Now I know what you’re thinking. In an industry full of false promises, exaggerated advertising, and game cancellations left and right it’s difficult to get hyped up for what something might be from its trailer alone. Boy, do I have the game for you! Introducing… Cuphead!

When Cuphead’s first trailer was shown at E3 2014 everyone was talking about this gorgeous shoot ‘em up game with the classic animation techniques, leaving only the fiercest of skeptics to deny its potential. The question has since become about whether Cuphead’s gameplay lives up to that slick style, so let’s roll the dice and find out.

Cuphead is a complex game. It has the art style of a Disney animation from the 30s mixed with the shoot ‘em up gameplay of bullet hell games from the 80s. It’s also primarily a boss rush game, with only 6 run and gun stages compared to the numerous boss encounters the player will face. There are many reasons this game stands out among the rest, but the most obvious among them is, of course, the art style.

When discussing the presentation of this game, it would be a disservice to say that it simply emulates older animation styles. Instead, Cuphead goes further by improving the hand drawn rubber tube animation technique to the point of near perfection. The game runs at a near flawless 60 frames per second, making each gorgeous animation even more of an achievement. 

The backgrounds are beautiful and even have gameplay applications as they sometimes telegraph attacks. The bosses are varied, creative, and original to a tee. This game is a visual masterpiece in every sense of the word.

The story is fairly simple, as it should be for this type of game. Cuphead and his pal Mugman head down to the Devil’s casino to gamble. After a long winning streak, the Devil himself comes out and offers them a deal- win a dice roll and the entire casino’s vault is theirs. Lose, and their souls are forfeit. 

Upon losing their dice roll, the Devil offers to let them keep their souls if they instead collect contracts from his debtors. The duo then heads out into the world determined to defeat the debtors, retrieve the contracts, and save their souls. 

The plot is silly and goofy, but in a way that’s undeniably similar to the classic animations of years past. Even the horrifying imagery and animations are reminiscent of the times. And while it’s a bit odd that a game so focused on animation tells its story through still images, it’s still cute, fun, and doesn’t intrude on the gameplay.

The bosses themselves are the real stars of the show. There isn’t much backstory offered on any of them, but they’re still full of character. They taunt the player after a death, have animations that go from cocky to pissed to miserable depending on their phase, and each and every one is a memorable character by looks alone. 

Just looking at their designs tells you so much about them that it’s all you really need. Some are cute, some are creative, and others are nightmare inducing. Like this here terrifying 8-ball. There’s even a film grain over the entire game screen which might seem like it would be distracting, but instead only makes the entire experience feel more authentic.

If there is something to complain about, it’s that the game tends to favor style over substance a bit when it comes to the foreground. There are often objects and silhouettes in front of the action which may look nice as they frame the screen and give a good amount of depth to the world, but it’s incredibly frustrating to get hit by a projectile hidden behind an object in front of the camera. 

There are also a few platforms that look bigger than their hitbox actually is leading to some irritating deaths, but these are both minor issues that only cause maybe one or two deaths out of the hundreds that occur over the course of the game.

The music isn’t to be overlooked either. The old style big band and jazz music are absolutely marvelous and perfectly suited for their corresponding boss fights, even going so far as to ramp up in excitement as a battle continues and even have some enemies move to the beat of the music. Everything is spot on and just a complete delight.

The gameplay is no slouch either. As previously mentioned, Cuphead is a shoot ’em up with an emphasis on boss fights. The liquid carrying hero can run, jump, shoot in 8 directions, dash forward, fire a super move, and parry pink projectiles. All of these moves will need to be mastered in order to beat this game. 

Starting with the run ‘n’ gun sections, these have Cuphead travelling across the screen contra style as he avoids obstacles and defeats enemies. These stages are the weakest in the game, but they’re still a fun little romp. Enemies are diverse and offer a tricky challenge that’s unique from that of the boss stages and the variety they offer the game can’t be overlooked. They’re also useful for finding coins.

Coins found in these levels or in the overworld can be used to purchase new upgrades to aid in future fights. At any time, Cuphead can have two different kinds of bullets to fire, one ultimate attack, and one special ability. In fact, if a certain stage is causing too much trouble, it can typically be remedied by mixing up the weapon loadout being used.

