Cuphead

Cuphead mixes the classic feel of the 30's with platforming brilliantly.

On September 29, 2017, a small, indie game developing company Studio MDHR released "Cuphead", a widely loved shmup/platformer that was not only a love letter to fans of classic early cartoons of the 1930's, but also a throwback to the insanely difficult side-scrolling games of the '80s and '90s, such as "Contra" and "Astyanax".

I love "Cuphead", absolutely love it - it's not just my favorite video game of this decade this far, but one of my favorite all-time video games, period. I bought it for Easter this year on the Nintendo Switch and I've played it to death ever since. I'm absolutely in love with it.

The game is undoubtedly a masterpiece of not just video gaming, but also animation - it is an absolute delight, from its stunning hand-drawn visuals and beautiful watercolor backgrounds that feel right out of an early Disney animation, to its catchy and upbeat jazz scores that accompany the levels that become more intense as the levels themselves get increasingly difficult, to its difficulty that encourages you to continue and try harder rather than just give up.

If you like classic side-scrolling platformer/fighting games, buy this game. You won't be disappointed.

Seeing the first trailer for Cuphead, I immediately swooned. The marriage between that animation and a videogame was something that seemed impossible. It was a big moment of "how did no one think of this before?" With it being an Xbox release and not having the confidence to try and play this on PC, it seemed like I wouldn't get the chance to ever give Cuphead a shot. The PS4 edition was a big surprise and despite the warnings, I picked it up and battled my way through. Was it worth the wait? I think it depends on the type of gamer you are. I'll be covering the pros and cons below.

Visually and acoustically, Cuphead absolutely lives up to hype. This game is so unlike any other big release on the market. Not only is it unique but its got all the polish and there's little out of place. The animation is exciting and well designed throughout. Cuphead feels authentic to the cartoons of yesteryear its paying tribute to and if I hadn't watched so much material on it ahead of time, this game would have floored me. I also really enjoyed the music and all of the work with the sound. The score is very orchestral but there's jazz influence and each fight brings some new catchy beat that's going to have your toes tapping while you're screaming at your TV or computer monitor. I also want to credit the gameplay (I'm going to talk about the difficulty later) for also having a different flavour. The game is mostly boss fights with a few platforming levels sprinkled in and I think there was a considerable effort into making each one memorable. Is every level equally stunning or fun? Absolutely not but I remember each fight and something that made that one different.

Part of the aura surrounding Cuphead is the reports of how difficult it is. Go on the internet, there are many videos of let's play gamers screaming, crying and yelling. I thought it couldn't be that bad.... Could it? I was full of hubris to think I could do better. This game is RIDICULOUSLY HARD, I spent hours trying to beat each boss. Not just 20-30 minutes, 2-3 HOURS at a time for the more difficult ones. There is so little margin for error and no breaks when playing Cuphead. Reviewers reassured gamers that the feeling when beating a boss made up for all the anguish, it wasn't that way for me. I became so desensitized to failing that after I beat one, I sighed and moved on to the next. Kahl's Robot took 3 different sessions just for me to beat it and the Run & Gun levels weren't any easier. The difficulty isn't fun and it goes beyond any normal expectations for a "difficult" experience. Between the time invested, the frustration, the repetition and the anguish, I was miserable most of the time I was playing this game.

This is one of my shorter reviews and that's reflective of the kind of experience I had with this game. Was there plenty of stuff I loved? Definitely, it's an ambitious product with style to burn that both critics and more tolerant gamers have showered with adoration. But I didn't truly enjoy any moment playing this game past the opening credits/prologue. I respect this game and its creators; they should be praised. But I will never play this game again, its too difficult to recommend and it wasn't worth the time I invested in it to beat it. I'm not trying to whine or go on about my experience, if you look at the stats, they reaffirm my take. On average 10 PERCENT of people who played this game actually finished it. That statistic tells the story of how TRULY accessible this game is and if you loved this game when you finished it, I tip my hat to you. I've rated it based upon both the pros and cons and arrived in the middle. Don't be like me and just assume you're just going to fly through this game. Buy it if you're interested in a REAL CHALLENGE, if you're more of a casual gamer, watch a let's play and have a few laughs instead.

Cuphead has been a massive long time coming But, finally arrived for XBox One and The PC I'm not going to over sell this game to anyone It is absolutely a amazing accomplishment in where gaming has gone since the days of the seedy arcades and Atari 2600 But, It does have a elephant size negative against it

Graphics Flawless there is nothing and i mean nothing like this that's been out there (Besides the handful of Laserdisc arcade title from the 80's) More games need to be like this it's pure Art in motion The animation is a sight to see Audio: much like the art style is frozen in the 1930's this too is a sight to hear The art style and audio presentation make this game feel old but, at the same time it's also refreshing and new The Story is better then i would've ever guessed Not even going to spoil it while it's nothing life changing it's very slick and works for this time period it's set in The only real negative (The difficulty is over the top brutal) If you have young kids save your money buy Raymen, Yooka-Laylee, or even Ori and The Blind Forest This game will make any kid cry...... or break a expensive controller The game is too "hard" I'm not sure why the developers didn't even add a difficulty option I've played some brutal games growing up but, this is on a whole new level of being hard for the sake of being hard This is going to turn a lot of gamers off and if you plan on going all in (pick up a glass make a swear jar) you'll going to need the money in the jar after you break your controller from anger or just the massive abuse the controller takes) No matter what if and when you finish the game you're controller will be bruised and beaten much like you

If you want a relentless challenge you'll dig this game If you are unsure try and play the demo to get a feel for what's in store for you If the game wasn't so stacked against the player I'd give the game a 10/10 But, it's to hard as a kid i loved Ghost and Goblins and Ghouls and Ghosts (Beat both games) this is harder then Ghost and Goblins in my opinion so it gets a 9/10

Cuphead is a slice of video game heaven and surprisingly appealing piece of animation gold. Having been in development for the better part of a decade, Cuphead burst onto the video game market just in 2017, and it's resulted in a resurgence in the internet's love for 'The Golden Age of Animation' and the works of the great Max Fleischer. Does the game emulate those cartoons of a bygone era pre-dating World War Two? Yes. It absolutely does just that and then some! Yes the game's frustrating for newcomers to the run and gun genre but the sense of gratification and accomplishment you get from beating any one of the bosses in-game is incredible.

This game takes pages from gaming classics like MegaMan, Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario World and even Contra; it even pays homage to 'toon classics like Popeye, Betty Boop, Disney shorts from the 20s and 30s, has nods to the Looney Tunes shorts, and even Tom & Jerry. Cuphead is a masterclass in 'cultural remixing', fusing video games and animation into the perfect combo package. What is there not to like about something that has THIS many callbacks while being its own thing as well?

Cuphead is a game for the ages and will introduce newcomers to the run-and-gun genre, as well as persuade some people to play MegaMan sometime in the future.