Newgrounds has always been a
great source of fun and quirky indie games and animations. This large
site has continuously been putting out great content since 1995.
Other then all the user generated media, occasionally the founders of
this site release some great work – one these instances being the
game Castle Crashers. Developed by The Behemoth and release in 2008,
Castle Crashers is a 2D beat 'em up style game with a whole lot of
charm, epic moments and some great laughs.
The story is simplistic and
doesn't need to be anything more. The unnamed kingdom that our
colorful knights belong to are having a party when they are attacked.
We quickly learn that the four princesses were kidnapped and the
magical crystal has been stolen. It is the duty of our knights to
travel the land and retrieve all that was taken. As you progress
through the game you are introduced to numerous enemy factions, such
as barbarians, knights, wizards and much more. You also face off
against several monsters and odd creatures. While you won't find
complex lore and in depth character development, this game certainly
doesn't need it. It's the standard knight saving the princess story
and I think that anything further would've been out of place. A game
of this style shouldn't have the in depth story lines and mysteries
of an Elder Scrolls game or a Dark Souls game. That's not to say,
however, that there aren't numerous epic moments that make you feel
like a great hero.
Those amazing moments are
thanks to the incredible visuals and music. Everything is nice and
colorful and pleasing to look at. Enemies and characters are well
designed. Each faction has a different look and feel, wearing
different armor and wielding unique weapons. The environments are
well varied and each is bursting with detail. You are treated to
easily 10+ widely different areas though out this game and none of
them feel the same. You will certainly never get bored looking at
this game. The smooth animations make the game feel alive, though
there are a limited number of ways for your character to move. There
several awesome moments that take full use of the beautiful colors,
showing off the cool magic and scale of some of the towering foes you
face. However, it is easy to lose your character in the madness.
There is so much happening on screen, with no slow down – I should
add, that there were numerous times that I lost sight of my character
and had to take a moment to refocus on what I was doing.
The music wonderfully fits
every moment. It is epic and intense when it needs to be. It knows
how to be foreboding and dark when the mood requires it. Each scene
would not be as enjoyable if the music wasn't adding both awesome and
funny moods. All the sounds are also wonderful. The attack hitting
are satisfying and the magic sounds fit the overall mood the game was
going for.
The game also controls
extremely well. The inputs are responsive and the combos are easy to
learn and perform. I found myself using a lot of aerial attacks,
finding it easy to stun lock the massive crowds of opponents you will
face. You won't find anything as complex as fighting games or other
games in the genre, such as Devil May Cry, but the combos are still
satisfying and fun to perform. The main game play has you using these
skills during long levels where you will face off against hordes of
enemies before reaching a boss. You never really feel horribly
overwhelmed during these sections, though that could be the nature of
the co-op mode. This game can be played both in single player and
with up to four friends sharing a screen, hence the four different
color knights you can choose from at the start. Each knight controls
the same with minor variations in their magic. Each one adopts a
different school of magic, from poisonous gas to chilling ice. No
character feels lacking in the spell department.
The hordes of enemies are
all dealt with in the same fashion. You can find one of a few enemy
classes among the multiple hordes you'll be running into. You will
find simple melee fighters, magic uses, archers and beefy strong
boys. Some require different strategies, especially the beefy boys,
but you don't really need to adopt a different way of playing too
often. The bosses are were you will find the major variations. Each
boss behaves and attacks in different ways. Some will use brute force
to pummel you into the ground while others will have you dodging for
long sequences before you can find an opening. No boss is too
complicated to figure out the strategy against and you will certainly
not get bored progressing through the world.
You advance through each
level seamlessly during the main game. Unless your character dies or
you find an impassable pathway, you will move onto the next level the
moment you complete the section. There is a level select screen that
doubles as a map of the world. It really shows you the scale of this
world you are adventuring in when you see how far away certain areas
are from your little castle. During your time playing, you will also
be treated to a wide variety of weapons. Anything from swords to
spear to staffs to a literal slab of meat, you have a ton of choices.
Each weapon either requires a certain stat to wield or grants you a
boost in certain areas. The game, unfortunately, doesn't make it easy
to tell what the information is showing you. When you stand by the
weapon, a little menu will pop up showing you, what can be assumed to
be, strength, defense, and speed but nothing more. It's unfortunate
that the game doesn't make it easy to figure it out. However, this
fault does not take away from the overall enjoyment of this game.
This game is certainly
enjoyable. It's hard to find many complaints for this game. It's
epic, it's charming, it's funny and it's a blast to play. I certainly
recommend that anyone try it – though you should probably play with
at least one other player. I have never done a single play through of
it, but I feel that some level grinding would probably be involved
should you choose to play it on your own. And I do believe you should
choose to play it. My overall score for Castle Crashers is a 7/10. It
has a ton of replay value and is a great party game. The game is
available on pretty much every home console and PC. The game is
currently going for 14.99 on Steam, so you can expect to also pay
that amount elsewhere.
Thank you for reading this
short review of Castle Crashers. Have you played this game? Did you
enjoy it? Feel free to let me know in the comment sections and make
sure to subscribe to the blog to read more reviews and fictional
stories that I am working on. If you wanna watch my Let's Play, click
the Youtube link at the top of the page to be taken to my channel.
You can also find the link to the entire playlist here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP7I5Zz9Ehs&list=PLVgjHDCKtEx0XPxs9XU6smpJN3ma44B_p
Thanks again and as always,
Good Night and Joy be with you all.
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