Don’t let its cute cartoon-esque aesthetics fool you. This is a game that will unapologetically kick ass from the get-go. Some of you might not know this, but video games have never been all that easy during the early days. Super Mario Brothers, Contra, Donkey Kong and Frogger are some titles that come to mind when it comes to challenging, tough-as-nails platformers. When Cuphead was first announced a couple of years back at E3, I thought that perhaps, a return to the old classics was imminent.
Once Upon a Time
As I alluded to earlier, Cuphead is a platform game like popular titles of old, combining old 1930s cartoon aesthetics with platforming mechanics that would make the likes of Crash Bandicoot and Rayman blush.
The story for Cuphead is a straightforward one. Cuphead and his brother Mugman chanced upon a casino where they were hitting the big bucks. The Devil, who happens to be the proprietor of said casino, dared the brothers to go big or go home with one last dice throw. The devil obviously won, and demanded for their souls in exchange. Fearing for their lives, Cuphead begged the Devil to let them go, and after a bit of deliberation, decided to have the two of them to collect debt (souls, in this case) from other debtors who have ran away.
Shooting Above Your Weight
The mechanics for Cuphead follow the age-old adage of “Easy to understand, difficult to master”, with emphasis on “difficult to master” to a very extreme degree. The game is essentially a big boss-rush with a few optional platforming levels thrown in. Story has it that when Cuphead was first conceptualised, it was supposed to be all boss fights and no platforming levels at all, but they were added in to give variety to the already varied bosses.
And what a variety it is; you fight animated vegetables, blobs, bees, frogs and all manner of other animals and things throughout the game. You start off with a peashooter and a tutorial, which explains the basics of the game, such as how to jump, duck, shoot, use your special abilities and so on.
The game then throws you off into the deep end and you’ll be forced to learn how to evade your would-be enemy’s movements and attacks without any help given. You will have to simply die and figure out one mechanic after the other with each boss, who will transform into a different form once you’ve injured them enough.
I encountered one particularly funny boss early in the game, where I went up against a jumping blue blob, whom after a while, transformed into a tombstone. Having seen the acronym RIP on this boss, I thought I had beaten it, only to have it slam on me and take out the one remaining life I had with no remorse.
And here are several of the factors that can frustrate you about fighting the bosses in Cuphead. The bosses technically do not have a HP bar, and you will only be able to see the progress you made against them, or the platforming levels when you die. This is designed in such a way to infuriate players, because they’ll only see how close they are to beating a level or a boss when they lose.
And if you think the lack of an indication of how close you are to beating the boss is bad, dying in this game brings you back to the starting point of the fight or level, with no checkpoints. To make things worse, every time you die, the mobs and bosses all come together to mock your lack of skills, angering you even further.
That said, you can still gain new weapons and abilities via currencies that are scattered throughout the game and from the chalice levels, allowing you to switch to weapons and skills to suit the level you are at. One skill that is very useful is the invincible dash skill, which grants you temporary invulnerability. This helped me out in a lot of sticky situations where I find myself pinned against the wall and a barrage of projectiles headed my way.
A Very Pretty Sight to See
StudioMDHR did an amazing job designing Cuphead, with its deliberate take on the 1930s cartoon aesthetics. That was a great addition as it helped with the otherwise repetitive nature of the game. As a child growing up in Malaysia, I grew up watching some of these cartoons, and it was a walk down memory lane. That is, until I die for the umpteenth time by a giant garden vegetable.
Each boss comes with its own unique look and feel, forcing you to make full use of the surrounding environments. One issue I had with a number of these levels is the difficulty in differentiating between the background scenery and the enemies, as well as the projectiles.
This is especially the case when it comes to the platforming levels as it makes you think it was just a scenic route, but turns to out there’s an enemy or obstacle that you need to destroy before you advance.
With the boss levels, you can truly appreciate how each fight is uniquely different, even with the base mechanics remaining the same throughout the game. In some instances, Cuphead shakes things up a bit by introducing boss fights where you fly an aeroplane, side-scroller style.
Music to My Ears
Another excellent addition to the game is its background music. Picture gaming with 1930s style jazz playing in the background; it adds a quaint feel to the entire game, which helps with the almost unending number of deaths. I guarantee, there isn’t a single boring tune in the album, even when it’s almost three hours long. For PC gamers purchasing through Steam, StudioMDHR has added the digital soundtrack as a side purchase, should you feel like splurging to elevate your taste in music.
There isn’t much dialogue to begin with, but each boss does have a few lines, which is like the cartoons of that era and adds to the experience. My favourite is Pork Rind’s (kurang halal!), the item proprietor who sells you your power-ups. His voice is downright demonic, and it shook me a fair bit when I first visited his store.
Into the Deep End
Cuphead has some of the steepest learning curves compared to many games that have released in recent times. If you’re new to the whole tough-as-nails platformer genre, you may want to consider fighting the bosses in Simple Mode. Having said that, this isn’t recommended if you intend to complete the game, as the last of the content will be gated off to you until you defeat the bosses in regular mode.
What adds to the frustration is that Cuphead only reveals this information when you get to that point. Clearing the game on regular will also unlock Hard Mode, which will take your button-pushing reflexes to the edges of your saniy.
For only RM38 on Steam, Cuphead is game that will you hours of agony, frustration and joy. It may take some time to adjust, but it’s not as ridiculous as Super Meat boy and its ilk. The mechanics are straightforward, but the boss fights are unique enough to give a sense of achievement when you finally figure out the patterns. I highly recommend this game if you’re looking for a challenge that isn’t Dark Souls or Bloodborne for once.
Score: 8/10
