It's hard to find where to start with Cuphead... and it's also hard to find when to stop. My game of 2017, and it's en route to being the first one I ever 100% - I just can't stop!

I guess I should take this review one step at a time, or else I might just devolve into meaningless praise. Cuphead is remarkable, and difficult, and it's remarkable because of how it handles being difficult. It doesn't hold your hand, but it teaches you enough using a reasonable difficulty curve - it encourages you enough by showing you how much progress you made before each death - that it feels hard, but it doesn't feel unbeatable. The progress I was able to make from getting my ass beat by Hilda Berg to getting an A ranking on the Devil felt like that was just the natural course of things. The game is completely user-friendly as well, with controller compatibility and fully customizable keyboard controls that have no need for mouse usage. It also runs very well and has (98% of the time) perfect hitboxes and mechanics.

Speaking of hitboxes, what with the artstyle of hand-drawn 30s cartoons, you would think it would impede gameplay; And at first, it feels like it does. There's always a whole lot going on and it's hard to adjust at first. But soon enough, you learn to love it. The unique boss animations, fluid 3D (non-cgi!) backgrounds, and adorable overworld sprites don't even begin to list all of my favourite visual aspects, and they were all done painstakingly by a small group of creators. Respect!

Sound design is also excellent, though I find that there's not quite enough in-your-face distinguishing features from one boss soundtrack to the next to make them truly memorable if you're just playing (with the exception of Floral Fury, in my opinion). That's a real shame, because this game has my favourite soundtrack of all time - and real gems like Dramatic Fanatic and Railroad Wrath really don't get a chance to shine in-game. Hitting, shooting, and parrying sounds are all very satisfying and add to gameplay as well.

Overall, this is a 10/10, but only just: I think that if this game weren't so good on its own, it would have been knocked down to a 9 because of the lack of online multiplayer support! Couch co-op is fun, and it's reminiscent of old games, like Cuphead aims to be, but... Come on, that's no excuse. Maybe I'll say it's a 9.8 for that, but in the overwhelming excellence of the game, I'll round up.

Absolutely worth the price, maybe even more than it sells for. I'm stunned that this is an indie game! Potential like this isn't something I've seen from an up-and-coming studion in a long, long time. I'm very excited to see what else Studio MDHR will bring us!

It's hard to find where to start with Cuphead... and it's also hard to find when to stop. My game of 2017, and it's en route to being the first one I ever 100% - I just can't stop! I guess I should take this review one step at a time, or else I might just devolve into meaningless praise. Cuphead is remarkable, and difficult, and it's remarkable because of how it handles being difficult. It doesn't hold your hand, but it teaches you enough using a reasonable difficulty curve - it encourages you enough by showing you how much progress you made before each death - that it feels hard, but it doesn't feel unbeatable. The progress I was able to make from getting my ass beat by Hilda Berg to getting an A ranking on the Devil felt like that was just the natural course of things. The game is completely user-friendly as well, with controller compatibility and fully customizable keyboard controls that have no need for mouse usage. It also runs very well and has (98% of the time) perfect hitboxes and mechanics. Speaking of hitboxes, what with the artstyle of hand-drawn 30s cartoons, you would think it would impede gameplay; And at first, it feels like it does. There's always a whole lot going on and it's hard to adjust at first. But soon enough, you learn to love it. The unique boss animations, fluid 3D (non-cgi!) backgrounds, and adorable overworld sprites don't even begin to list all of my favourite visual aspects, and they were all done painstakingly by a small group of creators. Respect! Sound design is also excellent, though I find that there's not quite enough in-your-face distinguishing features from one boss soundtrack to the next to make them truly memorable if you're just playing (with the exception of Floral Fury, in my opinion). That's a real shame, because this game has my favourite soundtrack of all time - and real gems like Dramatic Fanatic and Railroad Wrath really don't get a chance to shine in-game. Hitting, shooting, and parrying sounds are all very satisfying and add to gameplay as well. Overall, this is a 10/10, but only just: I think that if this game weren't so good on its own, it would have been knocked down to a 9 because of the lack of online multiplayer support! Couch co-op is fun, and it's reminiscent of old games, like Cuphead aims to be, but... Come on, that's no excuse. Maybe I'll say it's a 9.8 for that, but in the overwhelming excellence of the game, I'll round up. Absolutely worth the price, maybe even more than it sells for. I'm stunned that this is an indie game! Potential like this isn't something I've seen from an up-and-coming studion in a long, long time. I'm very excited to see what else Studio MDHR will bring us!