Cuphead

Quirky characters, amazing animation and a lot of fun

$19.99 From Studio MDHR, cupheadgame.com Needs OS X 10.9 or later

The post–battle results may say C-, but the feeling when you finally beat a stage in Cuphead is A+. Beating enemies can be slow and sometimes painful, but the surge of euphoria when you do is undeniable.

Seconds into a battle, you’re often fending off multiple threats. With just three hit points, there’s little margin for error, and once you’ve begun to acclimatize to an attack pattern, you’ll restart if you take damage in that phase. That’s the first sign that Cuphead has got its hooks into you.

Delivering a killing blow overwhelms with relief and satisfaction. The clock will say it took a few minutes, but the relentless, exhausting intensity makes fights feel five times that. The reward might not be worth persevering for if the controls weren’t ace.

Equipped with a reliable jump and dash, Cuphead is nimble and responsive. A parry move that lets you slap back pink projectiles can seem fussy in its timing. Still, it’s used intelligently to fill a meter, which can be spent in parts or saved for a huge blowout. A series of thrillingly diverse encounters is built around these simple ingredients. Bosses, on top of various attack patterns, adopt several distinct forms. Some play as pursuits, others confined to a claustrophobic space. Random elements keep things fresh, so you can’t rely on muscle memory.

A huge part of Cuphead’s appeal is seeing what bizarre monstrosity awaits you next. Not that there’s much time to marvel at the astonishing hand–drawn animation, since you’ll be laser–focused on surviving. Only after the fact can you really appreciate the ingenious visuals. The game’s sound effects and big band soundtrack almost equal it.

Cuphead is a tough nut to crack, and you need to play the Regular setting (which is hard) to see everything. Whether it’s fair is more important. Mostly it is, but you’ll sometimes be hit due to unavoidable positioning, not your own fault.

Still, the ratio of fun to frustration is more than acceptable for what’s clearly a labor of love. There’s not a whiff of cynicism about Cuphead; from its aesthetic to its systems, is utterly its own thing. As tough as it gets; ultimately that’s what’s worth raving about.

the bottom line. A demanding but rewarding modern 2D shooter that looks and sounds fantastic.

Surprisingly, Cuphead’s amazing graphics demand only very modest Mac specifications.

The cartoon map is easy to navigate and packed full of fun, offbeat characters to interact with.