16 Best Games Like Castle Crashers But For PC (Microsoft Windows)

1. Streets of Rage 4

Streets of Rage 4 modernizes the classic beat 'em up formula while maintaining everything that makes the genre great. Like Castle Crashers, this is a side-scrolling brawler built for cooperative play, featuring gorgeously hand-drawn animation that rivals Castle Crashers' distinctive art style.

The combat system offers satisfying depth with juggle combos, special moves, and team-up attacks that reward coordinated play between friends. Each of the game's characters feels distinctly different, encouraging multiple playthroughs, much like experimenting with Castle Crashers' various knights. The progression includes unlockables and multiple difficulty modes to keep you coming back.

What really connects it to Castle Crashers is the pick-up-and-play accessibility combined with surprising depth. Whether you're casually button-mashing through levels or mastering frame-perfect combos, Streets of Rage 4 delivers that same rewarding combat flow.

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

Shredder's Revenge is pure nostalgic bliss wrapped in modern game design, delivering exactly the kind of cooperative beat 'em up action that Castle Crashers fans crave. With support for up to 6 players locally or online, it actually exceeds Castle Crashers' 4-player maximum for even more chaotic fun.

The game features a light leveling system where you unlock new moves and abilities as you progress, echoing Castle Crashers' RPG elements. Each of the seven playable characters has unique stats and special moves, encouraging experimentation and replay value. The combat is fluid and satisfying, with excellent hitboxes and responsive controls.

Like Castle Crashers, it perfectly balances nostalgia with modern conveniences such as online multiplayer, quality-of-life features, and gorgeous pixel art that honors the franchise while feeling fresh. It's a love letter to classic arcade brawlers with the polish and replayability of contemporary indie hits.

3. River City Girls 2

River City Girls 2 expands everything that made the original great, delivering a massive beat 'em up RPG experience that rivals Castle Crashers in content and charm. The game features extensive character progression, purchasable moves, recruitable allies, and an interconnected world that encourages exploration between brawls.

Combat is incredibly satisfying with a deep combo system, weapon variety, and special moves that feel impactful. Like Castle Crashers, it perfectly blends humor with action. The writing is sharp, the characters are memorable, and the game never takes itself too seriously. The six playable characters each offer distinct playstyles and movesets.

The local and online co-op is seamless, and the game's leveling system provides that same "one more level" addiction. With hidden items, side quests, and multiple endings, it offers tremendous replay value for fans of Castle Crashers' progression hooks.

4. River City Girls

The original River City Girls established the modern formula for beat 'em ups with RPG elements, making it a natural fit for Castle Crashers fans. You'll level up your characters, purchase new moves from dojos, recruit defeated bosses as assists, and explore an interconnected city between combat encounters.

What makes it special is the attitude and personality, much like Castle Crashers' quirky humor, River City Girls is bursting with charm through its anime-inspired cutscenes, fantastic voice acting, and infectious soundtrack. The 2-player co-op is where it truly comes alive, with both characters sharing the same progression and unlocks.

The combat system rewards experimentation with weapons, combos, and special moves. While slightly smaller in scope than the sequel, it's a tighter, more focused experience that delivers pure beat 'em up satisfaction from start to finish.

5. Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara

This compilation of Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara represents some of the finest arcade beat 'em ups ever made, with deep RPG systems that directly inspired games like Castle Crashers. You'll select from multiple character classes (Fighter, Cleric, Dwarf, Elf, Magic User, and Thief), each with completely unique abilities and playstyles.

The branching paths, equipment systems, and magic spells create remarkable depth for arcade games. Like Castle Crashers, there's a strong emphasis on cooperative strategy: clerics heal, magic users cast devastating spells, and fighters tank damage. The loot system and character progression mirror Castle Crashers' RPG hooks perfectly.

The 4-player online and local co-op in this HD remaster makes these classics more accessible than ever. For Castle Crashers fans interested in the genre's history, this is essential playing, you'll see where many of the game's ideas originated.

