Review: Crossy Road Castle (Nintendo Switch)
Crossy Road Castle is a multiplayer platformer for the Nintendo Switch. It takes the blocky Crossy Road animals we know and love and thrusts them into bite-sized levels of manic running and jumping. It’s fast, it’s crazy, and, yes, it’s also super fun.
If you’re not familiar with the original Crossy Road, it’s an arcade game featuring a chicken and duck who must cross a busy road à la Frogger. The goal is to reach the highest score by surviving as long as possible, each step forward earning you a point. Crossy Road Castle takes these cute characters and issues them a new challenge: surviving a castle of 100 rooms, taking on traps and boss fights along the way.
This side-scrolling take on the series begins simply enough. Each room is small, taking up just one screen of space. It’s perfect for fast-paced action. Your goal is to make it from the left side of the room – where you enter through a door – to the exit on the right. Between you and your goal are all manner of devices meant to stop you, including enemies, spikes, moving platforms, conveyor belts, rainbow slide-like objects, elevators, and much more. The variety is seemingly endless.
Although the levels aren’t randomly generated, they are randomly dolled out to you, so each run feels slightly different. You will recognize some layouts along the way, but this familiarity is welcome as you gain confidence with each run. Every 30 rooms completed presents you with a boss encounter, typically in the form of a giant bird of some sort. You’ll need to hit this giant feathery foe three times to beat it. These challenging matches provide a break to the platforming with unique set ups that vary depending on which tower you’re in. I particularly liked the car-driving robo-bird in the construction tower.
One of the best aspects of this game is its multiplayer capabilities. Up to four players can join the fray locally or online, and both options work well. It’s easy to connect with an online session, grouping you with three other players from around the world. I had no issues with this mode, teaming up with randoms and working together through some tough platforming.
I love that playing together is not a competitive experience. Crossy Road Castle is a more cooperative outing, with your team sharing hearts, coins, and gems. Only one member needs to reach the exit, so as long as one survives, you will all move to the next room. This amounts to cheers for the sole survivor of a particularly tough level. It’s a nice bonding moment.
Another highlight of Crossy Road Castle is the sheer number of items to collect. Firstly, there are multiple towers to unlock, each with a unique theme. The traps, enemies, and boss fights vary in each tower, too, providing plenty of replayability. It genuinely feels like a lot has been packed in, which helps explain the $19.95 price tag. At first glance, I considered this too high for what I assumed was a simple outing. Having now spent a lot of time with the game, it’s a justifiable amount.
In terms of characters, this outing expands well beyond the traditional chicken and duck. You can trade 50 purple gems (collected during runs) for other random animals, including a cat, dog, and pig. They all sport the same cute, blocky style. They even make adorable noises while you’re playing.
In fact, the entire presentation sports this same endearing aesthetic. Everything is bright and colorful with little details to enjoy. For example, castle walls feature pictures of various animals being cute. Some enemies look like little cars and make beeping sounds. They’re almost too adorable to jump on. But hey, they give you two coins if you do.
Oh, and did someone say hats? Yes, you can adorn your critter with headgear while you play, unlocked by spending 100 coins. These come via a gumball machine, and just add to that lovely aesthetic. If you want even more cuteness, you can also send your teammates a quick animal-based emoji to express feelings of joy or shock based on the current level.
Overall, Crossy Road Castle is a chaotic, fun, and challenging platformer experience. Throw in online play, countless collectibles, and varied levels, and this is an easy title to recommend for families or anyone looking for multiplayer madness. Jumping in for a quick round is addictive; getting to level 100 is hard.
