Quote:
Originally Posted by Fignuts
Played Cuphead for about an hour, and I'm already in love with this game.
So worth the wait.
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Kinda don't think I need to dignify this... because... you know...*
I was on board with the idea when I first heard about it for a multitude of reasons. Chief among them was the whole 30's cartoon vibe that this game fully commits to short of licencing Bimbo, Bosko, Betty Boop, and any other possible early toons whose names start with "B". But OTHER reasons, like the underwhelming Mighty No. 9 and Yooka-Laylee and other underwhelming kickstarted titles helping derail the hype train. Still took a chance on this (and Ghost of a Tale), and super glad I did. Something something Steamboat Willie fan on prom night.
I remember a Penny Arcade comic called "The Megaman 9 Effect", and felt the same way whilst playing this. Especially if you're lucky enough to share a couch with someone (which I was, much like like with Scott Pilgrim before the DLC). There are some nitpicky issues, like the fact that:
a) parrys, supers, specials, and knockouts don't offer frames of invincibility directly after use. Knockouts in particular... man, you don't know how many times I've killed a boss just to have one of those parting shots nail me and all that work just evaporated.
b) time only stops on activation of a superspecials, not use... which I don't know if was intentional or not, but on spots where you have to pay attenton to not only the target but the environment (like Grim Matchstick), you can screw yourself.
c) Lack of preview for powerups. Considering you are committed to a purchase, it would be nice to see what you're getting yourself into when your coins are at a premium. While nothing is really "unneccessary", some weapons/items are situationally better, and if you don't know that beforehand, tough shit, because you already bought something else and you're stuck with it as it basically saves what you've done.
d) Super specials must be used if gained. There are times where your meter gets 100% full, but I just wanted to use the regular special because of shot timing. It would be nice to toggle each independently instead of adding meter monitoring to the layered patterns and bullet hell.
e) Kinda goes back to a with the parry, but for the second player revive: if you die while reviving your partner at the apex of your jump, fuck you, because they can't reach.
Don't know if any of that is intentional for the "Nintendo hard" difficulty or an oversight. What I do know is that all of that together seems to make things more frustrating that it seems like it should be.
However...
Nothing I said is actually anywhere close to being a deal breaker. Cue up all the "GIT GUD" you can muster, because it is pretty much like trying to plow through Contra without "the code" the first time you ever played it. The art and music direction is obviously astounding, but it actually has an added effect of making you less likely to smash your controller against the wall because you just can't stay mad at it no mater how many "this isn't even my final form" baddies cut you down. Repeatedly. Without mercy. Because of the bossrush-y nature of the thing, it's fairly easy to take on as much at a time as you want. Spend some hours or kill a few spare minutes on a couple of tries. Fun either way.
As much as a lot of big budget titles are going into the loot box sausage factory and going all in with microtransactions, this is a refreshing change in every way, and it feels almost shameful that I'm getting more enjoyment from a $20 download than a $60+ juggernaut looking to bleed people dry. I can only hope whenever Bloodstained shows up, it will also steer clear of being a disappointing shitshow, and even more hope that there is more of this on the way in the future.
TL;DR - Buy it if you can, survive if it lets you!
*future proofing: my current avatar is from said game. It will undoubtedly change at some point and have impact on my comment, if anyone gives a shit by then.