Castle Crashers Remastered Gets A Release Date on Switch; PS4 Version To Follow

Castle Crashers Remastered, the classic side-scrolling beat-'em-up from developer The Behemoth, is launching on September 17 for Nintendo Switch. A PlayStation 4 version is set to follow shortly after, but no specific date has been announced yet.

The Switch and PS4 version will be similar to the remastered edition that made its way to the Xbox One back in 2015, which is, of course, an upgraded version of the Xbox 360's original 2008 release. It will contain the Back Off Barbarian mini-game, all previously released DLC, and various gameplay improvements and performance updates, such as 60 frames per second gameplay and improved textures. The Switch version also utilizes the system's HD Rumble feature and four-player local Joy-Con support.

The original Castle Crashers was one of the first games to establish Xbox Live as a viable marketplace for indie games and smaller-scale projects. As for why it's coming to Switch and PS4 11 years after launching on the 360, The Behemoth co-founder Dan Paladin says it mostly boils down to game preservation. "With Alien Hominid not being ported often, we’ve seen it slowly become unavailable in most places," he said in a recent blog post. "When we make games we want them to stick around. Taking advantage of the updated hardware of each generation is also very satisfying. Higher resolutions, higher framerates, chances to make tweaks, and better overall quality. Our debut title (Alien Hominid) was available on both Gameboy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube."

GameSpot's review praised the original game, saying, "The main storyline offers hours of bad-guy beating and princess-rescuing fun that it is sure to please. The ability to play with friends should make the experience richer, even if it is limited to a more local experience. As a testament to its entertainment, feature losses and some disappointing online play hardly slow this juggernaut of amusement down. This is an absurdly hilarious romp you won't soon forget."

Castle Crashers is launching on September 17 for Nintendo Switch, with a PS4 version to follow.