Nerds That Geek Game Review: 'Cuphead'

Written by Joel T. Lewis

I don’t know much about video games but I know what I like. When it comes to video games I’m kind of a late bloomer: my gaming education in no way rode the wave of innovation or popularity: I had a NES console when I was 6 or 7 and could play Contra and Super Mario (and that’s about all I had) on a tube TV with broken channel knobs and wooden trim and when I was 10 or 11 my parents bought my sister and I an N64 and I played that and only that until I went to college. Even when I got to college and had some money to throw at a new console, I opted for a blocky used Xbox 360 which shortly thereafter gave me the dreaded Red Ring of Death.

So I kind of missed out on the novelty of console games with online multiplayer modes, and when I had systems capable of running them, I didn’t really enjoy them. I also get pretty intense motion-sickness from playing First-Person Shooters like Doom, Halo, Call of Duty, or Overwatch so there’s a huge swath of games I can’t even boot up. So between being a few console generations behind the curve and too queasy to play some of the most popular of today’s video games I’m by no means an expert when it comes to video games and I don’t rush out day one to pick up the latest releases. That being said, where do I get off writing a review of a video game?

Well one thing that my video game upbringing gave me was an appreciation for what has become known as the ‘Couch Co-Op’ genre of gameplay. My hours of Mario Kart 64, Contra, Super Mario Bros., and Star Wars: Racer instilled in me a profound affection for sitting next to a buddy, eyes glued to a screen, sharing trash talk and controller tossing. I don’t get that from online multiplayer. Part of the beauty of those days was that nobody had to own every single game: you just found a buddy with a different console, or different cartridges and you got to play together. Nowadays, if I want to play Battlefront with a friend, we both have to be on the internet, both have to have the game and a separate console, and if we want to play it in the same room we need two separate screens! Now I know that the PC fans among you are pulling your hair out in response to my resistance to the LAN party concept, which has been around for ages, but I’m lazy, and I don’t want to spend my time setting up a game when all I want is that old-school, Couch Co-Op experience.

Enter Cuphead: a gorgeous wicked hard run and gun action game which combines razor-precise platforming with brutal bullet-hell boss battles that you can play in a couch co-op two player mode. I’ve played this game every day since I’ve bought it. I’ve brought my laptop to two different apartments and played with 6 different partners, more than happy to start over from the very beginning of the game. But more than just scratching that Couch Co-Op itch for me, I find myself returning time and again to Cuphead because the game is so damn charming. Visually stunning, Cuphead was crafted using the same hand-painted cel animation style as the vintage cartoons that it pays tribute to with its wild and surreal boss and level designs. Demonic potatoes that spit obstacles at you who then morph into giant weeping onions and finally shift into telepathic carrots will infect your brain as your hands go numb and eyes turn blurry. And though I’ve progressed through only about half of the game, dying more times that I can count (or would like to admit), I keep hitting ‘Retry.’

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The game is difficult but it is not unfair. Cuphead’s Bosses and run and gun levels do have predictable fire and movement patterns which can be learned and evaded with practice. As you progress you are able obtain power-ups and weapons which allow you to tailor your attack strategy to each stage of the game trading rate of fire for bullet spread, or disappearing in a cloud of smoke when you dash. 
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Everything about the presentation of this game is outstanding, from the wacky character designs and evolutions to the 20’s and 30’s era songs that accompany every boss and level. Timeless and crafted with care, Cuphead is a masterpiece.
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            A few quirks I did have with the game that are almost too nit-picky to mention are:

1. The standard controller mapping of the Dash Ability (Y for me as I was using an Xbox 360 controller with my Steam copy of the game) was a bit counterintuitive, but remapping it the Right Trigger helped a great deal.
2. The Parry Ability, which is integral to increasing your final score at the end of a stage (provided you get there), is not outlined as explicitly as it could be. I found, after discussing it with a friend, that rather than a skill that banked on timing, the Parry is more successful when thought of as a skill that creates an arc around Cuphead (or his pal Mugman) and if you use it earlier it works a lot more often.

           
Cuphead is a Steam and Xbox One exclusive title and is only $19.99. I can tell you that it’s more than worth the price and I will be playing it, and getting my butt kicked by it, for many months to come. Until Next Time, Geek On!

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