Exultation! I’ve finally conquered Cuphead. Naturally, the Devil (the final boss) was an exceedingly difficult climatic battle; easily the hardest boss in the game for me. His wily, diabolical attack patterns caused me to perish around a hundred times. It was only through pure, unyielding tenacity that I was able to overcome such a mountainous challenge.
I can’t commend Studio MDHR enough for their tremendous work on Cuphead. It’s instantly become one of my favourite games of the generation, has the best boss designs I’ve ever experienced in a Western developed game, and indisputably belongs in the upper echelon of all-time run and gun greats such as Gunstar Heroes, Astro Boy: Omega Factor, Super Contra, Hard Corps, Alien Soldier, Sunset Riders, and Metal Slug X and 3, as far as I’m concerned.
Curiously, in your review (or was it a reply to a reader?) you mentioned that you thought the exquisite 1930s era cartoon aesthetics were slightly wasted on a game as relatively simple as Cuphead, but I have to vehemently disagree with you there, GC. For me the snappy, adrenaline – fuelled run ‘n’ gun genre, and the incomparable, supremely expressive and distinctive art style, are an astronomically harmonious configuration.
Quite frankly, I couldn’t think of a more perfect match to encapsulate the abounding energy and eccentricities of that golden period of animation. A special mention also goes out to the expertly designed run and gun stages and weapon/special ability systems, and the rousing old school jazz soundtrack.
So enamoured with this game am I that I’ve decided to expeditiously venture into expert mode to truly test my mettle now. I’ve already finished the first isle on expert mode, and boy were some of the bosses, such as the Ryu and Ken pastiches, Ribby and Croaks, and Hilda Berg, extremely hard this time around. I just checked and I’ve died a total of 576 times after around 20 hours. What can I say: no pain, no gain!
I’d like to raise this glass and make a toast celebrating the greatness that is Cuphead. I hope deep down in my heart that Treasure have experienced this wonderful game in some capacity, and that their dormant (being wishful here) competitive fire is rekindled enough for them to jump back into the ring.
Galvanized Gamer
