I froze as my Darwin flailed on the beach, two Evolutions away from a clutch win and the game handed me a choice that felt unfair. You can feel the same cold quicken your chest when a run’s fate turns on a single pick. I’ll show you what each Evolution does, why it matters, and how to bend those odds in your favor.
I play and parse Everything is Crab builds more than I should, and I cross-checked the current build against Moyens I/O’s screenshots and Steam player reports on Reddit to make this a single reference you’ll actually use. What follows is a hands-on map of every Evolution, the affinities that steer them, and the run-time tricks that matter when the map crushes you or carries you home.
On my desk sits a spreadsheet with 121 rows — one for each Evolution. All Evolutions in Everything is Crab
There are 121 Evolutions in this build, and each one rewrites Darwin’s behavior mid-run. Think of Evolutions as a Swiss Army knife for your crab: one pick might add a tiny tool that wins the fight, another might be a bulky attachment that ruins your speed. Below you’ll find the full roster, their in-game effects, affinities, level caps, and type. Use the tables to diagnose what your run needs, not to chase perfection.
Common
| Name | Effects | Affinities | Levels | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agile | Increases DodgeReduces Attack Penalty | Trickster | 5 | Passive |
| Antlers | Causes self-damage but deals high Physical damage | Imposing | 5 | Attack |
| Beak | Raises Feeding SpeedDeals Ability Damage at range | PreyTrickster | 5 | Attack |
| Carapace | Raises Damage ResistanceGrants Plating | ImposingPrey | 3 | Passive |
| Chonky | Raises Size and Physical | Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| Claws | Deals quick Physical Damage | Predator | 5 | Attack |
| Cortex | Increases Ability | Trickster | 5 | Passive |
| Dexterous | Reduces cooldownsRaises Ability | PredatorTrickster | 5 | Passive |
| Elusive | Reduces sizeIncreases dodge | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Fur | Raises Damage Resistance and Cold Adaptation | N/A | 3 | Passive |
| Jaws | Deals Physical DamageIncreased Physical Damage to stunned enemies | Predator | 5 | Attack |
| More Eyes | Increases dodge and Senses | GregariousPrey | 5 | Passive |
| More Mass | Increases Max HP, Physical, and Size | Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| Muscular Tissue | Increases Physical | Predator | 5 | Passive |
| Pincer | Deals Ability Damage | CarcinisationTrickster | 5 | Attack |
| Plated | Raises Plating | Imposing | 5 | Passive |
| Reach | Raises the range of attacks | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Regenerative Tissue | Raises regeneration | Imposing | 5 | Passive |
| Saliva | Raises feeding speed and regeneration | PredatorPrey | 5 | Passive |
| Scales | Raises Damage Resistance and Heat Adaptation | N/A | 3 | Passive |
| Slide | Dash over a long distance | PreyTrickster | 3 | Movement |
| Spit | Deals low Ability Damage at range | Trickster | 5 | Attack |
| Stomach | Raises feeding speed | ImposingPrey | 5 | Passive |
| Tail | Increases Ability and Social | Gregarious | 5 | Passive |
Rare
| Name | Effects | Affinities | Levels | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antennae | Raises Senses and Social | CarcinisationGregarious | 5 | Passive |
| Body Slam | Deals Physical Damage at close rangeDamage scales with Max HP | Imposing | 5 | Attack |
| Carnivore | Raises the progress you gain from eating meatReduces Prey affinity | Predator | 5 | Passive |
| Cheek Pouch | Stores Food, which can be eaten passively | GregariousTrickster | 3 | Passive |
| Constriction | Temporarily stuns nearby enemies and deals Physical Damage over time | Trickster | 5 | Ultimate |
| Detachable Tail | Leave a fake trail when damaged by an enemy | PreyTrickster | 3 | Passive |
| Exoskeleton | Raises Damage Resistance and Social | CarcinisationGregarious | 3 | Passive |
| Forager | Raises the frequency of Food drops being turned into Health FoodRaises Poison Resistance | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Fungoid | Generates Mushrooms around you | Prey | 5 | Passive |
| Herbivore | Raises Vegetation ProgressReduces Predator Affinity | Prey | 5 | Passive |
| Horns | Lands a Headbutt that does Physical Damage and bypasses Plating | Imposing | 5 | Attack |
| Leap | Jump over enemies and obstacles and avoid all damage in the process. | Predator | 3 | Movement |
| Leech | Deals short-range attacks that deal Ability Damage and drain HP | Trickster | 5 | Attack |
| Nomadic | Gain Progress when you discover a Place of Interest | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Omnivore | Raises Food Progress | N/A | 5 | Passive |
| Pack | Raises attack based on the number of charmed animals | Gregarious | 3 | Passive |
| Piscivore | Raises Fish Food Progress | NA | 5 | Passive |
| Poisonous Saliva | Apply poison to the Beak, Jaws, and Spit Attack | Trickster | 1 | Passive |
| Poisonous Spores | Inflict Poison on nearby enemies upon hit | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Prehensile Tail | Raises Feeding Distance | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Revenge | Raises Physical and Ability temporarily when damaged | ImposingPredator | 3 | Passive |
| Scavenger | Grant extra progress on food from animas that you haven’t killed | GregariousPrey | 5 | Passive |
| Shell | Raises Damage Resistance | CarcinisationImposing | 3 | Passive |
| Smol | Raises SpeedReduces Size and Imposing Affinity | Prey | 5 | Rare |
| Spines | Reflects back a percentage of the damage upon contact | Imposing | 5 | Passive |
| Sprint | Raises Speed | Predator | 3 | Movement |
| Spur | Deals low Physical Damage that’s triggered automatically after a basic attack | Predator | 5 | Attack |