6. Full Metal Furies

Full Metal Furies takes the Castle Crashers formula and adds strategic depth through its color-coded combat system and tank/DPS/support class structure. This is a 4-player cooperative brawler that demands teamwork: certain enemies can only be damaged by specific character colors, forcing coordination between players.

Like Castle Crashers, it features extensive character progression with skill trees, equipment loadouts, and stat customization. The game's structure mirrors Castle Crashers with its level-based progression, boss battles, and unlockable content. Combat is fluid and satisfying, mixing melee and ranged attacks with area-of-effect abilities.

What sets it apart is the surprising narrative depth and puzzle elements woven into the brawling action. It's perfect for Castle Crashers fans seeking something familiar yet mechanically distinct, especially those who enjoy the strategic aspects of character building and team composition.

7. Cuphead

Like Castle Crashers, this is a game built for 2-player local co-op, where coordination and communication lead to victory. You'll unlock new weapons and special abilities as you progress, creating light character customization similar to Castle Crashers' weapon system. The difficulty is significantly higher, rewarding pattern recognition and precise execution.

What connects it most to Castle Crashers is the personality and charm, both games ooze style and refuse to take themselves seriously despite their mechanical depth. The boss battles are memorable spectacles, the soundtrack is phenomenal, and the sense of accomplishment after conquering difficult encounters rivals Castle Crashers' most satisfying moments. Perfect for fans seeking a more skill-focused challenge with that same cooperative spirit.

8. Streets of Rage 2

The iconic 16-bit classic that defined the beat 'em up genre, Streets of Rage 2 laid the groundwork for games like Castle Crashers decades before. This is pure, distilled side-scrolling brawler action with four distinct characters, each offering completely different movesets and playstyles.

While it lacks RPG progression, the combat depth is remarkable: juggles, throws, special moves, and weapon pickups create a surprisingly nuanced fighting system. The 2-player co-op remains incredibly satisfying, and modern ports often include online play. Like Castle Crashers, it's perfectly paced with varied environments and memorable boss battles.

For Castle Crashers fans curious about the genre's roots, Streets of Rage 2 is essential. You'll recognize countless influences, such as the combo system, the cooperative design, the power-up weapons, all refined to perfection in this timeless classic.

9. Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate delivers anime-styled beat 'em up action with a robust RPG progression system that Castle Crashers fans will immediately recognize. You'll level up characters, unlock new skills, and customize your build through multiple playthroughs.

The game features fast-paced combat with fighting game mechanics like air combos, special cancels, and character-specific move lists. The 4-player co-op supports both local and online play, and the difficulty scales appropriately for solo or group play. Each character plays distinctly different, encouraging experimentation.

Like Castle Crashers, it has a quirky sense of humor and doesn't take itself too seriously despite the depth of its systems. The pixel art is gorgeous, the soundtrack is energetic, and the gameplay loop of leveling up and unlocking new abilities creates that same addictive progression.

10. BattleBlock Theater

From the same developers as Castle Crashers, BattleBlock Theater shifts from beat 'em up to cooperative platformer, but retains The Behemoth's signature humor, art style, and chaotic multiplayer mayhem. If you loved Castle Crashers' quirky personality and couch co-op shenanigans, this is essential.

The game features hundreds of levels designed around 2-player cooperation, creative boss battles, and unlockable characters with different stats. While the core gameplay focuses on platforming rather than combat, the competitive arena modes deliver satisfying PvP brawls. The progression system includes collectibles, unlockables, and time trials.

The humor and presentation are pure Castle Crashers DNA: the same absurd cutscenes, the same charming art style, and the same joy of playing with friends. It's different enough to feel fresh but familiar enough to feel like coming home.

11. Nine Parchments

Nine Parchments transforms the Castle Crashers formula into a top-down magical twin-stick shooter, replacing swords with spells while maintaining the cooperative chaos. This is a 4-player co-op adventure where friendly fire is always on, creating the same hilarious mayhem that defined Castle Crashers' multiplayer.

The progression system includes character leveling, unlockable wizards (each with unique spell combinations), and skill tree customization. Combat is about managing your spell loadout, coordinating with teammates, and frantically dodging both enemy attacks and your allies' errant fireballs. The challenge escalates significantly in higher difficulties.

