The Behemoth's Castle Crashers just came out last week on XBLA. It proceeded to crash in online play and managed to show us a few cool glitches in only the first 5 days of release. There's no lengthy cutscenes, the game's arguably broke in the worst way possible for a 4 player online co-op game, and boils down to pressing button combinations in eventually arbitrary sequence to pull off the same moves 2,564 times until you get to the end boss, at which point you're given a new character and asked, implicitly, to please play again.

It's not really that hard to describe Castle Crashers as a game that nobody should be interested in playing. So why the hell is everyone still coming back to the game and putting in hours at a time on it?

Castle Crashers does a lot of things that tap into a broad range of replayability factors. Whether you're addictive, compulsive, excitable or just plain love the assets, there are reason a plenty to jump back in and get your crash on.



Addiction

Straight out of the WoW playbook, you've got 99 levels that you can obtain through grinding out enemies and otherwise "questing". There are over 20 characters with just less than a dozen unique combinations of magic ability to level. 4 different stats to try out in different levels of mastery.

No, it doesn't really matter that you reach 99 or try every combination, but its quite rewarding. With those skill points, you can do what ever you want. The reward structure of continued play adds to the play experience, and eggs you on to play some more. People like becoming more powerful than they are, and for some, that's just enough to keep them coming back for more.



Visceral Satisfactions

*Crunch* *PlunkPlunkPlunk* *Zap* *Clang!*

There's no reason hearing, feeling and doing the same moves over and over again should feel this good. But sometimes, bashing a cut of steak against an Industrialist's head is So Damn Satisfying that is must be repeated.


Collectables!!!

You don't Gotta Catch'em All. But you want to. You really really want to. All the weapons, all the animal orbs, all the playable characters, and even the unimportant swag like the boomerang. You might go into a level for the sole purpose of JUST getting that little cardinal to pick up on something good, or to find that "X" that you KNOW has to have some treasure that you haven't picked up yet. Even if it doesn't really help you smash things better, some of it just looks completely bad ass. Isn't that good enough?




Aesthetics

Do you like pretty pictures? Who doesn't? The game's like the tastiest nectar in visual form. Watching and appreciating the crisp fluid characters do crisp fluid things is exciting, and nearly mind numbing.

Sweeping dramatic score AND smooth beats? Its got that too. As I'm sitting here writing this article, Red Knight is hanging out in Flowery Field doing absolutely nothing, just so I can listen to the ridiculously good track for the Wedding Crash sequence.


ZOMG SPOILERS?! STFUAJPThisDamnG.

Memorable Gameplay Moments

Speaking of the Wedding Crash sequence, its hands down my favorite part of the game, which is funny since I've replayed it the most in co-op due to sometimes frustrating server drops. The ride up to the cliff with the king and his men, the catapult entry, the cake drop and the reception table bash, the cannon boss fight, the dramatic chase of the Parade level. With the music, the visuals, and story elements and the action, it all adds up to one of the greatest game moments I've ever experienced.


Sharing the Experience

Though it helps to have a good game in the first place, some things are just more fun with friends (or even strangers). Castle Crashers plays with this and provides experiences that separate the same level and bosses into unique endeavors for solo and co-op player. Can you really "tank" a boss, and let your agility heavy friend wail on him? What happens when you have three escape pods and four knights? Is that guy going to revive everyone or is he REALLY going to just leave everybody dead just so he can kiss the princess? That wild card factor brings me back in, just to see what will happen this time (if the servers don't drop us).

Over the past few days of playing Castle Crashers, I can firmly state that I'm hooked. This could easily be an ad for Castle Crashers in itself. But honestly, I've felt each of these replay reasons as at least twice since I've started playing the game when it dropped at 4am on Wednesday morning.



I've felt a little sheepish about the addiction, since my wife noticed that I'd put so many hours on the game. I've sat there putting in hours of the game with Randombullseye, squeezing every bit of co-op goodness from in between heart wrenching server drops. And today, I've Wedding Crashed again, just to re-live the moment, though I happened to gain 2 levels on Gray Knight. Hmm, where to put those new points . . .



And I get the feeling I'm not alone on this one! Friend tracking and leaderboards tell me that people are coming back to this game constantly. Level 40+ Knights don't grow on trees. Who else has found themselves replaying Castle Crashers? What's bringing you back?