Crossy Road Castle review

If you play games on your mobile phone, you might be familiar with Crossy Road, the endless arcade hopper created by developer Hipster Whale obviously inspired by Frogger. While that, inexplicably, hasn’t made its way to consoles, another game in the series has: Crossy Road Castle. A multiplayer-focused platforming game, it’s safe to say it’s taken me by surprise. If you’re after a fun, fast-placed platformer that you can play alone or with others, this is it.

Crossy Road Castle is a very simple game at its core. There’s no story to worry about here. And when it comes to gameplay, you can do little more than run and jump. But that simplicity is perhaps key to why it’s so much fun. With the platforming boiled down to just the basics, it’s accessible to all. With levels ramping up in difficulty as you progress, however, there’s a fiendish level of challenge that makes it rewarding for all, too.

You start out with just one castle unlocked in Crossy Road Castle. Playing alone or with others, upon entering this castle you’ll be met by a seemingly never-ending sequence of short platforming levels, getting ever-more trickier as you progress. Every 30 levels you’ll encounter a boss, too, and you’ll need to avoid its attacks until you can get in close and give it a bop. Ultimately, the question is how high can you get?

Playing in co-op really does help here, as if just one player makes it to the end of a level all of your precious lives remain in your possession. If all players meet their demise at the hands of an enemy or a hazard such as a spike pit, however, then a life is indeed lost. These can be replenished at the end of every tenth level, but at the cost of 100 gold. And that, along with tokens that you can also collect, are perhaps better spent on unlocking new characters and hats between runs. When all lives are lost and a run does come to an end, returning to a castle will find you starting at the first level again. But worry not: the levels here are randomised to an extent, so no two runs ever feel quite the same.

New castles can be unlocked by simply playing the game. Cumulatively complete 100 levels and you can choose another one to have some fun with. Each one has its very own theme, along with an assortment of unique enemies and obstacles to overcome. Some are much more challenging, too. Chances are you’ll soon find your favourites and enjoy jumping into those time and time again. You’ll want to play them all eventually though, if you want to unlock all playable characters and more.

If you want to play alone and switch things up a little, Crossy Road Castle has an unlockable Challenges mode, where you’re tasked with making it through 20 rooms as quickly as possible. Complete with online leaderboards, this can prove to be an arduous but rewarding endeavour, especially if you love jostling for the top spot. Along the way you’ll also be earning coins and tokens, and generally making progress with regards to the wealth of unlockables.

Crossy Road Castle is simple, then, but it’s also a heck of a lot of fun to play, especially with others by your side. You’ll cry with laughter as others meet their unfortunate demise, and celebrate as one when a particularly nasty boss has finally been overcome. And with so many castles, characters, hats and more to unlock, as well as randomised levels, it’s going to be a long time before you’ve grown tired of the experience.

This review of Crossy Road Castle is based on the PS5 version, with a code provided by the game’s publisher. It’s available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Switch.