Cuphead is a run-and-gun boss rush drawn in the style of 1930s cartoons, where a deal with the Devil sends the heroes collecting soul contracts. The art style is the first love, with hand-drawn animation that makes even the simplest scene a delight.
The music matches the aesthetic, with the barbershop-trio Die House and King Dice’s casino theme among the standouts. The boss variety is constant, from transformed debtors and mausoleum ghosts to plane levels and shifting stage backdrops.
The weapon and charm system gives the loadout real shape, with the converge, crack shot and chaser changing how each fight is approached. The super-meter arts, from the energy beam to the giant ghost, reward aggressive play.
The run-and-gun levels are actually harder than the bosses, with the gravity-flip Funhouse Frazzle and the pickaxe-troll level the worst. The coin economy gives them replay value, since every level hides coins worth hunting, from the archway coin to the sneaky placements.
The difficulty is the defining feature, with roughly 250 deaths across the run and the Devil the toughest single fight. The parry obsession backfires, since chasing every pink object costs more health than it saves.
The King of Games DLC gauntlet is the standout content, with chess-piece champions fought entirely through parries instead of guns. The Cursed Relic quest is miserable with its single health point, redeemed only by the eventual Divine Relic upgrade.
Overall, art style, music and boss design make Cuphead a very good game. The punishing difficulty and the harder run-and-gun levels are the main caveats.