inspect the linked evolution choices and their trade-offs.
  • Bosses — Find named encounters and compare movement, recovery and finishing conditions. A charge-window hit, an obstacle kill and a Cataclysm finish are separate objectives.
  • Challenges — Compare twelve challenge rules before choosing a route. Keep the individual restriction separate from goals requiring one win, every Genetic or completion of every Challenge.
  • Mechanics — Look up food, movement, damage, saving and progress questions by system. Read mode and version qualifications before applying a mechanic to a specific achievement attempt.
  • Build planner — Choose Genetics and evolutions, compare card composition, arrange the proposed route and preview body parts. Share a link or image without treating the preview as calculated winning odds.

Updates and player examples

  • Player results — Compare attributed player records by mode and goal. Final statistics, visible choices and missing selection history remain separate, so a result does not become a guaranteed build.
  • Community resources — Find player-guide comparisons, videos and discussion sources. Retain each author’s version and outcome, and distinguish an external search from a curated or reproducible route.
  • Articles — Read focused explanations of mushrooms, progression, platform claims and Pressure problems. Articles link the underlying conditions so that a reported route remains distinguishable from a general rule.
  • Patch notes — Locate content updates, hotfixes and launch records by version. Follow affected-guide links and separate a repaired trigger from a changed requirement or an announced future feature.
  • Platforms — Compare PC stores, cloud play, handheld display issues and optional cosmetics. Match the device and dated announcement before treating a platform plan as an available edition.
  • Wiki index — Browse the topic index to find evolutions, Genetics, achievements and other reference areas. Continue to the specific entry when a card effect or unlock condition is the question.
  • Sitemap — Browse the site’s topic links when a name or category is unclear. Use the matching directory to compare entries before opening an individual guide.

More run questions

  • Wounded restrictions — Review Wounded’s healing restrictions and dated changes before choosing a recovery plan. The linked player examples retain their own modes and outcomes instead of establishing a universal route.
  • Pressure 14 routes — Compare the reported Pressure 14 approaches with the tools available in your run. Focus on the stated obstacle and route conditions rather than assuming the next clear requires one fixed build.
  • Pressure 15 and Stubborn — Separate a Pressure 15 attempt from the Stubborn Genetic unlock question. Read the reported route, its limitations and the exact requirement before treating those goals as equivalent.
  • Stoner attack — Compare Training’s permanent rewards from Stoner kills with Signal’s Tracked target effect for charmed allies. Plan ammunition and throwing space before choosing the specialisation.
  • Save and progress — Distinguish a mid-run save, cloud synchronization and the corrupted Resume Run startup repair. Recovering the ability to launch does not mean the interrupted run was restored.
  • Roadmap — Separate released changes from announced work, tentative timing and player suggestions. Follow the dated source before treating a planned platform or feature as available.
  • Mobile, Switch and mods — Check official platform announcements, PC storefronts and cloud access separately. A streaming option, planned native release and unofficial mod describe different ways of using the game.

Looking for a specific name?

Search by a card, Genetic, achievement or guide name. Results lead to the corresponding reference so that similar names do not obscure different unlocks or effects.

Search the site

Popular guides

Start with the problem that ended your last run. The build directory separates first-clear routes from specialist goals; the card guides explain the trade-offs behind individual choices. For platform questions, compare an announced release date with what is available to buy today. The update guide distinguishes released patches from future plans, so an upcoming feature does not become part of a route before it exists.

Choose a build

Compare beginner, poison, charm, stone, small-body and Carcinisation routes. Choose a goal that fits your current tools, then inspect the linked evolution choices and their trade-offs.

Official platform status

Check official platform announcements, PC storefronts and cloud access separately. A streaming option, planned native release and unofficial mod describe different ways of using the game.

Mobile downloads and cloud play

Compare mobile download claims with official listings and distinguish cloud-streamed PC play from a native release before installing software, purchasing access or moving a save.

Roadmap and patch changes

Separate released changes from announced work, tentative timing and player suggestions. Follow the dated source before treating a planned platform or feature as available.

Reach Carcinisation 10

Plan toward Carcinisation 10 for The Crabtain. Compare reported branches, preserve prerequisites and inspect the actual attribute instead of counting any ten evolution selections.

Mushroom effects and routing

Compare mushroom effects, food needs and detour costs. Identify the pickup before changing a safe route, and distinguish documented interactions from uncertainty about an unknown mushroom.

Stoner: Training or Signal?

Compare Training’s permanent rewards from Stoner kills with Signal’s Tracked target effect for charmed allies. Plan ammunition and throwing space before choosing the specialisation.

Underdog genetics

Read Underdog’s documented starting trade-offs and unlock information, then compare the applicable routes. Keep a resulting achievement notification separate from the Genetic actually chosen at the start.

How to read this guide

Official patch notes, developer explanations and attributed player results serve different purposes. A result screenshot records one attempt; it does not establish a win rate or a complete selection order. The About page explains the editorial method, version labels, image sources and how to report a correction. About this guide