+ Art & visual style; endearing & aesthetically pleasing, to say the least
+ Melee combos are fun & easy to implement; there are additional combos unlocked throughout play
+ Magic complements melee combat &, as with the former, more spells are unlocked through play
+ Audio design & soundtrack is absolutely spectacular
+ Classic side-scroller mechanics; makes for a very nostalgic feel, while bearing the refinement of a newer title
+ Myriad unlockable characters, each of which feel unique in terms of play-style
+ Positively addictive gameplay, further enriched by the addition of friends
+ Makes use of some run-of-the-mill RPG elements, such as leveling and basic stat increases
+ Each level feels unique & entertaining in its own way
+ Multiplayer is the true meat of the game, & every aspect is enhance with a full party of friends
+ High replayability, due to sheer number of unlockables, & the entertaining nature of the content
+ Fun & interesting boss battles, each is just a bit unique in comparison to the last

- Noticeable lag in multiplayer, on several occasions; was not able to remedy or work around this for the most part


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The best part of Castle Crashers is exploring the world - there are tons of levels that look and play completely differently. Though it can be done, single-player assaults are more frustrating and less enjoyable than teaming up with other people. The biggest issue in trying to take on levels solo is that multiple enemies can assault you with ranged attacks, making it difficult to even stand up before being knocked down again. Animal orbs are probably my favorite thing in Castle Crashers because they're just so damn cute.

PRESENTATION:

The story is straightforward and the game is easy to pick up and play.

GRAPHICS:

Everything is beautifully drawn and animated.

SOUND:

The digital, techno tunes are upbeat and perfect background music for raising hell.

GAMEPLAY:

Classic side-scrolling brawler gameplay mixed up with fun boosts and magic makes for a great time with friends. Slightly busted multiplayer is a downer though.

LASTING APPEAL:

The campaign is short, but there are multiple characters to unlock, lots of weapons and animals to unlock and 99 levels to max out, making it a game you can spend some serious time with.


Two other negatives:

The game is not worth the high price. Buy it on sale instead.
It can be rather repetetive.

6/10

This game is what I would call a classic of the modern gaming era. It's not exactly new, but it still manages to keep a certain freshness to it, which is actually quite impressive.

When I say "classic", I mean a game that is a sort of important pillar to gaming in general. Now, I wouldn't say that it changed the whole industry per say, but I still consider this one to be a game that is part of my childhood to an extend. Many can possibly relate to that thought, I'd wager.

Now, what exactly is Castle Crashers? Well, to resume the whole experience in a single sentence, it's basically a "smash right through the enemies, save the princesses and defeat the evil king". Sounds simple, doesn't it? That's no surprise; because this game is simple.

The true experience truly comes to life when you bring a friend or two along the ride. As most multiplayer games, having someone to play with you really is a must to enjoy the full adventure. Honestly, playing through this game alone is kind of boring, and considering that the designs of the levels highly support multiplayer, trying to go through the game alone can prove to be a chore. Then again, I did play and finish it alone the first time, but when I replayed it with a few folks, my overall opinion changed drastically.

This game is huge. Don't let the tiny sixteen bucks tell you otherwise; it's probably one of the biggest adventures I've seen for a Smash 'em up. The adventure itself isn't much to speak about, my friends and I started from the beginning and finished after around four sessions of one hour each. What makes this thing so huge is the unlockable content. There are a ton of them, such as characters, pets, weapons, levels, and even a secret difficulty. You'll be grinding and repeating the same levels many times to find rare items and weapons if completion matters to you.

I'd like to speak about the difficulty, since I feel like difficulty is something that matters for many players and buyers. The game in itself isn't harshly hard. Most bosses have simple patterns, the level designs can be either fair or sometimes overwhelming, and the overall product will not make you frustrated to the point of screaming. Of course, I won't say that it is an easy game either; sometimes it feels like the game throws so much at you, I find it almost unfair. Without spoiling too much, the final boss in particular has a lot of annoying patterns that can drag for a while, especially if alone.
Upon finishing the game, you will have the option of changing to an even harder difficulty. I will warn you : It is cheap. Enemies are insanely powerful, and quite frankly, it's not fun. If that sounds appealing to you, then go ahead and try it. I, for one, will stay away and advices you to do so as well.

The game has two primary mechanics : Physical attacks and Magical moves. Physical attacks are, as the name says, attacks with weapons. The damage that you will do to enemies is generated by how much points to give to your Physical stats. Magical moves are attacks composed of magic. Giving points to this stat will not only grow your magical abilities and make them more powerful, it will also make the range and overall usefulness much more adaptable.

The best idea would be to try to make a balanced knight, since enemies later on will either be extremely resistant to Physical attacks or highly resistant to Magic. You always need to have an alternative, or else it becomes truly bothersome.


I believe that I mentioned every aspects worth mentioning. This game is great, and while not a masterpiece by any means, it should prove itself quite worthy of your purchase. Do not forget to try and ask a few friends if they wish to play along!

I was on the fence about this one because of the art style, and it looked like a kids game. I ended up picking it up on a Steam sale for my son, who wanted it. To my surprise this game is a blast. You pick one of four knights each with a special ability. Fire, Poison, Electricity, Ice, you get the idea. The powers give you a special attack that does significant damage, as well as decides the color of your knight. The game supports full controller, local co-op, online co-op, and local plus online co-op. This is the way it should be. Local co-op, and split screen belong on PC! The game features three modes, campaign, versus, and a jumping mini game (not my cup of tea, but some may like jumping). The campaign mode is where it's at. You, and up to three friends button mash your way to victory against the evil horde to save the princesses. The combat gives you some options aside from hack n slash, like your special power, bow, bomb, and a few simple combos. The music is great, they did a nice job on the tracks for this game. The monster design is comical, and slicing the heads off little minions is fun. The game will run on almost any PC (Not your Commodore 64, but anything from 2010 and up should be fine). If you've been passing on this one, give it a try at the next sale.


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I was gifted this game by my boyfriend and so far it's been pretty entertaining.
I didn't like the medusa boss, she moved very awkwardly and it was just kind of an annoying one to beat. Also, the pillars in the Sand biome, when you're going through the castle get in your way during battle. That was the most annoying part considering my boyfriend had to revive me without seeing the meter and i couldn't see my enemies majority of the time.

I really like the wide range of weapons/pets & am hoping for armour to be added later.
If you wanna get money really quickly I suggest beating the barbarian boss over and over (you get a load of gems and coins) or if you want exp one hit kills are pretty sweet if you wanna do it quickly (like the scorpions and in the sand biome, the barbarians before the boss and the alien minions on the space craft).

Overall the game is about an 8/10 just because of those couple of annoying features and the fact that I've had to grind like a lil ♥♥♥♥♥ for hours to get high enough levels to progress.
I'm not yet done but am really enjoying it so far.