For example, a stage with swarms of enemies benefits from a powerful short-range attack, a buff that automatically accumulates special attacks and a screen-clearing super move. A thoughtful loadout can impact the difficulty of a stage. In a fight, Cuphead can carry two weapons, a bonus power and a special attack at all times. Anytime the challenge feels too great, a solution can typically be found by inhaling, exhaling and carefully considering all possible solutions before diving back into the fight.Ĭuphead unlocks new weapons and abilities rapidly, allowing for further experimentation in pursuit of the optimal way to beat any given boss. Where Cuphead scolds speed, it rewards a careful and thoughtful method. If anything, the boss fights punish pride, filling stages with minions, projectiles and traps. The game isn’t designed for true gamers to race through with nothing but raw skill and unearned confidence. It’s a lovely palate-cleanser, and I hope to see more of these missions in future expansions. Tucked into the game are three mausoleum stages in which Cuphead can only extinguish ghosts with parries, sending the little goober bouncing across the screen, bopping one ghost after the other. In one stage, they are dice skittering across a casino craps table in another, they’re tears raining from a ghoulish pair of eyes.įinding the parry-able objects can become a game of recon, sending Cuphead into a fight not to win, but to spot the path to victory for a rematch.

Only pink objects can be parried, and they change between levels, often blending into the scene. In some ways, I enjoyed the parrying system more than Cuphead’s various attacks. Parrying - hopping into attacks, then bouncing off them at the last moment - is a crucial and relatively forgiving mechanic in C uphead, not requiring the superhuman timing of fighting games that feature a similar move.

Does cuphead have online co op