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Unlocking Characters

By ScotPublished Updated Sources checked

Tactical Quick Answer

The game has 32 playable characters. You start with the four basic knights, plus Pink Knight and Blacksmith if you play a Remastered console version. Most characters unlock by beating the campaign with a specific knight, which chains into the next character on that branch, or by clearing an Arena in Solo Story mode. A few come only from Insane Mode, and premium characters unlock differently on every platform.

Castle Crashers has 32 playable characters. Steam's store page still advertises "more than 25," which is marketing copy from an older roster and not the current count.

You unlock most characters by beating the game with specific knights or by completing Arenas.

The Starting Knights​

The game gives you four main choices right away.

  • Red Knight: Uses lightning magic. Great for locking down enemies with his continuous shock attack.
  • Blue Knight: Uses ice magic. Freezes enemies solid, giving you time to reposition or attack safely.
  • Green Knight: Uses poison magic. Deals damage over time, which wears down tough enemies.
  • Orange Knight: Uses fire magic. Good range and area damage.

The Progression Tree​

Beating the game with a character unlocks the next one along its branch. Every branch is two links deep, so the character you unlock also has something to give you.

Starting-knight branches:

  • Beat the game with the Red Knight to unlock the Skeleton, then with the Skeleton to unlock the Bear.
  • Beat the game with the Blue Knight to unlock the Industrialist, then with the Industrialist to unlock the Fencer.
  • Beat the game with the Green Knight to unlock the Royal Guard, then with the Royal Guard to unlock the Saracen.
  • Beat the game with the Orange Knight to unlock the Fire Demon, then with the Fire Demon to unlock the Ninja.

The Arena and boss unlocks below are also branch starts, the half of the tree players most often miss:

  • Beat the game with the Gray Knight to unlock Stoveface. (The Gray Knight itself comes from defeating the Barbarian Boss, not from a chain.)
  • Beat the game with the Barbarian to unlock the Killer Beekeeper.
  • Beat the game with the Thief to unlock Snakey.
  • Beat the game with the Peasant to unlock the Civilian.
  • Beat the game with the Iceskimo to unlock the Brute.

Arena Unlocks​

You unlock these characters by clearing all ten waves of an Arena in a Solo Story game.

  • Beat the King's Arena to unlock the Barbarian.
  • Beat the Thieves' Arena to unlock the Thief.
  • Beat the Volcano Arena to unlock the Conehead.
  • Beat the Peasant Arena to unlock the Peasant.
  • Beat the Icy Arena to unlock the Iceskimo.

Insane Mode​

Four characters unlock by beating specific levels on Insane Mode, which opens after you beat the game once:

  • Catfish unlocks the Open-Faced Gray Knight.
  • Pipistrello's Cave unlocks the King.
  • Industrial Castle unlocks the Necromancer.
  • Ice Castle unlocks the Cult Minion.

This applies on PS3, Steam, Xbox One, PS4, and Switch. The Xbox 360 version is the exception: it sells these characters as the King Pack and Necromantic Pack DLC instead.

DLC and Version-Specific Unlocks​

Premium character availability varies by platform more than any other part of this game, and PC is consistently the odd one out.

Pink Knight and Blacksmith:

  • Xbox 360: the Pink Knight Pack was free, while the Blacksmith Pack cost $1.99.
  • PS3: both were paid DLC ($1.99 each).
  • PC and Steam: both are still separate $0.99 DLC purchases today, even after the Remastered update.
  • Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PS5: both are starting characters in the base game.

That last distinction matters. The Remastered update reached PC without bundling these two characters, so a Remastered install on PC still requires both purchases.

Hatty Hattington has four platform-dependent unlock methods, more than any other character:

  • Xbox 360: earn at least one achievement in BattleBlock Theater. Owning it is not enough.
  • PC and Steam: own both Castle Crashers and BattleBlock Theater on the same account.
  • PS3: buy the Can't Stop Crying Pack DLC ($1.99).
  • Xbox One, PS4, and Switch: buy him in the Insane Store for 1,200 gold.

BattleBlock Theater did release only on Xbox 360, Windows, Mac, and Linux, so PlayStation players never had the cross-game route. That is context, not the mechanism, since the Insane Store option also covers Xbox One.

Frequently Asked Questions​

How many playable characters does Castle Crashers have?

32. Steam's store page still says more than 25, which is older marketing copy and not the current roster count.

How do you unlock the Ninja in Castle Crashers?

Beat the game with the Orange Knight to unlock the Fire Demon, then beat the game again with the Fire Demon to unlock the Ninja.

How do you unlock Hatty Hattington?

It depends entirely on your platform. On Xbox 360 you must earn at least one achievement in BattleBlock Theater. On PC and Steam you need both games on the same account. On PS3 he comes from the Can't Stop Crying Pack DLC. On Xbox One, PS4, and Switch you buy him in the Insane Store for 1,200 gold.

Are the Pink Knight and Blacksmith still paid DLC?

On PC and Steam, yes: both remain separate $0.99 purchases even after the Remastered update. They are starting characters only on Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PS5. The Pink Knight Pack was originally free on Xbox 360 and paid on PS3.

Which characters come from the Arena?

Clear all ten waves of an Arena in a Solo Story game. The King's Arena gives the Barbarian, the Thieves' Arena the Thief, the Volcano Arena the Conehead, the Peasant Arena the Peasant, and the Icy Arena the Iceskimo.

How do you unlock the Necromancer and the King?

Both come from Insane Mode. Beating Industrial Castle unlocks the Necromancer and beating Pipistrello's Cave unlocks the King. Catfish gives the Open-Faced Gray Knight and Ice Castle gives the Cult Minion.

What magic do the four starting knights use?

The Red Knight uses lightning, the Blue Knight uses ice, the Green Knight uses poison, and the Orange Knight uses fire. On Remastered consoles you also start with the Pink Knight and the Blacksmith.