Video sourced from the GAMEAY YouTube channel © Foggy Studio
When I saw the screenshots for Broken Shell, my first thought was SpongeBob SquarePants—though don’t get me wrong, they are completely different types of works.
It’s probably just because they both feature ocean and crab elements, that’s probably why I made that connection.
As for Broken Shell itself, it’s a cozy, adorable adventure puzzle game centered around themes of “love” and “ocean conservation.”
Used under fair use for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.
The demo only has one chapter (or perhaps part of the first chapter) with a runtime of around 15 minutes.
The game is entirely dialogue-free, telling its story completely through visual animations and environmental details, which actually turns out to be its biggest highlight.
It’s currently listed on Steam and available to add to your wishlist, though a specific release date hasn’t been announced yet.
What is Broken Shell about?
With the limited content in the demo, it’s hard to piece together the full story, but combining the official description with what’s in the demo, you can pretty much piece together the framework:
Mr. and Mrs. Hermit Crab get captured by humans (right at the end of the demo), losing their home and getting torn apart from each other.
To find one another again, they need to traverse an underwater world shaped by both nature and humanity, going through various adventures to finally reunite.
Visual Art Style
The visual presentation is easily what drew me to Broken Shell the most.
While I don’t have a professional art background and can’t give you any academic definitions, the overall color palette is just so soothing, giving off the cozy vibe of a children’s picture book.
If they ever published this as a physical children’s book, I’d probably buy a copy.
The game nails the details of the underwater world, too.
In the background, you have rolling underwater mountain ranges with tiny floating particles in the water that add a real sense of depth.
The midground features coral constantly bubbling, kelp swaying gently back and forth with the current, and all sorts of cute fish swimming around, and it just feels alive down there.
Even the occasional foreground obstructions—despite being cartoony—build a great sense of spatial realism.
The interactive details are fun as well; coral hides little creatures like shrimp and sea urchins, and clicking on them triggers a reaction.
Our two little protagonists, the hermit crabs, are just insanely cute. With their big round eyes and anthropomorphic animations, they fit right into the environmental setup and feel extra heartwarming.
Shortly after the game starts, as you walk across that bridge, the camera slowly pulls back and a massive humpback whale glides right through the frame. The visual impact was huge, and I definitely let out a little “whoa” in my head.
Since it’s an eco-theme, human footprints are naturally everywhere.
Scattered across the ocean floor are shoes, plastic bags, toxic liquids, beverage bottles, and various mechanical pipelines.
Even without a single line of dialogue, this visual contrast is more powerful than any words, and you instantly get what the devs are going for.
The creature design is also quite imaginative. Aside from schools of jellyfish, there’s a wide and unique variety of swimming fish, some even blending cat and dog features, and I was pleasantly surprised to spot a little yellow dragon!
All of this comes together to build a vibrant, lively underwater world — and seeing all that trash scattered through it just makes the contrast hit that much harder.
Toss in some light jazz background music, and the whole experience is both deeply relaxing and thought-provoking.
How It Feels to Play
The controls in Broken Shell are dead simple. Everything can be done entirely with mouse clicks or drags—moving your character, interacting with the environment, picking up and using items, and so on.
Aside from the standout visuals, the game tosses in some light puzzle-solving elements. There are zero hints provided, meaning players have to carefully observe their surroundings and hunt for interaction points on their own.
In the demo, there’s a puzzle where you have to free the hermit crab partner trapped in a cage, and it genuinely took me a minute to figure out how to open it.
There’s an inventory system used to pick up items, which automatically tucks itself away when not in use.
On top of that, there’s a pet trophy collection system—you can find a black cat named Mario in the demo, and you can expect similar collectibles in the adventures ahead.
During the playthrough, you can also stumble upon some message-in-a-bottle items and concept sketches. The notes inside the bottles feature short messages or thoughts complete with signatures, which makes me guess they might be left behind by the core dev team.
Other than that, there’s hardly any extra UI clutter, making the whole experience feel less like playing a game and more like taking part in an animated short film.
I didn’t run into any bugs during the trial, though when opening the notes inside the bottles, the close button is tucked away in the bottom-left corner, which felt a bit awkward—probably a design choice made to accommodate mobile devices later on.
You Kind of Have to See It
While I’ve tried my best to describe the visuals in writing, text can only convey so much. The impact of the art style is something you really have to experience firsthand.
If this kind of cozy, slow-paced narrative style is your cup of tea, Broken Shell might just be right up your alley.
Note: This article is based on the demo version, and the content of the full version may vary.
About the Author