Up next are the mausoleum stages. These are some of my favorite stages in the whole game. Using the parry ability, Cuphead must jump on all the ghosts’ heads to protect a vase until they’re all defeated. It’s simple, quick, and a nice break from the insanity that awaits in the other levels. It would have been nice to have more of these available and the inability to replay them is a poor choice on the developers’ part, but for what they are they’re really fun.

Let’s be honest though, the reason we’re here are the bosses. There are two types of boss encounters. The first has Cuphead either standing on solid ground or jumping between platforms firing at the boss until they’re inevitably defeated. 

Each of these enemies also has multiple phases. Some require fighting lesser minions before even getting to see the main enemy. Others will perform an insane transformation into a stronger form. A few even require special conditions to be met before they can be damaged at all. 

The one consistent aspect to these fights is that they’re all challenging and they’re all fun making the only emotion felt after losing being a strong desire to try again and the only thought after winning being about what the game could possibly have in store next. The game even goes as far as to show how close you are to finishing a phase before dying, really driving home that one more try mentality.

It’s also a useful tool since each boss only has one health bar shared through all of its phases, so if one phase is found to be particularly difficult, players can try using a ultimate move just before that phase starts in order to get it out of the way sooner. The lack of a health bar is also a good idea as it keeps tensions high throughout the entire fight, only allowing player to take a breath after hearing that beautiful phrase, KNOCKOUT!. 

The second type of level involves plane combat. In these, Cuphead pilots a mini biplane, shooting bullets and shrinking down in size to dodge projectiles. Giving the player full control to move in all directions adds additional depth to combat, making these are a blast and granting the game a bunch of extra variety to boot. 

And that’s the most impressive thing about Cuphead- its variety. Despite the simple control scheme and numerous bosses with multiple unique phases, no two bosses felt repetitive. Each phase, each obstacle, each set of attacks always felt new and fresh, making for a game that refuses to get stale throughout its 9 hour playthrough.

Most people who have heard of this game have been told two things: the game is gorgeous and the game is impossibly hard. Fortunately that second statement is far from true. Yes, Cuphead is a challenging game, but it’s not unbeatable. Its difficulty’s been exaggerated to the point where it’s actually a meme. 

Now that doesn’t include people trying to 100 percent the game because god bless you. You’ll definitely have moments where you pull your hair out, but the main game is definitely doable with the right set of weapons and power ups.

As if all that wasn’t enough, Cuphead also features co-op gameplay with the second player taking the role of Mugman. The bosses compensate for the change with extra health as well so the fight always feels fair. 

Plus after beating the main game, expert mode is unlocked for an even greater challenge. And each stage grades you on your performance meaning that to 100% everything the bosses must be completed with absolute, meticulous perfection to get an S rank. It’s incredible just how much entertainment there is to squeeze out of a $20 indie game.

Now not all is bright and cheery in this game, but the complaints are minor. I’ve already mentioned the foreground and platform issues, but Cuphead does have a few others that stand out. First, the parry ability is really unforgiving with its timing. It doesn’t allow players to jump and parry immediately and is really finicky with its hitbox. It’s not broken, but could do with a bit of a tweak.

Adding to that, certain things like being able to do a pacifist run on the non-boss stages aren’t pointed out clearly enough and could go completely missed unless the player just so happens to try it out or look online. I didn’t even know the plane had a second weapon until after beating the game!

Lastly, the ultimate moves are cool and do help in a pinch, but the offensive ones leave Cuphead super vulnerable after being performed and they sometimes seem even weaker than the standard shots’ super moves, which is disappointing. 

Cuphead is an absolute achievement in gaming. It’s going to go down as a classic for sure. With a beautiful presentation, simple yet challenging gameplay, and a creativity and originality that never gets stale Cuphead for the PC gets a 9.5 out of 10 and an undoubted spot on the MightyNifty must play games list. Whether it’s a sequel to Cuphead or another game I can’t wait to see what MDHR has in store next. That being said I hope you enjoyed this review. If you did, be sure to like and subscribe to see more mighty reviews, dissections, and other gaming content. And as always, have a mighty nifty day today!