In one stage you’ll use the parry to nudge a handcar forward or back as you race alongside a train in another you’ll slap springboards to clear a tall enemy. Some play out like pursuits, while others are confined to a single, claustrophobic space. Bosses don’t just limit themselves to a host of different attack patterns, but adopt several distinct forms. These are simple ingredients, but Studio MDHR builds a series of thrillingly diverse encounters around them. Still, it’s used intelligently, letting you build your special meter-which can be spent in increments or saved for a huge blowout-and also doubling as a method of traversal. A parry move that lets you slap back any pink projectiles by hitting jump again in mid-air can occasionally seem a little fussy in its timing. Equipped with a reliable jump and dash, Cuphead is nimble and responsive, his handling so expertly calibrated than an analogue stick-hardly ideal, you’d think, in a game designed for digital precision-never feels like a handicap. That feeling might not be worth persevering for if the controls weren’t immaculate. The clock will say it took you two or three minutes, but such is the relentless, exhausting intensity of these fights that each attempt feels five times as long. And then suddenly you’ll deliver the killing blow and the wave of relief and satisfaction is overwhelming. That’s the first sign that Cuphead’s got its hooks into you. With just three hit points, you’ve precious little margin for error as such, once you’ve begun to acclimatise to a particular attack pattern, you’ll find yourself restarting if you take damage during that phase. Within seconds of a battle kicking off, you often find yourself fending off threats on multiple fronts, simultaneously tracking Cuphead’s position but also keeping an eye on something hovering ominously above, another threat incoming on ground level, and another projectile or five floating somewhere in between. You’ll shout and swear plenty, but you’ll know it’s really yourself you’re annoyed with. Its difficulty hasn’t been understated, then, but crucially, it’s hardly ever the game’s fault if you get hit. But when you eventually do, the surge of euphoria is undeniable.
Not so much a boss rush as a boss crawl, Studio MDHR’s outstanding debut pits you against some of the toughest enemies you’ll face in a videogame, and the process of beating them can be slow and sometimes painful. The post-battle results screen might say C-, but the feeling when you finally beat a stage in Cuphead is A+.
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