The former Xbox One exclusive comes to Nintendo Switch, with a glorious mix of Contra style action and bizarre 1930s cartoons.
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When the Switch version of Cuphead was announced in a recent Nintendo Direct it was done so with thanks to, our friends at Microsoft. Not since Mario and Sonic cohabitated in the same game has there been such an unprecedented entente between former rivals. If the rumours are true then the relationship is set to deepen even further this year, but even if it doesnt at least Switch owners are now able to enjoy this former Microsoft exclusive and one of the most visually impressive video games of the generation.
Perhaps the most extraordinary fact about indie developer StudioMDHR, which we learnt from interviewing them back in 2017, is that despite initially starting out with just two people, and having no previous experience, they taught themselves how to ink and animate purely from reading books and watching old 1930s cartoons. The end result is not only stunning to look at but doesnt have a single polygon in sight.
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Although there are some other elements to it, Cuphead is primarily a collection of, usually single-screen, boss battles in the gameplay style of 2D platform shooters such as Contra and Metal Slug. Theres around 30 in total and almost all of them are fantastic, which is not something we say lightly about Western-made boss fights. What they also are though is extremely hard. Devilishly hard, you might say…
Where the idea to do any of this came from we still dont really understand, but the whole 1930s cartoon aesthetic is recreated absolutely perfectly. Its not just that the game mimics the art style and animation so accurately, but that the actual character designs are so wonderfully weird and imaginative. Whether theyre an angry potato or the devil himself every character, even the heroes, manages to look strangely sinister in the way that cartoons of that era always seemed to.
The story involves the titular Cuphead, and his co-op companion Mugman, fighting for their souls after being duped at a diabolical casino. This leaves them with no option but to collect the souls of previous debtors, who appear in the form of everything from an evil-looking clown made out of balloons to a giant cigar and an animated bottle of scotch.
These are all fantastic simply as character designs, but theyre also surprisingly varied when it comes to the gameplay. Each has a wide range of different attacks, many of which are randomised in terms of the order they come out. So while you can learn the tells that proceed each one you cant simply learn the whole fight by rote.
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Your character has a fairly simple set of abilities, and can employ up to two different weapons, that can be switched between at any time, and a constantly charging, two-stage special attack. You can also free aim while standing still and whenever you see a pink object you can jump onto it to get a bonus or interact with it in some other stage-specific fashion.
Some levels take the form of horizontally-scrolling 2D shooters such as Gradius or R-Type, although theyre still elongated boss battles. The only ones that arent are on-foot sections that are much closer to a normal Contra or Metal Slug stage. Theres only two of these per world though and theyre purely optional, although they are the only place to pick up coins in order to buy new weapons. They work fine, and the level design is good, but they dont feel as unique as the bosses and we werent upset there wasnt more of them.
Mechanically the game works perfectly, with responsive and reliable controls, although we did keep imagining that a good arcade joystick would be the preferred control system. But that may just have been one of the many excuses we made to ourselves when we keep dying. This is a viscously difficult game and theres no pretending thats not going to greatly frustrate many players. There is an easier difficultly setting but even that is very difficult, and using it doesnt unlock the final boss fight.
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Its not as if playing it with a friend helps much either, as on just a single screen the other player often becomes an unwanted distraction. All that said, playing the game did result in us uttering the fateful phrase just one more go more times than almost any other game this decade, and thats always a good sign.
But we cant help wishing that Cuphead hadnt been quite so ruthless in its difficulty, as it seems entirely unnecessary given how intrinsically fun the experience is and how reasonable its pricing is for the amount of content. Especially as our only other real complaint is the understated sound design for your bullets, which are Read More – Source
