

It is reminiscent of a bygone era in gaming where a video game did not entitle its players to an ending simply for having purchased it. Each uses a combination of shooting, jumping, and parrying to complete with the opportunity to mix and max different types of shots and other skills.Ĭuphead is a difficult game. There are single-screen boss fights, traditional run and gun platforming stages, and aerial combat stages. The run and gun gameplay is straightforward with three variations. It can be overcome with persistence, a keen eye, and quick fingers. But, it is no less fair than the titular Cupdead’s deal with The Devil. It has been lauded as one of the hardest in recent times. There are many rewards and secrets to unlock and discover for committing to this game. Every stage has a unique flavor and feel to it that will keep up an appetite for pushing through challenges to discover more. They must deliver a knockout to a flurry of unique and colorful bosses in unique and colorful backgrounds. But, it is the intense shoot ‘em up gameplay that sinks hours into the game.Ĭuphead and Mugman have to fight their way across a quaint little town, a menacing carnival, and an urban downtown center. This is what helps Cuphead stand out from any of its contemporaries. The characters were all drawn to look classic but went through hundreds of iterations in total before finding their final appearances. The music was composed as though it were the era it emulates. The care put into every detail was so meticulous, the development was prolonged far beyond its initially anticipated timeline. Every aspect of it is a masterclass in design that should inspire a new generation of game designers to come, as well as help current gamers appreciate the art of the other games they love even more deeply.Ĭuphead’s success is not an accident. This game has a special and unique value to it that warrants an attempt by every person who appreciates the art of video games.

Perhaps on the next return, a new boss might be defeated. Rather, the purpose is to be enthralled by its look, sound, and feel, and come back to it again and again. The point of the game is not to become a master of it. All the while, not every player should expect to complete it. Do not be deterred entirely from Cuphead on account of these inflammatory opinions.Įvery lover of video games who has the financial means should attempt to play Cuphead. The game is certainly challenging and unlike anything published in recent memory. However, this sentiment is somewhat sensational, often designed to draw attention to the individual, not the game. Many an article and Youtube video can be found detailing personal accounts of players who could not best the first level of the game or who gave up after spending several fraught hours on the first of the game’s worlds. Many more original assets are so well made that they cannot help but be mistaken for callbacks to the original cartoons they take influence from.Ī widespread opinion on Cuphead is that it is an excruciatingly difficult game. Others are direct homages to the characters, dialogue, and settings of Fleischer and Disney themselves. Some are as straightforward as the rhythmic movement of the characters. The entire game is filled with references to the creator’s favorite cartoonists and studios. After seven years of development and more than three years since its formal debut, StudioMDHR’s first published game is a feat of gaming. It styles itself from animation to tone to music after the cartoons of the 1930’s the Moldenhauer’s loved as children. Cuphead has been compared to the likes of 1987’s Contra in terms of its gameplay, co-op mode, and high difficulty level. Cuphead and Mugman must dawn some deadly magic powers and collect the souls of all The Devil’s debtors across the Inkwell Isles to pay their own debt.īorn from the loving labor of two brothers, Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, nothing quite like it has existed before. They get a bit too confident in The Devil’s casino and bust their streak, resulting in a debt of servitude to pay off the deal they made. Cuphead and his pal Mugman are two plucky kids who get themselves into a bit of a pickle with The Devil himself. That is the deal with the devil one makes to play the most original, beautiful, dastardly game of 2017. A steep price for some, chump change for others. Cuphead is easily the most intriguing and unique game of 2017, but, what makes it so special and why should everyone be playing it no matter how hard they hear it is?
