Cuphead Reviews
Cuphead may look like a fun cartoony platformer, but be ready for the teeth to be bared and your patience to be slowly gnawed away.
Cuphead is a delightful experience that won’t endear itself to all but its visuals will win over many who might otherwise avoid the run and gun genre
Cuphead is the most beautiful 2D arcade shooter released in the past decade, and one hell of an exclusive for the Xbox One console. Studio MDHR might have delayed it numerous times, but the end results is full of flavour, ideas, variety and one of the best jazz composition I've heard in a long time.
First, a little context that most people will be aware of, but that’s bound to be lost over time: a game journalist was recorded struggling to get past Cuphead’s tutorial level in the runup to its release, something that caused much embarrassment as well as questions about what kind of playing proficiency it’s reasonable to expect/demand from those in the industry. Now that it’s finally out, there’s been a veritable flood of outlets putting out videos of employees making it through levels unscathed and reviews that are quick to mention how difficult—but fair!—most of the game is. I imagine many of these people genuinely liked it, and that’s nice for them, but let’s not pretend that the overwhelming praise has nothing to do with the fact that the game has become a litmus test for reviewer competency as far as the gaming public is concerned. Let me tell you about my decidedly less positive Cuphead experience.
With an aesthetic which I hope and expect will be timeless, and a gameplay loop that's incredibly addictive and rewarding, Cuphead is justifiably the talk of the industry right now.
If you don’t mind a high difficulty level and putting the time to master parrying then Cuphead is a game that you are going to thoroughly enjoy, from the artwork, music and sense of relief when you finally get shot of that boss that’s been giving you hassle for days.
It is platforming greatness at its very best, and proves just what can be achieved when the necessary time is put into fine tuning a game before release.
Cuphead’s biggest enemy isn’t the Devil, it’s RNGesus.
It is a good game. It can be frustrating at times when you lose, but it’s really a game for those who were in the 80’s or 90’s and quite a blast from the past. Some of the character designs were even inspired by old cartoons such as Popeye.
We've been waiting years for Cuphead, and it's been totally worth it. Some issues with the run and gun levels do dampen the overall experience, but not to any significant degree. Cuphead is challenging, exciting and most importantly, enjoyable.
Cuphead is not only a charming love letter to Cartoons from the 30s, but also an exciting boss rush marathon that is sure to get your heart pumping without ever getting into territory of "too hard" or "unfair". Even if there might be a lack of content and variation over time, it was never enough to hinder the sheer amount of fun I had in fighting all these giants dragons, robots, sunflowers and vegetables.
Review in German | Read full review
Cuphead is a throwback in almost every sense of the word. Visually it hearkens back to an old art style that remains fascinating today. Beyond its incredible visuals however, Cuphead is a tough-as-nails action platformer that reminded me of my classic platforming days where memorizing boss patterns and learning the lay of the land were essential for victory.
The creators of this game had to remortgage their home just to make this game a reality. And all the hardships they have suffered through have been 100% worth it and I wish them the best of luck in their next endeavor. Overall Cuphead has been an absolutely fantastic experience and I just wanna keep playing it long after beating it. It has some parts that could’ve used a little extra but as it is I feel it’s almost perfect at what it sought to achieve.
StudioMDHR Entertainment could not further increase the quality of Cuphead if they resurrected Walt Disney and had him pencil the animations himself, or have Bach compose the OST. The game is that gosh-darn good.
Cuphead is a great game with fantastic visuals and has a marvelous soundtrack. A fresh and unique game recommended to everyone.
Cuphead is as tough to play as it is pretty… and boy is it pretty.
Cuphead is one of the most visually interesting games I’ve ever played. Its gameplay is a throwback to old-school bullet hell shooters and tough boss fights, without the need to worry about running out of lives. I wish I could tell you to ignore the discussion around difficulty and just buy the game, but that’s not fair. Cuphead is a challenging game that requires a lot of practice and patience. You may not enjoy it and that’s fine. However, if you’re at all interested in what Cuphead has to offer then you should take the risk. Dive in and see what happens. I played Cuphead for 15 hours and most of them were a hell of a lot of fun. Not all of them, but most.
With a gorgeous look and some surprisingly taxing boss battles, Cuphead stylishly combines adorableness and adversity in equal measure, difficult enough to take multiple attempts while fun enough to warrant the repeated efforts. Take a look if you enjoy challenging and unusual titles.
Overall Cuphead has managed to live up to the hype that chased the game all through its lengthy development. The game has a character all of its own that bleeds out of every nook and cranny while it tests the limits of your perseverance against a wonderful gallery of enemies.