| Stoner | Performs a ranged attack that uses Stone Ammo and deals a lot of damage | Trickster | 5 | Attack |
| Subcutaneous Fat | Raises Cold and Heat AdapatationRaises Max HP | Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| Synapse | Reduces all cooldowns | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Tail Wag | Make attempts to charm nearby animals once every five seconds | Gregarious | 5 | Passive |
| Toe Beans | Social attack with a chance to charm a nearby animal | Gregarious | 5 | Attack |
| Turtle Down | Gain a temporary shield | Imposing | 3 | Movement |
| Whining | Tries to charm nearby animals after taking damage | Gregarious | 3 | Passive |
Epic
| Name | Effects | Abilities | Levels | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courting | Charms nearest enemy | Gregarious | 3 | Ultimate |
| Diurnal | Raises all damage dealt during the dayReduces all damage dealt during the night | N/A | 3 | Passive |
| Hollow Bones | Raises SpeedReduces Damage Resistance | Prey | 5 | Passive |
| Impervious | Take half of the damage immediately, and the other half after a secondRaises Max HP | Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| More Legs | Raises Speed | Carcinisation | 3 | Passive |
| Nocturnal | Deal more damage during the nightRaises Senses | N/A | 3 | Passive |
| Outlier | Get a random Legendary EvolutionRaises the chance of Legendary-only Evolutions | N/A | 1 | Passive |
| Overwhelm | Deal additional damage based on active Plating | Imposing | 3 | Passive |
| Pistol Pincer | Deal massive damage based on the higher Physical/Ability Damage valuePush the target | CarcinisationTrickster | 3 | Ultimate |
| Sharpen | Raises the damage of attacks based on Predator Affinity levels | Predator | 3 | Ultimate |
| Slow Metabolism | Reduces SpeedReduces the progress requirement to evolve | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Stinger | Deal Physical Damage and Poison that deals Ability Damage over five seconds | Trickster | 5 | Attack |
| Vegan | Raises Vegetation Progress, but you can’t have meat or fishReduces Predator Affinity | N/A | 3 | Passive |
Legendary and Branching
| Name | Effects | Affinities | Levels | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | Raises Gregarious AffinityRaises Max HP, Size, and Social | GregariousImposing | 3 | Passive |
| Arms | Raises Ability, Physical, and Feeding distance | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Legs | Raises your Speed | PredatorPrey | 3 | Passive |
| Pollinator | Raises the Vegetation Rate when you find a Point of InterestGain a random bonus after you discover four Points of Interest | Gregarious | 3 | Passive |
| Robust | Max HP scales with Size | Imposing | 1 | Passive |
| Ruminant | Gain Progress based on Prey Affinity | Prey | 3 | Passive |
| Shifty | Negative size modifiers raise Dodge | PreyTrickster | 3 | Movement |
| Slithery | Raises Terrain Adaptation and Speed | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Tentacles | Raises your speed and abilityUnlocks arm-based Evolutions at Level 3 | Trickster | 3 | Passive |
| Wings | Raises Terrain Adaptation and Speed | PredatorPrey | 3 | Passive |
How do you obtain Evolutions in Everything is Crab?
If you’ve played any runs on Steam or watched clips on Twitch, you know progress comes from eating. Each food intake pushes Darwin toward a level milestone. When Darwin levels, you choose between three Evolution options; the first time you get an Evolution it becomes available outside the run for future level-ups to show. Some Evolutions have prerequisites — that’s why the order you pick matters.
Unlocked Evolutions appear more often during runs, so early choices shape the pool you’ll see later. If you want greedy RNG manipulation, pair this knowledge with Genetics choices before the run starts (Steam guides and subreddit threads track the spicy Genetics options right now).
On my clipboard is a list of player questions that keep repeating. How do Evolutions, Affinities, and Genetics interact?
Affinities (Predator, Prey, Imposing, Gregarious, Trickster, Carcinisation) tilt which Evolutions you see and how certain passives scale. If Affinities were weather, they’d change what you bring: single-target damage, survivability, or social tools that charm animals. That weather metaphor is intentional — it helps decide whether you should chase raw power or a utility build that outlasts fights.
What do Affinities do in Everything is Crab?
Affinities increase gains in their category and open synergies. Predator stacks buff physical offense and interaction with Predator-scaling Evolutions like Sharpen. Prey favors speed and evasion, making Micro-mobility picks like Slide and Smol more useful. Gregarious gives social tools — charm and pack mechanics — and Carcinisation ties into body-based Evolutions like Pincer and Arms. Genetics add pre-run boosts (think Steam guide lists and Moyens I/O coverage for recommended combos).
Which Evolutions should you aim for on Predator or Prey builds?
For Predator: prioritize Muscular Tissue, Jaws, Sharpen, and Spines for aggressive sustain and burst; add Dexterous or Synapse for cooldown control if you want constant pressure. For Prey: focus on Smol, Slide, Hollow Bones, and Elusive to kite and avoid hits; Pair with Shifty or More Legs if you want straight speed. Always scan the three-option pick and value synergies more than raw numbers.
If you want to research specific picks, cross-reference the tables above with Steam community guides and Moyens I/O write-ups — both have active threads testing Level caps and behavior in the latest build.
Games like Everything is Crab pivot on small decisions; a single Evolution can feel like a cliff or a ladder. Will you prioritize power or options, and does the community’s current meta on Steam deserve your trust — or should you break it apart to find a new path?