Like Castle Crashers, it excels at creating memorable co-op moments: accidentally nuking your friend, barely surviving boss encounters, and laughing through the chaos. The gorgeous visuals and smooth gameplay make it perfect for fans seeking a magical spin on the formula.

12. Pit People

Another title from The Behemoth, Pit People is a turn-based strategy game that completely departs from Castle Crashers' genre while maintaining its humor, art style, and cooperative spirit. The game features 2-player local co-op throughout the entire campaign, a rarity in strategy games.

You'll build a team of fighters, customize their loadouts, and engage in hex-based tactical combat. While drastically different in gameplay, it shares Castle Crashers' love of unlockable content, character variety, and progression systems. The signature Behemoth humor is intact with narration by Will Stamper and absurd cutscenes.

It's perfect for Castle Crashers fans looking for something completely different yet familiar in tone. The cooperative campaign and competitive arena modes provide diverse multiplayer options, and the strategic depth offers a fresh challenge for The Behemoth veterans.

13. Knights of Braveland

Knights of Braveland is a turn-based strategy RPG that trades Castle Crashers' real-time action for tactical combat, but maintains the medieval fantasy setting and party-based progression. You'll build an army of unique units, each with distinct abilities and upgrade paths.

Like Castle Crashers, it features character progression through three connected campaigns, each with a different protagonist and army composition. The game's structure, moving from battle to battle, collecting loot, and upgrading your forces, echoes Castle Crashers' level-to-level progression. The difficulty curve rewards strategic thinking and party optimization.

For Castle Crashers fans who enjoy the RPG elements and character building more than pure action, this provides a deeper, more thoughtful experience. The fantasy setting, humor, and gradual power growth will feel comfortably familiar.

14. Trine

Trine is a physics-based puzzle platformer with 3-player co-op that shares Castle Crashers' emphasis on cooperative gameplay and character variety. You'll switch between a knight, wizard, and thief. Each with unique abilities required to solve environmental puzzles and combat challenges.

While more puzzle-focused than combat-heavy, the cooperative design creates memorable moments similar to Castle Crashers. The wizard's ability to create platforms, the thief's grappling hook, and the knight's combat prowess must work in harmony. The game features RPG-lite progression through skill point allocation and equipment collection.

The gorgeous art style and fantasy setting appeal to the same audience that loved Castle Crashers' visual charm. For fans seeking cooperative adventure with less emphasis on combat and more on creative problem-solving, Trine offers a beautiful alternative.

15. Rayman Legends

Rayman Legends delivers 4-player cooperative platforming with the same accessible, chaotic fun that defined Castle Crashers' multiplayer. While platformer-focused rather than combat-centric, it shares the same philosophy: friends playing together, beautiful art design, and gameplay that's easy to learn but challenging to master.

The game features hundreds of levels, daily challenges, and unlockable content that provide extensive replay value. The musical rhythm levels are legendary, creating memorable cooperative moments. Like Castle Crashers, it excels at pick-up-and-play accessibility while offering depth for dedicated players chasing perfection.

The vibrant art style, smooth animations, and joyful tone make it perfect for Castle Crashers fans seeking family-friendly cooperative fun. It's less about progression and more about pure moment-to-moment gameplay excellence.

16. Rayman Origins

The predecessor to Legends, Rayman Origins revitalized the franchise with gorgeous hand-drawn animation and 4-player local co-op. Like Castle Crashers, it's built around friends playing together in the same room, creating chaos and laughter through both cooperation and interference.

The gameplay is pure cooperative platforming with combat elements: slapping enemies, using unique abilities, and racing through beautifully designed levels. While it lacks RPG progression, the steady unlock of new abilities and areas provides a satisfying sense of advancement. The game rewards exploration with hidden collectibles and secret areas.

For Castle Crashers fans, this represents a shift from combat to platforming while maintaining that essential couch co-op spirit. The artistic presentation and fluid gameplay make it an easy recommendation for anyone who values style and cooperative fun.