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Castle Crashers

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9.5 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 49 critic reviews
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Based on 81 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: The Behemoth

Developer: The Behemoth

Genre(s): Action, Beat-'Em-Up

Players: 4

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: August 27, 2008

Summary

[Xbox Live Arcade] Hack, slash, and smash your way to victory in this red-hot arcade adventure from the award-winning development studio, The Behemoth. Featuring hand-drawn characters, Castle Crashers delivers unique hi-res illustrated visuals. Play with up to three friends locally or over Xbox Live and discover the mind-boggling magic and mystery in the amazing world created just for you. Save your princess, defend your kingdom, and crash some castles! Play with more than 20 unlockable characters, 40 weapons to customize your hero, and an arsenal of combos and magical attacks to choose from. [The Behemoth]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Talk Xbox

The Behemoth has made one of the best games on Xbox Live Arcade, and it's a 2D beat 'em up that feels fresh from an early '90s arcade.

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GameZone

When you play this game with a room of other people, and you find yourself laughing at all the gags and references to old games, you’ll be in love with this XBLA treasure.

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MEGamers

The game is beautifully done and manages to run on wide screen with no slow downs.

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Gaming Age

It truly feels like a throwback to classic arcade brawlers in both play and design, and Castle Crashers is a fantastic inclusion for anyone's XBLA library.

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BigPond GameArena

It’s one of the must have original titles on the Xbox Live Arcade – go and get it.

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My Gamer

Overall, Castle Crashers is not only in my opinion, a game that stands up well with the classic greats it’s paying tribute to, but an excellent game that, at 15 bucks, deserves a space in every 360 gamer’s library, despite it’s (small) flaws (that will be fixed soon!).

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WonderwallWeb

A great swan song for the Summer Live releases, don’t be put off by the faulty online modes as it should be fixed soon, and anyway the single player is worth your points alone.

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Team Xbox

Regardless of how many join your fight, you’ll find Castle Crashers a content-packed offering, brimming with replayability, buoyed by unlockable characters and just-one-more-level addiction. Plan on crashing plenty castles before the holiday rush.

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GamePro

An excellent all-around game.

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AtomicGamer

Castle Crashers is a seemingly steep 1200 points ($15) on Xbox Live Arcade and it's one of those games that's a chore to get working with online play, but overall the game's still well worth your cash.

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Destructoid

Castle Crashers remains one of the best beat-'em-ups ever created and certainly one of the top games on XBLA to date.

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IGN

Castle Crashers takes the best elements of traditional side-scrolling beat-em-ups and adds lots of flair.

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GameDaily

Classic beat-em-up bliss, backed by a wonderful upgrade system, several new characters and weapons (like Alien Hominid bashing people's heads in with a lollipop) and memorable gameplay.

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Gaming Target

Despite the serious online issues, Castle Crashers is pure light-hearted fun that is accessible to everyone.

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Thunderbolt

Thankfully, we have games like Castle Crashers to remind us how fun simplicity used to be. The beat 'em up gameplay and unique presentation go a long way, and for lack of a better explanation, the game is just damn fun.

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GameFocus

The game’s difficulty will frustrate you at times but if you are looking for a game to play with friends, it’s hard to not recommend Castle Crashers. The length of the game is perfect for an Arcade title and the customization of characters also gives the game a lot more depth. It is unfortunate that problems exist online, but considering this game can still be enjoyed with up to four people on one console, you’re still getting your MS points worth.

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Planet Xbox 360

Castle Crashers is a fantastic addition to XBLA, and a must-have for your collection. There are few games on the service that can match the depth here, and those that come close do not offer Live co-op.

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Gamer 2.0

While Castle Crashers may have been the victim of some unfortunate online issues that hurt the game's great co-op potential for now, Behemoth seems committed to making sure these issues are fixed and put to rest as soon as they can get a patch out to the public.

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GameSpot

Castle Crashers is a classic side-scrolling beat-'em-up infused with cartoon visuals and absurd humor, and the result is a highly amusing romp.

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Official Xbox Magazine

Every inch of the hand-drawn kingdom is brimming with endearing eccentricity. [Oct 2008, p.76]

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PALGN

A benchmark in downloadable content, even with all of its launch issues around online multiplayer.

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MS Xbox World

Castle Crashers, even with the faults it currently has is quite possibly still the best Xbox LIVE Arcade game available.

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PTGamers

Castle Crashers is a frequently hilarious old school action game, with nice longevity and an excellent four player co-op mode.

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NZGamer

If you want a co-operative multiplayer game that will keep you hooked for hours, this is the one for you.

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Meristation

The makers of Alien Hominid once again have taken a genre and have given it some fresh elements to create a game that feels unique and special. Four players on the screen, a plot that involves heroes and the rescue of various princesses, and a lot of funny moments are the ingredients of one of the best available games in the Xbox Live marketplace. If you are like us and you love the classic Beat’Em ups, you should really check out Castle Crashers.

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Worth Playing

If you've never liked side-scrolling brawlers in the vein of Golden Axe and Double Dragon, then feel free to move on because the neat little additions and charming art style of Castle Crashers will do nothing to win you over. If your eyes fill with tears of nostalgia at their very mention, though, then don't be put off by the price of 1,200 MS points because it's worth every penny if you have the friends with whom to enjoy it.

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Game Revolution

Castle Crashers really is the great co-op experience that you were hoping it would be, but because it's just so consistently fun to play and look at, it holds up as a single-player experience as well.

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3DJuegos

Castle Crashers takes such a tradicional genre like the Hack and Slash, and manages to turn it into a fresh and delightful experience thanks to its great sense of humour and lovely treatment. The best part is the steady pace of the action and the possibility of playing it in team mode. It's a fabulous game.

