Cuphead 2017

Is it still worth playing?

Studio MDHR's 2017 run and gun game for Windows and Xbox One, later on other systems. To pay off casino losses, Cuphead and his brother Mugman make a deal with the Devil to collect the souls of runaway debtors. Most of the game is boss fights, with run and gun levels between them across four worlds. Each boss lasts two or three minutes, with phases that escalate as health drops, and comes in simple, regular and expert modes. Lives are infinite too, and two players can play locally. Parrying pink objects fills the super meter, and coins buy weapons and Charms at a shop, with every level graded on time, health left, parries and difficulty. The look is hand drawn rubber hose animation inspired by 1930s cartoons, with watercolor backgrounds and a jazz and big band soundtrack. Boss fights built on learning patterns, in that style, are still the reason to play it today.