Review in short
There are many other fighting games on the Switch with better low vision accessibility. It’s a fun game for the novelty and creativity, and I look forward to a sequel that fixes some of the initial problems.
Score
4.7 out of 10Full review
Have you ever wanted to skewer a crustacean? Me too! Fight Crab is exactly what it sounds like, a fighter game where you’re a crab. You get to select a variety of weapons that range from “okay, sure, why not?” to “you’ve got to be kidding!”
About me and my play style: I have albinism. My visual acuity fluctuates between 20/100 and 20/500 depending on if I’m wearing contacts and how tired I am. I have color vision, but no depth perception. I also deal with eye strain if I have to focus too precisely for too long.
Visual Characteristics 5.5/10
(Contrast, Lighting, Tracking, Clutter)
Tracking and clutter pose significant challenges. Luckily, Fight Crab is a fairly typical button-masher, so the difficulty seeing precisely what is happening is not usually an impediment. The contrast and lighting are usually sufficient, though it would have been nice to be able to control these to our own tastes. To reduce the clutter, you can select simpler weapons that may be easier to see.
Accessibility Features 3.5/10
The options menu allows you to control music and effects volumes separately as well as turn on and off vibrations and motion controls. Additional options to control the lighting and contrast would have been welcome along with options to control font style and size. Controller remapping would be very helpful. The only control scheme that is supported is two joy-cons for each player, and the trigger buttons are mandatory.
There is an option to read through all of the in-game tips, which is a great feature. Unfortunately, the presentation of these tips really reduce their utility.
Difficulty and Assist Modes 7/10
There is a campaign mode that starts out with very simple levels. Each level has a “normal” and “hard” mode making it more friendly for new players.
Non Visual Cues 4/10
Fight Crab does not use many sound cues to indicate game elements, though I can think of several helpful potential applications. When your crab encounters a weapon, it can pick it up, and a sound could be used to indicate when a weapon is available.
Sounds could also be used to indicate when you are in the range of hitting the opponent. Rumble is used fairly effectively to indicate that you are under attack, but it would be nice to feel a light rumble when you are vulnerable so you can prevent the attack.
Text and Interface 3/10
The Fight Crab UI has a major problem with layers. Multiple layers of menus mean that it’s difficult to tell which menu you are on amid the clutter. Different fonts and text sizes add to this confusion. Additionally, the backgrounds are often busy, making the text less readable.
Controls and Depth Perception 5/10
The controls are not the most responsive, making it confusing to remember how to control your crab. I found I often couldn’t remember which button did what because there seemed to be such a lag that I couldn’t figure it out through trial and error. The effect made it a mindless button-masher. I enjoyed mashing buttons, but I certainly didn’t feel like I had mastered the game.
Recommendation for visual skills needed for enjoyment
If you’re down for some simple button-mashing, I’d say you could enjoy this game with about 20/600 vision, though you may need some assistance navigating the menus. The built-in zoom function may be sufficient, though.
Overall, I do not recommend Fight Crab. There are many other fighting games on the Switch with better low vision accessibility. It’s a fun game for the novelty and creativity, and I look forward to a sequel that fixes some of the initial problems.
A review copy of Fight Crab was provided by the developer / publisher.
