Amidst all of the recent news about Wilkes homecoming, I can only imagine that a great many of you are hoping for something different. Allow me to relay yet another experience for you to immerse yourself. This week, I shine the spotlight on a lesser known title.

Let’s take to the castles!

Despite its age, “Castle Crashers” remains a beloved game among players. It is a game where “four brave champions” set out to retrieve a stolen magical item and save the King’s daughters. A person can band together with three others in order to progress the campaign and beat up the enemies, which range from the classic thieves to humanoid bears and yellow aliens. Not to mention, there are a variety of items, pets and a special super-sandwich powerup that drive further the comical theme.

The first thing to love about this game is the low learning curve. There is almost no skill required to enjoy the game, which is what makes it great for anyone that just wants a good time. The mechanics involve jumping, moving right and left, using light and heavy attacks, casting magic spells and occasionally spamming arrows so your opponents can’t stand up.

Any of these mechanics can be sequenced randomly or combined to produce more effective results against the enemy. A person can just mash buttons on their controller and still perform well. This system, which is intentionally simplified, is common in games like “Castle Crashers.” The genre is known as “Beat Em-Ups,” where the objective is, you guessed it, to beat the enemies up.

In fact, “Castle Crashers” enables players to beat up one enemy for potentially an infinite amount of time even after their health is depleted. This occurs when you mash aerial combos against the edge of the screen with an opponent in your reach. Nobody quite knows why the developers chose to leave this in the game. Perhaps they enjoyed beating their enemy to a pulp as much as the rest of us.

The reason “Castle Crashers” stands out is because of its character and weapon system. There are seven starter knights, as well as unlockables to total thirty-one playable characters. Each character has unique magic, such as fire, lightning, poison and ice (my favorite of course), while the rest of their mechanics are universal.

It’s important to note that different types of magic work better with certain weapons. Each weapon has unique stats that pertain to the four main attributes: strength, magic, defense and agility, which can be upgraded as characters progress and earn XP. Each playable character’s progression is unique, so players are inclined to use them equally.

There are also pets, called Animal Orbs, that give players support in combat, health, defense, magic and even looting. All of these elements of character building allows players to find their unique touch to the game.

A special game mode, “Arena,” adds to the party experience of Castle Crashers. Players and their friends can enter the doors of the arena and battle each other to the death, all while earning gold and XP for use in the campaign. This is a great place to practice new combat skills, and an even better place to destroy your friends.

“Castle Crashers” offers the perfect comedic vibe that people look forward to when playing with their friends and family. The gags and small details alone make it a great experience. The soundtrack of this game is highly recognizable and very catchy. Did you know that “Jumper” is not originally from “Geometry Dash?” The song was originally composed by Waterflame for a level in “Castle Crashers.”

As mentioned before, “Castle Crashers” is a fairly old game, as it was published in 2008 by small developers under the name “Behemoth.” A remastered edition of the game, which features multiplayer and co-op, was released for consoles including Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

This version of the game was essentially the “completed” form of the original title. Even now, this game is a topic of discussion among professionals. The current world record speedrun of this game was achieved only two months ago by a player named Cream, who dethroned a four-year record by just under one minute.