LogFAQs > #932907545

#30





Years of release: 2017 (PC/XB1), 2019 (Switch)
Beaten?: Yes

Typically, I am about a year or two behind on games at all times, except for the real must plays. I don't have a lot of money, so when I buy games I prefer to wait for them to go on sale when I can. I always feel like I'm a bit behind on game of the year discussions and I never fully end up catching up until a year or two afterwards, but I'm never lacking for new games to play, so it isn't really too much of a big deal. But when I saw videos of Cuphead, I knew that I had to stop watching immediately and play the game myself. It couldn't wait. I HAD to play this game and experience it for myself.

I'm sure everyone's probably familiar with Cuphead at this point, but if you aren't, you should make yourself familiar, because it's one of the most interesting works of art created within the gaming medium to date. The idea to create video game bosses out of hand-drawn, 1930's-style animation was a genius one, and it is flawlessly executed here. Every character is fluidly animated and wonderful to look at in every frame, and the artists filled every character with an infectious sense of personality. The soundtrack is a real gift, too; actual big-band music written and recorded live, and it's easily one of the most impressively written soundtracks of the decade. I could really go on about the visuals and music in this game all day. There's just nothing like it in gaming and it really got all the press it did for good reason.

It isn't just a loving tribute to old-time animation, either, but also old-time games; this is a run-and-gun boss rush with plenty of little nods to classic games; Mega Man 2, Battletoads, Super Mario World to name a few off the top of my head. This game gets a reputation for being difficult like those games too, and while I don't find this game to be more challenging than the Contras of the day that this game is styled after, that reputation is still well-earned. I never found it too unfair, though. For as well designed as the game's aesthetics are, the boss designs are also well-tuned; I love how the bizarre personalities of each character lend themselves well to unique attack patterns, and they never seem too ridiculous to dodge, at least with a little bit of practice. The game does reward practice and strong play, though, which I appreciate, although I found the shmup stages maybe a little too hard overall.

The only reason I couldn't rank it higher is that every game higher on my list has a more interesting gameplay conceit or a more interesting story to tell. As beautiful as this game is, and as fun to play as it is, it's still kind of just a Contra boss rush, albeit a very well polished and creative one. Its novelty does wear thin soon enough after it's beaten once, at least for me, and I spent less time with this one than every other game on the list I ranked above it except for one. But it was a game that was well worth my efforts to play it in the actual year it was released, and I do still think about this game quite a bit. I really can't state enough how hard it is to only rank this game #30.