Date played: September 30th
Platform: Xbox One
There aren't enough words to describe how much I love Cuphead. It's pure fun. There's nothing complicated about it. It's just a bunch of boss battles. Mechanically, I feel like this game could have been made on a 16 bit system. It's so simple, yet so elegant and well balanced. That's not to say it's easy of course! Quite the opposite in fact, but it rarely feels unfair. The incredible visual artistry on display is just like a giant, delicious cherry on top.
I completed the first world of the game. This meant one run and gun level in the forest and a parrying mini-game. It also meant a group of dangerous bosses to defeat. Success is earned in Cuphead. Every mistake must also be a lesson learned, since the game is so unforgiving. Now that I've played more of it, I have a better understanding of the basic movements and abilities that can be used.
The first boss I beat was a giant blue blob in the forest. He mainly just jumped around, requiring swift reactions from my little cup guy. The shotgun weapon has proven to be the most useful here. In the first phase, a particularly dangerous attack sees the blob deform itself to hit me. The second phase sees the blob grow in size and make longer, faster jumps. Finally, it's third form see the blob turn into a tombstone that charges quickly.
The second battle was set in a cabaret, filled with enthusiastically animated characters. I fought a pair of giant boxing frogs. Yep. These guys were pretty easy compared to most of the other bosses so far, but they were still fucking hard. The first phase had them throwing shit at me. The second phase featured a whirlwind attack that forced Cuphead to move in different directions. The final phase had a huge slot machine attacking me with coins...
The third was against an evil, kung-fu punching, boomerang throwing flower. Another really difficult battle, particularly towards the end. The phases here were less clear, with subtle changes to the speed of projectiles and attacks. The third phase was very clear though, as the flower extended it's thorns and roots to cover the floor. This battle was very fast and required lots of dashing and quick jumps.
However, the most impressive battle of all was against Hilda. This level was very different than the rest because it took place in a little plane. It played a lot like Gradius actually. This battle was very long and had many phases, probably around 6 or 7 of them. The boss would transform into different creatures during the battle. She was sometimes a woman, a bull, a pair of dancing women, a muscular archer and finally, a moon.
The moon's style, animation and menacing expression was so impressive, I literally shouted out a series of expletive-laden sentences, such as "Holy fucking shit I can't believe it!", "These motherfuckers are wizards. They're wizards!" and of course, the classic, "WHOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHH SHIT!".
This whole battle required intense concentration, a lot of memorization, swift reflexes, smart movement around the field and a solid pair of balls. Shit moves fast in this game, and every mistake is punished heavily. I'm sure the second world has many new challenges for me, and I can't wait to see each and every one of them.
Platform: Xbox One
There aren't enough words to describe how much I love Cuphead. It's pure fun. There's nothing complicated about it. It's just a bunch of boss battles. Mechanically, I feel like this game could have been made on a 16 bit system. It's so simple, yet so elegant and well balanced. That's not to say it's easy of course! Quite the opposite in fact, but it rarely feels unfair. The incredible visual artistry on display is just like a giant, delicious cherry on top.
I completed the first world of the game. This meant one run and gun level in the forest and a parrying mini-game. It also meant a group of dangerous bosses to defeat. Success is earned in Cuphead. Every mistake must also be a lesson learned, since the game is so unforgiving. Now that I've played more of it, I have a better understanding of the basic movements and abilities that can be used.
The first boss I beat was a giant blue blob in the forest. He mainly just jumped around, requiring swift reactions from my little cup guy. The shotgun weapon has proven to be the most useful here. In the first phase, a particularly dangerous attack sees the blob deform itself to hit me. The second phase sees the blob grow in size and make longer, faster jumps. Finally, it's third form see the blob turn into a tombstone that charges quickly.
The second battle was set in a cabaret, filled with enthusiastically animated characters. I fought a pair of giant boxing frogs. Yep. These guys were pretty easy compared to most of the other bosses so far, but they were still fucking hard. The first phase had them throwing shit at me. The second phase featured a whirlwind attack that forced Cuphead to move in different directions. The final phase had a huge slot machine attacking me with coins...
The third was against an evil, kung-fu punching, boomerang throwing flower. Another really difficult battle, particularly towards the end. The phases here were less clear, with subtle changes to the speed of projectiles and attacks. The third phase was very clear though, as the flower extended it's thorns and roots to cover the floor. This battle was very fast and required lots of dashing and quick jumps.
However, the most impressive battle of all was against Hilda. This level was very different than the rest because it took place in a little plane. It played a lot like Gradius actually. This battle was very long and had many phases, probably around 6 or 7 of them. The boss would transform into different creatures during the battle. She was sometimes a woman, a bull, a pair of dancing women, a muscular archer and finally, a moon.
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| The coolest boss in the game so far |
The moon's style, animation and menacing expression was so impressive, I literally shouted out a series of expletive-laden sentences, such as "Holy fucking shit I can't believe it!", "These motherfuckers are wizards. They're wizards!" and of course, the classic, "WHOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHH SHIT!".
This whole battle required intense concentration, a lot of memorization, swift reflexes, smart movement around the field and a solid pair of balls. Shit moves fast in this game, and every mistake is punished heavily. I'm sure the second world has many new challenges for me, and I can't wait to see each and every one of them.
