Review for Cuphead. Game for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch and Mac, the video game was released on 29/09/2017 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 18/04/2019 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 28/07/2020
When you say that video games are an art form, usually we always end up looking for what elements in the videogame scene are suitable for this description: game style, artwork and so on.
Apparently Studio MDHR has taken a direct approach in this respect indeed Cuphead is a work of art for the eyes in every little detail. But will its gameplay be able to match the quality applied to the visual sector?
The plot (represented in the form of an illustrated book) tells the story of the two brothers Cuphead and Mugman, happy and carefree inhabitants of Inkwell Island: their life was pure fun, kept out of harm's way thanks to the watchful presence of the old Kettle.
But one day they decided to venture into Devil's Casino, where the desire to win immense wealth drove them to play their souls with the devil himself. After losing, they negotiated with the devil and he himself proposed what will become our goal: recover the souls of those who should have delivered it to him.
Old Kettle will give us the power to face all the devil's debtors and after the short tutorial our adventure will begin.
It is useless to go around it: the first thing that stands out about Cuphead is the graphics: the 30s style followed so maniacally by Studio MDHR has a visual impact that very few other games can boast. Each character and object has a unique and distinct style, attention to detail and faithful to the inspiration brought by the animated shorts of Disney and Fleischer Studios.
From them the developer wanted to capture not only the pure and simple visual aspect, but also that sense of chaotic, disturbing and completely surreal that characterized those early forms of animated entertainment.
All graphics (including animations) have been designed starting from hand-made drawings frame by frame, with the aim of giving the player the feeling of having a real cardboard in front of him. The result is totally successful: we often found ourselves staring at the screen enjoying what Cuphead has to offer almost as if it were a plain and simple cartoon.
But what would a 30s animated short be without an adequate soundtrack? Here comes Kristofer Maddigan, who recorded in the studio with an entire orchestra almost three hours of contemporary music with the style of the game. Shrill wind instruments and percussion with a cheerful and urgent rhythm make this whole soundtrack the perfect soundtrack for a vintage revival night with friends.
In addition to the songs, Cuphead manages not to exaggerate with the sounds and noises: they are also made coherently with the main style of the title: they they blend perfectly with the soundtrack and although they are often repeated, they are never too much or excessively jovial. Each sound has a slight background noise, as if the audio came from a gramophone; a great idea that we enjoyed with joy.
But now let's go back to the question we all asked ourselves at the beginning of this review: Does the gameplay live up to the quality of the stylistic sector? Could it really be so difficult that it is priceless?
A premise must be made. If Studio MDHR wanted to delight our eyes with the art of the '30s, so he wanted us to curse and destroy the controllers with a gameplay of the games of the' 80s.
Cuphead is a platform side-scroller run & gun with moments in style side scrolling shoot-em-up is based on numerous boss challenges.
Once the tutorial is over, you can move freely around the map and access the various levels. This mode will allow you to interact with other characters and search for secret levels or paths, often hidden by more vivid graphics than the background (in the same way that, in old cartoons, the moving parts were more evident than the static background).
The map will also be present the shop to buy upgrades from. They will be able to improve the offensive, increase the life or improve the movements of the protagonist but everyone will have a weak point- Vitality increase for example will reduce firepower, multidirectional fire will be short range and less effective than normal fire and so on.
Speaking of levels, the side-scroller ones are characterized by an elaborate level design and fun and well thought out platforming structures. Like in the games of the 80s, the enemies were placed maniacally, thus giving a first taste of difficulty with their position alone. But obviously the enemies will not stand still.
What is striking from the first level is the amount of opponents that move around the screen every second (to the point of becoming chaotic at times): among possessed flowers, trunks firing bullets and jumping ladybugs you find yourself inundated with dangers that will require special attention from the user. In fact, Cuphead will not reward players who will stand still: imitating old titles like Ghosts and Goblins e Mega Man it will require constant movement in order not to fall victim to the infinite respawn of enemies.
After surviving an army of murderous creatures, sometimes you will face a sort of end-of-level boss.
Respecting the spirit of vintage games, dying anywhere on the level will return to the beginning of the level. No check points or help, only infinite lives and the maintenance of weapons and upgrades even in case of defeat.
In addition to this mode, in some areas of the map it will be possible to access the aforementioned challenges with the (real) bosses. They will be those from whom you will have to redeem the soul and certainly they will not want to give it to you easily.
Each boss will pay homage to you with a plethora of attacks performed in a totally random and unpredictable order. Each offensive in turn has randomized elements (such as how much our opponent will move to hit us, how many bullets he will fire and how often and so on) making constant attention and quick reflexes fundamental.
If all this is not enough bosses will mutate into multiple forms, each with different physical and offensive characteristics. In short, those souls you will have to sweat a lot.
Yet Cuphead is not impossible. It's not even that hard. In addition to including a facilitated mode, the small indie developer he managed to reconcile a steep difficulty curve with mechanics so responsive and precise as to make it accessible.
After each defeat we didn't feel disheartened and didn't swear at some alleged mistake in the game, indeed we were led to start again immediately to improve and to continue. It is a continuous challenge, whose fairness towards the player instills in his mind the desire to continue without making him feel punished by his mistake and once you pass the level you feel infinitely satisfied and satisfied.
First of all thanks to the demonstration, in the form of a small map, of the progress made up to the point of death (which therefore leads the user to want to overcome that imaginary point reached) and an incredibly well crafted control system. The movements of the protagonist they are so easily accessible that they allow dodges or incredible attacks from the very first game.
Cuphead will have the dash to dodge opponents (which can be done on the ground and in the air) and the ability to fire bullets in eight different directions. Our protagonist will also be able to take advantage of a powerful special attack, which will be executable only after the paper-shaped indicator has loaded. Each gauge will allow a single boost hit.
The developer has been able to perfectly exploit the positioning of all the controller keys, making each type of move easily accessible and executable. We have never been in trouble with mapping and have not felt the need to make any adjustments.
Playing it on a PC with a keyboard the situation changes slightly: although the mapping is sensible and well thought out, the peripheral is simply not the ideal candidate for the type of game. We therefore recommend using a controller or better still an arcade stick (with which we had incredibly enjoyable gaming moments).
Another noteworthy element is the presence of co-op multiplayer with two players (currently only in local local unfortunately), thanks to which it will be possible help each other out as both Cuphead and Mugman. In the event of the death of a player, the other can resurrect him simply by jumping towards his soul before it gets past the top edge of the screen
A final appreciation goes to the PC port. Performance and loading are excellent, free of delays and defects. The minimum requirements are incredibly low, enough to require components from almost 10 years ago.
Cuphead is a work of art. It is for its unique and captivating graphics and for its incredible soundtrack. But what Studio MDHR has managed to accomplish goes far beyond what sight and hearing can grasp. Solid and precise mechanics, maniacal study of level design and enemies, above average level of challenge but made perfectly accessible. These are things that are even more of a rarity in the indie scene than in the graphics sector. But why say "indie landscape" when Cuphead manages to stand out on many triple A games? Sure it is a nostalgic reference to the titles of the past, but it is a respectful and conscientious re-enactment able to avoid all the defects that the old games had and offering the player a satisfying and fun learning ladder.
Cuphead is available for PCs running Windows 10 and Xbox One.
► Cuphead is a Platform-Shooter game developed and published by Studio MDHR for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch and Mac, the video game was released on 29/09/2017 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 18/04/2019 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 28/07/2020
