Seeing the first trailer for Cuphead, I immediately swooned. The marriage between that animation and a videogame was something that seemed impossible. It was a big moment of "how did no one think of this before?" With it being an Xbox release and not having the confidence to try and play this on PC, it seemed like I wouldn't get the chance to ever give Cuphead a shot. The PS4 edition was a big surprise and despite the warnings, I picked it up and battled my way through. Was it worth the wait? I think it depends on the type of gamer you are. I'll be covering the pros and cons below.
Visually and acoustically, Cuphead absolutely lives up to hype. This game is so unlike any other big release on the market. Not only is it unique but its got all the polish and there's little out of place. The animation is exciting and well designed throughout. Cuphead feels authentic to the cartoons of yesteryear its paying tribute to and if I hadn't watched so much material on it ahead of time, this game would have floored me. I also really enjoyed the music and all of the work with the sound. The score is very orchestral but there's jazz influence and each fight brings some new catchy beat that's going to have your toes tapping while you're screaming at your TV or computer monitor.
I also want to credit the gameplay (I'm going to talk about the difficulty later) for also having a different flavour. The game is mostly boss fights with a few platforming levels sprinkled in and I think there was a considerable effort into making each one memorable. Is every level equally stunning or fun? Absolutely not but I remember each fight and something that made that one different.
Part of the aura surrounding Cuphead is the reports of how difficult it is. Go on the internet, there are many videos of let's play gamers screaming, crying and yelling. I thought it couldn't be that bad.... Could it? I was full of hubris to think I could do better. This game is RIDICULOUSLY HARD, I spent hours trying to beat each boss. Not just 20-30 minutes, 2-3 HOURS at a time for the more difficult ones. There is so little margin for error and no breaks when playing Cuphead. Reviewers reassured gamers that the feeling when beating a boss made up for all the anguish, it wasn't that way for me. I became so desensitized to failing that after I beat one, I sighed and moved on to the next. Kahl's Robot took 3 different sessions just for me to beat it and the Run & Gun levels weren't any easier. The difficulty isn't fun and it goes beyond any normal expectations for a "difficult" experience. Between the time invested, the frustration, the repetition and the anguish, I was miserable most of the time I was playing this game.
This is one of my shorter reviews and that's reflective of the kind of experience I had with this game. Was there plenty of stuff I loved? Definitely, it's an ambitious product with style to burn that both critics and more tolerant gamers have showered with adoration. But I didn't truly enjoy any moment playing this game past the opening credits/prologue. I respect this game and its creators; they should be praised. But I will never play this game again, its too difficult to recommend and it wasn't worth the time I invested in it to beat it. I'm not trying to whine or go on about my experience, if you look at the stats, they reaffirm my take. On average 10 PERCENT of people who played this game actually finished it. That statistic tells the story of how TRULY accessible this game is and if you loved this game when you finished it, I tip my hat to you. I've rated it based upon both the pros and cons and arrived in the middle. Don't be like me and just assume you're just going to fly through this game. Buy it if you're interested in a REAL CHALLENGE, if you're more of a casual gamer, watch a let's play and have a few laughs instead.
