Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
Didn't have the chance to pick up the physical release that I preordered at my friend's store until now, so I'm finally plaiyng this game.
Really fun so far, which is unsurprising given its reputation. I'm glad that a run'n'gun boss rush game with mostly pure gameplay has managed to reach such popularity.
Of course the game is just pick a stage and play it with infinite lives, so it's a little disappointing there is no true arcade mode here - but I'll give the game a lot of credit for basically going "hey you'd be so much cooler if you did this faster and without getting hit" every time you beat a boss Feels like a decent compromise to remain approachable for casuls who'll just be scraping their way through each battle while also appealing to action game fans who want to ace every challenge.
Really fun so far, which is unsurprising given its reputation. I'm glad that a run'n'gun boss rush game with mostly pure gameplay has managed to reach such popularity.
Of course the game is just pick a stage and play it with infinite lives, so it's a little disappointing there is no true arcade mode here - but I'll give the game a lot of credit for basically going "hey you'd be so much cooler if you did this faster and without getting hit" every time you beat a boss Feels like a decent compromise to remain approachable for casuls who'll just be scraping their way through each battle while also appealing to action game fans who want to ace every challenge.
Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
A-ranked every boss, only for a new difficulty to unlock which allows S-ranking them. Did it for a few - I'll give the rest a try some time, but I'm content with what I've played now.
I think Cuphead ultimately has a lot of the issues you'd expect from this sort of game. There's visual clutter, ambiguous hitboxes, and awkward mixes of patterns which don't feel thought through. Having played both Tanuki Justice and Steel Assault recently, which are both some of my favourite run'n'guns released not just in recent years but probably close to ever, Cuphead absolutely feels weak in direct comparison.
But I'll cut it some slack, because the issues mentioned are generally much smaller than I'd have thought, and overall I had enough fun with the game to be unable to stop playing until I'd been through it all, including the (disappointingly short) DLC. It also feels like a game that would easily be reduced to predictable patterns, rote memorization and obvious safespots, Hard Corps style, but I'll commend the game massively for avoiding that pretty much entirely, thanks to its generous usage of RNG pretty much everywhere in the game.
I can see the arguments that it might be a little too much at times, and there are definitely encounters where you'll just fluke a much easier run against one boss than in others. Hell, there are some which have patterns or "minion bosses" which you might just randomly not see at all at times. The candy themed boss specifically spawns three minibosses out of a selection of five, and some of those are way easier than others. But given the opposite alternative, I'm glad they managed to design the game around so much randomness, as it keeps you on your feet at all times.
Ultimately Cuphead obviously just wins by virtue of its ridiculously amazing visual presentation. Graphics matter in video games, and being able to present the spectacle in a manner as fantastic as Cuphead does it is just a super rare quality. It wouldn't have been able to help a shitty run'n'gun, but Cuphead is absolutely adequate, so I wouldn't shy away from saying that the audivisual feedback you get from playing it easily lifts it to 8/10 or so regardless. It's just a fantastic thing to behold.
I think Cuphead ultimately has a lot of the issues you'd expect from this sort of game. There's visual clutter, ambiguous hitboxes, and awkward mixes of patterns which don't feel thought through. Having played both Tanuki Justice and Steel Assault recently, which are both some of my favourite run'n'guns released not just in recent years but probably close to ever, Cuphead absolutely feels weak in direct comparison.
But I'll cut it some slack, because the issues mentioned are generally much smaller than I'd have thought, and overall I had enough fun with the game to be unable to stop playing until I'd been through it all, including the (disappointingly short) DLC. It also feels like a game that would easily be reduced to predictable patterns, rote memorization and obvious safespots, Hard Corps style, but I'll commend the game massively for avoiding that pretty much entirely, thanks to its generous usage of RNG pretty much everywhere in the game.
I can see the arguments that it might be a little too much at times, and there are definitely encounters where you'll just fluke a much easier run against one boss than in others. Hell, there are some which have patterns or "minion bosses" which you might just randomly not see at all at times. The candy themed boss specifically spawns three minibosses out of a selection of five, and some of those are way easier than others. But given the opposite alternative, I'm glad they managed to design the game around so much randomness, as it keeps you on your feet at all times.
Ultimately Cuphead obviously just wins by virtue of its ridiculously amazing visual presentation. Graphics matter in video games, and being able to present the spectacle in a manner as fantastic as Cuphead does it is just a super rare quality. It wouldn't have been able to help a shitty run'n'gun, but Cuphead is absolutely adequate, so I wouldn't shy away from saying that the audivisual feedback you get from playing it easily lifts it to 8/10 or so regardless. It's just a fantastic thing to behold.
Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
I quite agree with this point. I quite like hard corps of course. However, I think most people will agree about most of the game (not just bosses) about simply knowing "what to do" before-hand [and that being enough].Sumez wrote:It also feels like a game that would easily be reduced to predictable patterns, rote memorization and obvious safespots, Hard Corps style, but I'll commend the game massively for avoiding that pretty much entirely, thanks to its generous usage of RNG pretty much everywhere in the game.
Even though I haven't played cuphead much (nearly completed only first playthrough), I agree with the point mentioned.
In general, I think it is not just hard corps. Now there are fair number of arcade games (or old console games) in each basic platformer category*** that are both very good and also not about memorization/safe-spots only [of course there are quite a few good games that rely on these more heavily too]. However, at least in my experience, still the boss battles in those games generally don't tend to be up to quality of to the rest of the game. But my experience is limited to some extent, so I am not sure whether this is something more general or not.
***
By category I mean various types of 2D-platformers broadly speaking. That is:
(a) Run N Gun or range attack game
(b) Melee attack game
(c) Basic Platformer
(d) Other
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BulletMagnet
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Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
If you've ever wondered what it might look like if Yoshitaka Amano ever had a go at Cuphead's art, wonder no more.
Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
If that was the game's artstyle I'd actually be interested in it.
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Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
This forum needs a 'like' button.cfx wrote:If that was the game's artstyle I'd actually be interested in it.
Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
I love Amano's artwork, but that piece literally just looks like Setzer, Locke, and Terra from FF6 fighting a behemoth.
Again, I do love Amano, but I think a comment like this is really selling Cuphead short. If there's one thing you can't really argue against in this game, it's the artwork and animation. It's hands down one of the best looking games I have any memory of playing. Even if you don't have any nostalgia for old-timey Max Fleischer cartoons, I can't imagine anyone being turned off by that of all things.cfx wrote:If that was the game's artstyle I'd actually be interested in it.
Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
Missed this response first time around.wiNteR wrote: In general, I think it is not just hard corps.
Yeah, it's a common issue in the genre, and I only mentioned Hard Corps because it's probably one of the worst examples of this. But Cuphead does feel like a game that could very easily have fallen into the same trap.
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Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
This is the thing for me, Cuphead looks technically good but I really can't stand that style of art and animation.Sumez wrote:I love Amano's artwork, but that piece literally just looks like Setzer, Locke, and Terra from FF6 fighting a behemoth.Again, I do love Amano, but I think a comment like this is really selling Cuphead short. If there's one thing you can't really argue against in this game, it's the artwork and animation. It's hands down one of the best looking games I have any memory of playing. Even if you don't have any nostalgia for old-timey Max Fleischer cartoons, I can't imagine anyone being turned off by that of all things.cfx wrote:If that was the game's artstyle I'd actually be interested in it.
Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
Exactly how I feel. Totally hate the style and find it a total turn-off.sunnshiner wrote:This is the thing for me, Cuphead looks technically good but I really can't stand that style of art and animation.Sumez wrote:I love Amano's artwork, but that piece literally just looks like Setzer, Locke, and Terra from FF6 fighting a behemoth.Again, I do love Amano, but I think a comment like this is really selling Cuphead short. If there's one thing you can't really argue against in this game, it's the artwork and animation. It's hands down one of the best looking games I have any memory of playing. Even if you don't have any nostalgia for old-timey Max Fleischer cartoons, I can't imagine anyone being turned off by that of all things.cfx wrote:If that was the game's artstyle I'd actually be interested in it.
Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
I don't have a problem with it. Never had a problem with it. The music is kindof annoying, though. Not a dealbreaker.
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Re: Cuphead, new run'n'gun with old-timey art
I bought the cool hardcover book of "The Art of Cuphead" some time back and it's absolutely incredible. As a fan of hand-drawn animation, Cuphead has it in spades.
Only if there was another anime sequel to Redline (circa 2010) with it's hand drawn animation, what new racing ventures await our characters this time around? Still no 4K UHD disc release of Redline either as it's only available on dvd & blu-ray for now.
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
Only if there was another anime sequel to Redline (circa 2010) with it's hand drawn animation, what new racing ventures await our characters this time around? Still no 4K UHD disc release of Redline either as it's only available on dvd & blu-ray for now.
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~