to preface my review, i would say i am a "cosy gamer" - i love to play sandbox games, the sims, visual novels and some old-school platformers. my boyfriend has been wanting me to play cuphead for the longest time, and i've always been quite apprehensive to do so. he, on the contrary, thrives in brutal, difficult games like spelunky, don't starve together and of course, cuphead. while he loves a challenge, i use games to unwind! i eventually (hence the low game time on my account) completed a decent chunk of the game on his account, before getting a copy for my own. now that i have more or less hit the ceiling with cuphead, i wanted to give an honest review as someone who doesn't play these types of games!
firstly, it must be acknowledged how much of a painstaking, meticulous project cuphead was for everybody involved from studio MDHR, particularly for the animators. what a labour of love to create a game that so closely mimics animation of the '30s! some of my favourite environments were the gorgeous, glittering, disney-esque evil kitchen of chef saltbaker from the delicious last course, the sly speakeasy of ribby & croaks and dr. kahl's robot, whose design reminded me of the iron giant. that said, every level had some level of beauty to appreciate and marvel over.
nonetheless, i still really struggled through the first isle. i was yet to understand that the run & guns were typically more difficult, and the stress led me to make a lot of silly errors. after hobbling from isle 1 to 2, the second boss i chose, unbeknownst to me, was grim matchstick. despite his reputation in the community, he was the boss that made things *click*. fortunately (and unfortunately), i also earnt my first A rank on grim matchstick. from that point, my primary objective was not only survival, but to obtain high rankings!
having a new mindset on the game let me breeze through cala maria & rumor honeybottoms, two bosses that previously frightened me! i genuinely think that for fellow people who don't play high-difficulty games, having the "click" moment will feel all the more rewarding. once the mechanics of the game begin to make sense, it becomes far less intimidating and more rewarding of an experience :)
some tips i have for any new players that are starting out:
- your hardest bosses won't necessarily be the ones the community speaks of. for me, it was djimmi the great & wally warbles who gave me hell!
- you can always come back and earn higher ranks when you're a little more adept at the game.
- don't feel guilty about using everything that the game gives you - especially DLC items. ms. chalice, the heart ring, auto parrying - whatever will give you a better baseline to enjoy the game and thrive! not everyone is going to be a cup or mug main, and that's ok! i'm personally not going to be.
- TAKE BREAKS! sometimes the biggest thing your brain needs to complete a level is the refresher of time ♡
the only major con i have is that currently there aren't enough options re: accessibility in the game. the biggest barrier i encountered while playing the game was visual clarity! i can't imagine how difficult the game is for people with visual impairments of any kind.
persistence and perseverance can be really rewarding, and that's something i learnt through cuphead ♡ if you're anything like me, i hope this review can appeal to you and encourage you to give cuphead a try!
