West Long Branch NJ— The popular gaming service, Steam, has offered the world some amazing and unforgettable games that are enjoyed by anyone and everyone. Some notable games include 2015’s Undertale, which scored a Steam rating of 10/10, 2015’s Fallout 4, which is currently regarded as the best game to buy on Steam, and 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V, which is regarded as the second best game on Steam.
Joining Steam’s impressive lineup is 2017’s indie game Cuphead.
Cuphead debuted on September 29, 2017. In the game, you play as the main character, Cuphead, and your ultimate goal is to find the devil and pay a debt back to him. Players could play as Cuphead’s brother Mugman as well, but that feature is only for co-op play.
Cuphead’s art style is extremely pleasing to look at. It boasts admirable hand drawn creations that are emulate 30’s style animation. Both Cuphead and Mugman are drawn wearing the iconic Mickey Mouse gloves as well as having pie-eyes which was a popular style during the Inkblot Cartoon Style Era which lasted until the 1940s.
The game is hand drawn using cel animation and it also features charming watercolor backgrounds. Cuphead is also able to say that the jazz music used for gameplay is all original recordings. The art style for Cuphead is overall extremely pleasing to look at for its ability to reanimate (pun intended) a somewhat dead animation style and transform it into something that works both for this century and last century.
A good majority of video-games nowadays tend to stick to the style that is popular for the time, but Cuphead takes that idea and smashes it. The creativity of this game is a positive addition to the large gaming library that inhabits the Steam store.
Now, onto Cuphead’s gameplay. Cuphead is a boss-battle driven game, which means that a majority of the gameplay are intense boss fights.
There is no sugar-coating it; Cuphead is a difficult game. Each and every boss has their own unique set of attacks that correlate with the boss’s character.
For example, during one boss fight, you battle against a princess and her castle who live in a candy kingdom. The castle generously unleashes an enemy candy-corn with large canine teeth, a gum ball machine that spouts gum balls at you, a Belgian waffle that flies, and a jawbreaker with many layers. All while this is happening, the lovely “damsel in distress” occasionally fires shots at you. Each boss fight is gifted with a gorgeous water colored background that screams “hard work” and “success”.
Cuphead is a refreshing addition to the video game universe and it’s totally worth taking a look at. The game is currently $19.99 on Steam and it also offers a downloadable content (DLC) bundle for $9.99. Cuphead had rightfully earned a 10/10 rating on Steam, a 4.5/5 on Microsoft, and an 8/10 for Gamespot. If you appreciate a difficult gaming experience along with an obsolete animation choice, than Cuphead is totally a game for you!
