Studio MDHR’s CUPHEAD: The ultimate challenge for MLG’ers
Two days ago my friend told me about a game that came out on Friday September 29th called “Cuphead: Don’t Deal with the Devil”. At first I was uninterested, because based on the cover and certain gameplay it looked to me like someone had watched too many Disney classics and turned them into a game, boy was I wrong.
I decided to pay for the game because of its low price tag combined with all-star reviews from IGN. I fired up the game and immediately felt transported back in time to the early stages of animation. The story is told as though you were being read a bedtime story by a loved one. It starts off with two young brothers — Cuphead and Mugman — venturing far from their grandfather’s house into a newly constructed casino — owned by the Devil. The brothers eventually make a deal with the Devil, if Cuphead and Mugman win they get all the money in the casino but if they lose the Devil keeps their souls. They lose and are given the option of collecting all the souls the Devil hasn’t gotten to yet and in exchange they get to keep their souls. They must collect them all before midnight.
The overall feel of the game is very smooth. There’s nothing too glaringly broken or anything that obviously needs to be fixed. The game is your standard side scroller game; the catch is that the game feels impossible from the first level and the levels that follow only get more intense. Every boss you encounter in the game has their own pattern in terms of weak points and when to attack. Cuphead, although challenging, can also be a really entertaining game — especially if you play co-op.
The graphics in the game are truly something to admire, the designs are very complimentary to the universe you are in and give a sense of that old school early animation. I really feel that the game has a lot of potential and just has a very cartoonist, soft, funny feel that you get from levels and characters alike. Despite the surrealism, the game draws you in to really start rooting for Cuphead and Mugman.
In conclusion the game is very intriguing and overall a diamond in the rough. It has everything a gamer could want: a challenge, excitement, and adventure. I leave the rest to my fellow gamers. If you truly love a challenge and dislike games that provide only five hours of gameplay then Cuphead is the game for you. Good luck and don’t let the Devil steal your soul.
