The last few generations of indie retro style games were largely identified with pixelized display. The new 2D platform game called Cuphead is also a “retro style” game, but it draws its inspiration from  the animated cartoons, such as Disney created in the beginning of the last century. Here we primarily refer to a graphical representation that uses a contrast of water colors and a damaged antique filter, but the style is also reflected through specific jazz music that accompanies the game action. In summary – Cuphead is a game that looks like it is from some other time, in the best possible way.

Younger players could find this mixture of styles either bizarre or fascinating, but it is incredible how much this animation style fits in the video game media. In Cuphead’s case, it fits under strict conditions in which perfect precision is needed from the players. The game throws a little bit of something that will catch you unprepared, which probably would not be fair if the controls were not solid and the mechanics ingeniously designed.

Cuphead seems like a simple game with a simple concept, but the first look can be deceitful. Its classic type of gameplay, in which you mostly jump and shoot, is very easy to understand, but it is very difficult to overcome. A challenging counter-attack system, in which you need to perfectly time an extra jump to catch up with projected missiles or activate other elements in the environment, is intertwined with the core action. While you are dealing with that, you can never be sure if a bomb or a cake will fall on a little Cuphead, or ig the next boss might be a bad clown or some mean carrot.

The idea that in a huge chaos things never get crazy enough is also one of Cuphead’s best qualities, the one that is most often accompanied by cheerfulness, despite the carrot  being crushed or the cup ending up as a ghost once again. Well, some may not like the idea of ​​having to repeat some parts a hundred times because their fingers are not skilled enough for them, but the game definitely does not hide its difficulty nor does it run away from it. Cuphead is as equally challenging in the first 15 minutes of the game as in the very end.

Perhaps the smiles of bizarre characters will trick you, but it will be a lesson not to trust every diabolical smile. It is also appropriate because Cuphead and his brother Mugman find themselves in a devil’s casino where they lose a bet to the smiling devil. In order to keep their own souls, the only solution lies in the role of loan sharks whose task is to knock at the door of other debtors, that is, a team that has also gambled with the devil.

Following this story structure, the game is mainly designed in the so-called “boss rush” model. Classic levels are optional and you unlock alternative abilities. Although each level represents a clash in the duration of maybe two minutes, it can often drag on to more than half an hour, not counting the breaks in which you break everything in the house.

That is why you should not let Cuphead’s cartoon style deceive you. You cannot take an easy walk through this game, even at the easiest difficulty setting, which does not unlock a new area anyway; it just serves as a practice. This is one of those beast games that require players to carefully analyze each shot on the move to have any chance at all.

However, through a wide range of imaginative bosses and their unpredictably dense phases, Cuphead genuinely exploits the opportunity to show you at each loss how accurate your success was. This is exactly where we come to the “just one more” attempt, where you are sure that you will not repeat the same mistake again.

Stringing boss battles, that each level can consist of, one after another, can lead to a severe repetition, but this is not the case in Cuphead. Because of the way the boss characters are depicted and animated, each of their subsequent moves is a reward itself.

It is a big plus that you can play cooperatively with another player, but do not get your hopes up about another pot making your game life easier. Not only are the opponents scaled by the amount of beating they can receive, but there is also much more chaos on the screen.

Whether you are jumping into this crazy show solo or in a pair, you should keep in mind that Cuphead is not everyone’s cup of tea. How much fun you will get out of it, depends solely on your perseverance. If you are like Rick Astley and are never giving it up, you should definitely not miss this opportunity for a truly magical, yet somewhat insidious experience.