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Castle Crashers Review

by Chris Holmes August 30th 2008 1:03 PM CDT1 Comments

The Behemoth is always name-checked when listing indie developers, even though they’ve only delivered two commercial games: Alien Hominid, and an updated HD version of it on the XBLA. Despite this, their latest project, Castle Crashers has been receiving a lot of hype. The way the developer has approached their design has grabbed the headlines, and the way they update old classics to this new genre-hungry age has connected with people.

Castle Crashers, then, is a side-scrolling beat-em-up/action game, and is a perfect fit for the XBLA. The side-scrolling works exactly as it does in yesteryear, with you going from left to right, being forced to clear a screen of enemies in order to progress to the next screen and so on (this Subspace Emissary from Smash Bros.).

However, Castle Crashers does a few things different, such as its item system for selecting potions. Also, the levelling up mechanic is simple yet effective, allowing you to improve your character’s agility, strength, defense, and magic. Spending points in these areas genuinely does change how you approach the myriad battles, and is a well implemented mechanic.


There is a large amount of things to unlock and find in this game, with an array of characters being unlockable through fighting a large amount of enemies in an arena, whilst others for simply completing levels or bosses. Weapons are also collectable, with a very healthy supply to be found whilst progressing through the game. Disappointingly though, despite all these characters and weapons, not many of them have different animations from other characters or instruments of destruction. In essence, they are palette swaps with different status effects, and this is a bit of a letdown given the amount of different things to collect.

The game's story is not exactly cutting-edge (think Mario-Peach-Bowser and you've figured it out), but it keeps the gameplay moving, giving it a real energetic pace as you dart from one level to the next. The length of the game is surprisingly long for an XBLA game as well, and could take you up to around 12 hours to complete.

From a graphical and design standpoint, the game is a colourful treat for eyes which more accustomed to dark browns and greys. Levels really distinguish themselves with a nice array of environments, and everything is in a personal hand-drawn style, making the whole experience feel fluid and cartoony. The music also fits in well with this, even though it’s a bit repetitive and out of place with some of the levels (electronic in a desert, really?), but on the whole the presentation is a key element to the game’s success.


From a multiplayer standpoint, there is both local and Xbox Live modes included. The Live stuff features all the usual XBLA stuff like leaderboards, but for the first time on the service, it has a 4 player co-op mechanic, as well as a minigame to battle it out in and an arena to have full on fisticuffs. At the moment the netcode is a bit flawed and it might be very picky about whom you play with, but once you get going, it’s a magical experience.

Despite Castle Crasher’s many great parts, there’s this nagging feeling that it could’ve been so much more. If the hit detection was a bit more lenient, or if the different characters could all do something different or there were more items to assist you and different mixes on the old style of gameplay, it could’ve been a "Buy or Die" title. Also, some technical glitches such as Live connection problems and corrupted saves can ruin the experience for people, which is a big oversight by The Behemoth.

As it stands I still loved Castle Crashers. It was fun, crazy, colourful and different, and a tremendous end to the Summer of Arcade promotion. The bar has been raised again, but not by as much as it could’ve been.