The King Is Watching devs are making The Crab is Walking, this journalist is writing
Hypnohead’s new roguelite city-builder The Crab Is Walking tasks players with managing districts on a giant crab’s back and leading battles against wasteland insects.
Hypnohead, the studio behind The King Is Watching, has unveiled The Crab Is Walking, a roguelite city-builder where players arrange tetromino-shaped districts on the back of a colossal crab. The game alternates between city management and combat, sending out armies to fight wasteland insects. Unlike its predecessor, players do not need to keep their gaze fixed on the crab to prevent it from slacking off, simplifying the management loop.
The Crab Is Walking introduces a variety of playstyles through different Ride and Rider combinations, each offering unique strategic advantages. Players choose a Ride to found a settlement and a Rider to lead battles, with each pairing shaping the game’s approach. The developers emphasize experimenting with strengths and weaknesses to find the best fit for each run, though the exact mechanics of combat remain unclear.
Hypnohead has addressed why a sequel to The King Is Watching isn’t in development, stating they are still releasing new content for the original game. The studio plans to focus on gameplay variety in an upcoming update and has a large folder of ideas for expanding its central mechanic. They hint that future projects may draw from these concepts, including The Crab Is Walking.
The Crab Is Walking represents a creative and technical evolution for Hypnohead, allowing for more detailed pixel art and animations at a different resolution. The game introduces sophisticated unit behavior, combat statistics, and a polished interface. Playtests are scheduled to begin in 2027, though a release date has not yet been announced.