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Cuphead Game Review

Cuphead is a 2017 run-and-gun video game developed by Studio MDHR for Windows among other platforms. It is an infuriatingly difficult, but undeniably artistic and unforgettable game.

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“Good day for a swell battle!“

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Cuphead was critically acclaimed back when it was released and it was a juggernaut during the awards season. It continues to be incredibly well regarded and for many great reasons. Although I personally have a couple of problems with it, I mostly found it to be incredible and wildly authentic as it’s unlike anything else in the gaming industry, even including indies.

First and foremost, what makes this indie gem different than all the other games in existence is obviously its art style. Intended to make homage to all those iconic cartoons from the thirties, Cuphead succeeds wildly at pretty much becoming said cartoon in its own right. The art style is incredible. There are obvious references here. You have the Disney references with the rubber hose character design, but there is a distinct craziness in the chaotic movements and too much stuff going on each screen that are more reminiscent of early Fleischer cartoons.

Whatever the influences are, the execution is what counts and simply the graphics here are astonishing. It’s one of the best-looking games that I’ve ever played. It’s everything that I want from a game as it mixes the two things that I just adore – run-and-gun platformers with the early sound cartoons. The colors just pop off the screen in what is one of the most colorful games probably of all time. The character designs are particularly inspired. Again, the rubber hose style is very authentic and pleasingly strange.

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It’s a shame that the game is so difficult that it makes it almost impossible to fully marvel at the incredible visual presentation, but still a lot of praise should be directed to this team of creators for actually animating it with the traditional technique. It’s a giant ode to cel animation that will hopefully inspire more games in the future to employ a similar style.

The score is also terrific and very fittingly retro in its 30s references. I wish that we got more voice acting and dialogue, but the sound design is still great and the storyline is actually rather good for a game like this. The gangster elements particularly fitted the time period that was represented here and the same goes for the circus ones.

The whole atmosphere is wonderfully retro, the maps worked stupendously with the three isles well differentiated from each other and the world building is quite good with each level being different from the previous one. The controls are fantastic, the game runs smoothly and its length is just right – not too short, but not overstaying its welcome either.

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Cuphead isn’t just famous for its animation style, but also for its immense difficulty (having a game that is iconic in two different regards truly makes it, well, iconic). Some have praised it for being so hard, but others have said that this level of difficulty was too staggering. Putting my own two cents into the discussion, I have to say that I mostly appreciated this high difficulty. There aren’t that many truly hard games to be found these days, so this one was a breath of fresh air in that regard.

My issue isn’t with the difficulty, but more so with the whole structure of the game, which is needless to say monotonously overbearing. What I mean by that is that having a game with just the bosses basically was a foolish idea that didn’t really work. You can’t have something constantly being on the peak. It doesn’t work like that. You have to add some respite.

Thankfully, the breather here came in the form of those standard run-and-gun levels that had no true bosses. I liked those levels a lot. They were beautifully retro in their side-scrolling action and very well executed, but they were still too brief in retrospect. The parrying missions inside the museum also acted as solid respite from the boss fights, but the parrying as a whole did not appeal to me as the controls were clunky in that area. Thankfully, the controls were otherwise fantastic besides these stretches.

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Let’s talk about the bosses. Goopy Le Grande is by far the easiest of the bunch. His pattern is very simple and it’s a breeze to finish him off. The Root Pack is a bit more difficult, but still a warm-up for the later much harder bosses. I loved the ‘Flowers and Trees’ references here. Sally Stageplay and Mr. Chimes are both rather forgettable and not all that difficult.

Cagney Carnation isn’t too difficult, but it’s quite fun to fight. It is very well designed overall. Djimmi the Great is a great example of Cuphead’s notorious randomization. His attacks are different every single time you play against him, making him very tough to beat. Werner Herman is instantly recognizable in its cat that is similar to so many cats from these cartoons and it is a fun battle for sure, very well imagined.

Hilda Berg is so tough. This is one of those flying levels and I honestly found them by far the hardest. It exemplifies the chaos and despair that define this game, but to a much larger degree as you here have to evade the attacks in every single direction. Rumor Honeybottoms was also very difficult for me personally and one of the most underrated hard bosses as it’s frustratingly hard to beat in most of its sections.

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Baroness Von Bon Bon is superb. This boss fight has it all. It is randomized, every section is different and it gets progressively harder in just the right way. It’s by far one of the best imagined bosses in the game. Wally Warbles’ difficulty is underestimated. This chicken is insanely hard to beat, again making the case that these flying levels are the worst.

Ribby and Croaks are these instantly iconic boxing frogs. This fight is not too difficult, but it’s very memorable and entertaining. Beppi the Clown was frustrating to me in the side-scrolling elements. It’s a great boss at first, but then he became too annoying. The side-scrolling did feel a bit unfair in certain levels as you often have no way to evade the attacks when you suddenly arrive on another part of the screen.

Dr. Kahl’s Robot is of course iconic. It is very hard, but I find it to be overly notorious as the final stretch was to me rather easy to get through as I am much better at the chaos then at remembering the moves, which is why the first section of this boss was the hardest to me. Grim Matchstick definitely remains the most difficult boss in my opinion. This dragon is pure evil. You not only have to evade his attacks and get through three insane sections, but you also have to beware not to fall off the clouds, which in itself was very hard. Going through this level with a better weapon makes things significantly easier for you.

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King Dice is not too difficult to beat, but getting to him is a challenge. Basically, you get these mini-bosses that you choose to fight by, fittingly enough, rolling the dice. This part of the game involves a lot of strategizing as you need to evade the harder mini-bosses and finish those easier ones with full health and then King Dice is not a threat at all. As for the Devil himself, he is also not the toughest boss, but he is superbly imagined and again amusingly chaotic throughout.

Phantom Express, Cala Maria and Captain Brineybeard are in my opinion the best imagined and designed bosses in Cuphead. The train is phenomenal. This is the only part of the game where parrying is actually superbly utilized. It fits the level and it was amazing. Cala Maria is also phenomenal and fittingly retro in its design. Seeing her get angrier and angrier was a lot of fun. And of course Captain Brineybeard is the best boss just due to the sheer multitude of things going on the screen here. Every attack of his is different with the squid ink being particularly well incorporated visually speaking. This boss is reminiscent of Bluto from Popeye and I just loved fighting him.

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The role-playing elements in Cuphead worked and the weapons were very well incorporated, but they could have included more of them. These elements help make the game easier, but the rating system at the end of each level was a bit too harsh, making Cuphead not particularly 100 percent complete and replay-worthy. The interface of the maps overall was terrific and suitably charming and retro.