Run and gun action game Cuphead is going to be the next big thing

IF YOU haven’t heard of the 1930s cartoon inspired video game Cuphead, you need to get purchase it right now because it’s about to become huge.

THE GAME made me scream with such anger, I am lucky my neighbours didn’t call the police with fears some sort of bikie torture plot was taking place in my living room.

Don’t let my frustrations fool you, I was having a blast. The game was just hard, very hard.

The title in question is Cuphead — a newly released classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles

Let’s start with the fandom around the art style of the game, which pays homage to 1930s cartoons from Disney and Fleischer Studios.
Having a game inspired by cartoons of the 1930s wasn’t enough for brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer and animator Jake Clark, who painstakingly created the visuals and audio with the same techniques of the era.

This means using traditional hand drawn cel animation, watercolour backgrounds, and original jazz recordings — the crackle of the vinyl during loading is my favourite aspect.

Combining the run and gun format with the 1930s art creates some sort of nostalgic overload that is refreshing in the world of modern video games.

It also fits perfectly with the story about a cup that makes a deal with the devil, which requires him to collect the devil’s contracts to repay his own.

As mentioned earlier, Cuphead’s gameplay is harder than people had expect.

You guys #Cuphead is BRUTAL. Amazing art, beautiful music but the gameplay is so hard I don't know if I'll see the end :(

— Andrea Rene (@andrearene) September 29, 2017

Cuphead is stupid hard. This will probably please a lot of people. I'm not one of them. The amazing art will keep me going for now though

— Ernie's feeling ok (@atPeteDodd) September 29, 2017

Played Cuphead on the weekend. Deceptively good looking game that is damn hard. Fun though. You die a lot.

— Paul Glavich (@glav) October 2, 2017

Some people suggest those complaining about the difficulty are bad gamers, but there’s a difference between a challenge and frustratingly hard.

Thankfully Cuphead isn’t impossible and can be beat using pattern recognition to read your opponent.

The game’s bosses generally start with simple attacks that become increasingly difficult as their health is depleted, with extra enemies sometimes called in for reinforcement in the final stage of the battle.

If you think you are going to beat the levels on the first attempt, you are sadly mistaken and can expect to die over and over and over again.

In instances when I thought I had figured out a good part of the pattern, I still managed to die from the press of a wrong button or moving just centimetres in the wrong direction.

What makes those mistakes even more frustrating is you die within a few hits of damage, while bosses literally need hundreds of shots to be beaten.

Oh and there is no health bar to gauge how much life is left in your opponent, however a percentage bar does appear when you die to show just how close you were to victory — and rub salt into the wound.

If I made a mistake early in the level and lost health, I would just restart to stop because without those extra lives, making the end of the level was highly unlikely.

It also spared my neighbour from hearing another string of “F” and “C” words usually reserved for a Rodney Rude gig.

Cuphead has some of the best artwork I have ever seen on a video game

There is a distinct possibility that if you have read this far you wondering why anyone would want to buy this highly difficult game.

The answer to that is simple — when you do finally beat the level after an hour and a half of restarting it feels amazing and lifts your spirits like you have never felt before.

And almost forgetting the blood-boiling anger you felt earlier, you move onto the next stage and repeat the process.

Unlike other reviewers that have clocked the game, I am still working my way through the levels and will be enlisting the help of a second player when someone is around my house and willing to test their patience.

I also intent to keep playing the game because it’s been a long time since something has evoked the type of emotions Cuphead has been able to.

From parties to lazy Sundays to night after night, I honestly believe this is a type of game anyone can enjoy — just maybe avoid it if you have high blood pressure.

Cuphead is out now on Xbox One, Windows 10 and Steam.

Did you find Cuphead too difficult? Continue the conversation in the comments below or with Matthew Dunn on Facebook and Twitter.

Originally published as Run and gun action game Cuphead is going to be the next big thing