Cuphead

Cuphead is a difficult run and gun video game made and published by Studio MDHR in 2017. Cuphead is mostly adored by its similar artstyle from 90s cartoon animations, soundtrack, and its extreme difficulty. The game features 26 unique bosses (including the DLC bosses) and 6 run and gun levels. A Netflix animated series named "The Cuphead Show" which is a series about the game was released in February 18, 2022. A DLC called Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, was released in June 30, 2022.

## Plot

In Inkwell Isle, Cuphead and his brother, Mugman, are two fun-loving children who live under the watchful eye of the Elder Kettle. One day, the brothers wanders off far from home and discovers the Devil's Casino. They enter and begin to start playing craps. Momentarily, they start owning a winning streak and the Devil, the casino's owner, approaches the brothers. The Devil himself offers a deal to the pair, if Cuphead and Mugman manage to win another roll, they win the casino's loot. If not, the Devil will take their souls. Unfortunately, they lose and they start begging for another method to repay. The Devil requests Cuphead and Mugman to collect the soul contracts of previous runaway debtors before midnight. They quickly go to visit Elder Kettle and he gives them a potion that allows them to shoot from their fingers. He also warns them that the runaway debtors may attempt to fight back.

After collecting all the soul contracts and also defeating King Dice because of a bet, the brothers return to the Devil and can either hand the contracts over and transform into evil-lackeys of the Devil, or refuse and fight the Devil.

After defeating the Devil, the brothers burn the soul contracts and return home to announce the news. The debtors and Elder Kettle praises Cuphead and Mugman for their actions.

### Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course

Sometime after defeating the Devil, Cuphead and Mugman receive a letter from the Legendary Chalice about a mysterious island far from home. They travel by boat and upon arriving, they are greeted by Ms. Chalice, a ghost from the astral plane, and offers the brothers a cookie. Mugman eats the cookie and swaps bodies with Chalice for a brief moment. Chalice then introduces them to Chef Saltbaker who knows the recipe to the Wondertart, a dish that can give Chalice a physical body. However, the ingredients needed are held by bosses on the island. The brothers agree to get the ingredients.

After collecting the ingredients, the group returns to the bakery only to find Chef Saltbaker was lying and was using the Wondertart to gain control to the astral plane. He reveals that the most important ingredient is a living soul and kidnaps one of them while the other two were collecting the ingredients.

Upon defeating Chef Saltbaker, the bakery collapses and the Wondertart is gone. Chalice explains to the brothers that the Wondertart is not worth it as it requires a living soul, instead she tries and finds another solution. In the epilogue, Chef Saltbaker is arrested and sentenced to community service. After serving his sentence, he rebuilds the bakery and atones.

## Gameplay

Cuphead mainly focuses on continuous boss fights and multiple run-and-gun levels. In run-and-gun levels, the player must fight mini-bosses and reach the arrow sign at the end of the level to complete it. In boss fights, the player must defeat the boss while dodging his/her attacks. Each boss has multiple phases, each one being different and much more difficult. Occasionally, the boss shoots a pink-colored attack that the player can parry. If the player manages to parry, it fills the super meter faster and can also help dodging attacks easier. If the super meter is ready, the player can launch an attack that does massive damage. If the player manages to max the super meter, which means to obtain 5 playing cards, the player can perform an attack called "Super Arts". Super Arts are obtained after completing a mausoleum, they can be found in all the three worlds and the player must protect an urn and prevent groups of ghosts in touching the urn by parrying them. The player can also purchase items in the in-game shop, Porkrind's Emporium, the player can get special abilities and weapons using Coins, the in-game currency and is attained during levels and in the overworld. The boss fights can also either be battled in aero planes, platforms or on the ground.

After defeating a boss/completing a level, the player is presented the results of the battle. The player is ranked with a grade based on their performance. The results is based on the time completion, the number of parried attacks, and overall health. An alternate route called the Pacifist route can be completed during run-and-gun levels. However, the player must not kill any enemies during the levels and reach the end. The player will then be ranked as P (Pacifist) in the results screen. Cuphead also contains multiplayer, with the secondary player being Mugman. If the player completes the game in Regular mode, an Expert mode difficulty is unlocked, which is the third difficulty in the game, the others being Simple and Regular. If the player defeats a boss in Simple mode, the boss's soul contract will not be collected, forcing you to complete the game on Regular mode. In Expert mode, the bosses receive more health, faster attack speed, and sometimes new phases. The player can also attain a S-Rank (the perfect score), by completing the objectives needed in the results screen in Expert mode.