[Review] Cuphead - Best with friends

Written by: Jersie August 15, 2019

The only thing harder than the game was its development

Ah Cuphead, how I admire thee. My only regret being that I could not share the....satisfaction of this title.

Cuphead was released on Sep 29, 2017, by Studio MDHR. Originally a much smaller project, it ended up warranting mass interest from viewers of development and Microsoft. It ended up turning into one of the most dastardly platformers out there, and many love it.

The story is simple, two young'un cups go on a dandy adventure to a casino. Unfortunately, they lose an all-or-nothing bet. And unfortunately, the Devil owns that casino, so their souls are for the taking! Of course, we aren't going to let our souls get taken away so easily, eh?

Definitely...not...easily...

It's simple, but new, and it works.

As you know, everything is hand-drawn in rubber-hose That makes the characters, oh lordy. So fluid, and inspired, yet unique and made with love. There will probably be a couple bosses you hate from fighting them, but you honestly can't stay angry for long at their animated amazing-ness.

YES

Now, fighting those bosses, and the run and gun stages, which is more akin to typical platforming games, is brutally tight. For most areas, you'll have to play it many times so you gain the memorization to beat it. You do grow throughout your adventure. For certain stages that took me quite a few tries, when I mastered the patterns, it made me feel like a speedrunner, albeit for a few moments until I moved on to the next stage. 😔

At least this type of difficulty is tolerable for me, allowing me to hop right back in to test my skills once again for sweet revenge. Which...can't be said as much for my other friend I'm playing also, Demon's Souls.

Everything about this game is sleek, and it's great. Only thing I will say is that I had trouble parrying multiple times, which, I'm not sure if it was because I sucked at them...but I-SWEAR I PRESSED JUMP MULTIPLE TIMES!

(For any of you, let's say, throwy-smashy gamers (I relate on a spiritual level) I recommend getting this mini-punching bag for your gamer-cave. I know I'm going to make use out of it as I finish up Dark Souls: Remastered )

The sound is also glorious. Emulating old tunes with a fresh style, I always love singing along to the opening tune. The great soundtrack helps mitigate the frustration as well, if only for a little bit. They legit got an entire orchestra to perform the songs, and it makes me appreciate it that much more.

Thankfully, I also didn't experience any bugs, and it runs super smoothly, even very playable with my dad's awful laptop. Only bug I can remember is in Ribby and Croaks fight, where a firefly visually gets stuck on the screen, but other than that, I myself didn't experience any true bugs.

I see you

Everything about this game is so iconic honestly. Especially since I think it is one of the best local co-op games on PC, well worth its $20. But that's the thing, it's a great co-op. I played the majority of the game alone. Playing with friends, even though they weren't avid gamers, heck even if they were actually a handicap in some boss fights, it was still so much fun!

Usually the appeal of playing hard games is the satisfaction of beating the difficult parts. However especially later on, after beating bosses, instead of savoring my victory, I felt weary and thought, "Finally, we can move on..."

Pitiful compared to the triumphant screams and high-fives with my friends.

I'm not sure if they will add this feature in the future, but that is one of its glaring flaws for me. My online friends who want to play with me can't. No online multiplayer. Plus since I have already finished the game, and I am not one for replaying games, I don't think I'll be going back unless I have a house-warming party or have to babysit some kids....

But alas Cuphead is just an indie game, expectations were already surpassed, but I feel like I've missed out on some quality bonding. But since everyone's situations and experiences are different, it doesn't discredit the game.

GAME RATING: 9.1

PROS-

• Unique characters and bosses

• Tight and challenging gameplay

• Incredible hand drawn graphics

• Local co-op even on PC

• Great price value

CONS-

• Hard

• No online play (as of now)

• Not as fun alone

Rating specifics-

Story - 8/10

Characters/World - 10/10

Gameplay - 10/10

Graphics - 10/10

Sound - 10/10

Optimization and bugs - 9/10

Memorability - 9/10

Replay value - 9/10

Enjoyment - 6/10

Jersie

Always acquiring new games, backlog brawling has  been a constant struggle. But this cat-loving, (almost) any game playing girl always gets back on her feet. Armed with her lemon water, 3rd party Xbox controller, and desktop punching bag, this teenage girl will make sure to utterly destroy her foes with thorough reviews!