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1UP

Castle Crashers is at its best when you've got a handful of buddies playing in the same room (four total, in this case). Taking on the campaign without companions is still sharply amusing (and completely recommended if you don't anticipate playing with friends), but the shared joy of taking in the hilarious set pieces and eliminating giant swimming felines dulls the repetition that comes naturally with beat-em-ups.

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Eurogamer

It's a big, bright and bold dollop of irreverent fun, and it could have been truly phenomenal with a little more attention to the finer details. As it is, it's brushing against greatness but falls frustratingly short of its true potential.

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Gamer.nl

Stretch your fingers and invite three friends if you want to play Castle Crashers, because the game is literally a multiplayer button-bashing frenzy. The gameplay offers not much more than pressing the buttons as quickly as possible, but the humor and the fun of wreaking havoc with three friends makes the game worth the buy.

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Console Monster

Strong sound effects and some great background music make Castle Crashers a great game to turn up the speakers for, despite no audio within the story mode.

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Giant Bomb

The only things really holding Castle Crashers back are some unfortunate technical problems, but they're not enough to entirely suppress the game's gleeful abandon for both hacking and slashing.

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Gamervision

Castle Crashers reaches for the stars and actually manages to grab hold, but immediately stutters, lags, freezes, and drops out of the sky.

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Console Gameworld

Castle Crashers is a great XBLA title that nobody should miss out on.

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Official Xbox Magazine UK

Gloriously imaginative and heaps of fun. [Nov 2008, p.100]

X360 Magazine UK

It's essentially "Golden Axe" for the 'more pixels, more joy' age. [Issue#38, p.115]

GameTrailers

The gameplay is addictive and the self-referential material is charming. It also manages to hit the sweet spot between accessibility and depth that we expect from top shelf downloadable games.

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Cheat Code Central

Castle Crashers is a great title for those who are looking for a quick romp through a magical world full of off-color humor. The controls are straightforward, the simple cartoon visuals are great, the music is perfect, and the combat is fun.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

It's a fine line between "retro" and "rehash," and while Castle Crashers coughs up a few neat ideas, its freshest element is its art.

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Game Positive

If you have the capacity to overlook its technical issues and have a group of friends who like the genre, the game could be worth a download. However, until a patch arrives, the game cannot be wholeheartedly recommended.

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Gameplanet

If you're a fan of Live Arcade games and you've got some MS Points burning a whole in your virtual pocket, then this should definitely be part of your collection. If you're a bit more picky about what you play though, try out the demo first.

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Totally360

Overall, it's a good quality title that does indeed deserve at least a look at the demo.

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Hardcore Gamer Magazine

The problem is that. at press time, Castle Crashers is as glitchy as it gets. [Fall 2008, p.54]

games(TM)

With friends is by far the best way to enjoy the game. [Nov 2008, p.111]

Edge Magazine

If you were that kid who was pulled away from the TMNT cabinets by an angry mum, who couldn’t wait for Golden Axe to appear on a home console, and who played Streets Of Rage 2 over and over, Castle Crashers is for you. [Nov 2008, p.103]

Games Master UK

Four-player joy, but lone gamers will find something missing. [Dec 2008, p.84]

Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

The grind-heavy mechanics may be for online obsessives, but solo players shouldn't bother. [Dec 2008, p.103]

Video Game Talk

Castle Crashers is an entertaining brawler, but the replay value is chopped into little frustrating bits by a horrifically painful online experience.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 81 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Marcus L gave it a9:
Remember back the 1990's when we had awesome games like Streets of Rage or Golden Axe? Well, The Behemoth have decided to revive the genre with Castle Crashers. And only one word can express how I feel about the game; amazing. You play as one of four characters, each with their own special powers, but there are other characters to unlock. The controls are very fluid and responsive. It sounds like brainless button bashing, but it's like in Sonic Unleashed. There is more than meets the eye. As your character upgrades, you get more button combinations. The game's soundtrack is really good. It reminds me of 300 for it's epicness. The game's multiplayer is, however, very good if you have the right people, like all online games. One downside is the price. This is too little game for 1200 points. 800 points would be a perfect price for this game. All in all, Castle Crashers is one of The Behemoth's best games. It's fluid, funny and violent. Think a cartoony 300, and you've got it. It's THAT good!

Jake gave it a10:
Fantastic artwork, addicting and has alot of replayability, Castle Crashers is by far the one of the greatest games on the XBLA and will remain active in my Library of games for a long while. Behemoth has taken a step up from Alien Hominid with this masterpiece!

Heber S gave it a9:
THIS GAME IS FREAKIN' AWESOME 1 point off because in local multiplayer you have to have local profiles for every player. STUPID. That means if you start a new game with different character you start over. Should just let us level every one up as we go. Other than that, I LOVE this game. Highly addictive, fantastic humor, great graphics, and my girlfriend can play it. Download the demo and you'll be hooked. 9 out of 10 only because of the profiles issue.

Max R. gave it a10:
Castle Crashers is an awesome game, only made better by the fact that it's made for multiplayer. Get a few friends, and let the action roll out. The only problem I have is that it's short, but that's okay once you unlock insane mode.

Zachary B. gave it a10:
A truly Brilliant game featuring multiple references to newgrounds material, as well as many user created submissions (such as music and art). Overall it is a superb game for both people who love side scrollers or RPG's. The only trouble i seem to have is with the slightly confusing Weapon Upgrade system (it feels a bit ackward trying to find out what truly is an upgrade). As for the supposed networking issues, i have yet to face them. Overall a very excellent game in both graphics and gameplay.

Nicolas W. gave it a10:
A truly vivid experience!, me and my friends loved this game so much, my friend made a comic about it! Thank you behemoth!

John B gave it a7:
Very fun for about 2 weeks, after it becomes a good party game.

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Castle Crashers

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