I hope none of you are allergic to shellfish because Shrimp game It's exactly what it sounds like: a game about shrimp! And yet, it's an absolute bastard of what it is, as you don't just play as a shrimp, you pilot a shrimp, or SHRIMP (Submersible Integrated Marine Platforms for Hydrodynamic Research), and you have to survive in a hellish underwater landscape filled with sea creatures that are bent on seeing the end of your life, and “Lovecraftian bosses.”
There are hints of games like Armored Core here, especially in the movement mechanics. You don't choose the parts for your shrimp, but you pilot it as if it were a machine, moving around the seascape, shooting other fish and the like with your abilities. These abilities are based on elements like fire and earth or light and dark, and you can even mix and match them to a certain extent. You'll also find, to my surprise, that you can play through the game's campaign in six-player co-op or try out PvP modes like King Prawn, Shrimp Tag, and Catch the Turtle!
There's currently a demo of Shrimp Game on Steam, which I spent some time with after spotting it in the latest release of The Virtual Moose. Review of indie games – only in campaign mode, although an online mode is also available – and it's as crazy as it is wacky. With enemy attacks coming at you from all sides, you need to constantly be aware of your surroundings, otherwise you will have to sleep with the fishes, literally and figuratively.
Its world is also tantalizingly strange and mysterious, as silly as it is to treat something called The Shrimp Game that way, it's its salty hellscape that really got me. I want to know why this world exists the way it does. I want to understand why I have to pilot the shrimp.
When can I do this? Well, sometime in 2026, since it doesn't have a more specific release date, but you can Wishlist the game on Steam (and try the demo) now.
