Cuphead free game play how to#

When you really break it down, It’s about gradually getting farther with each pass, steadily increasing your skill set and your memorization of the game’s endless patterns until a level almost seems to complete itself. While the difficulty never seems cheap, the amount of concentration it demands can be exhausting, and I find myself needing breaks after slaving away at particularly trying stages, sometimes for an hour or more at a time. Otherwise I get overwhelmed, frustrated and dangerously close to rage-quitting (okay, it’s happened a few times, so sue me). In that sense, I can say that-at least for me- Cuphead is a game that I can only play in controlled spurts. For most of these baddies, which span the gamut from crazy carnation to a clown that makes way too many balloon animals, you’ll need skill, fast reflexes and above all else, gallons of patience.

Cuphead free game play how to#

You need to study these giant enemies extremely closely their attacks, their mannerisms, even the sounds they make all play a part in figuring out how to make them fall. These aren’t encounters that you can just waltz into and clear with ease on your first go (though I did beat one particular boss on my virgin try, a feat I humbly chock up to the planets aligning). As such, you need to beat them down so they’ll pay up, and making them submit is tough. Or one-on-dozens, as many battles actually turn into.Įssentially, Cuphead and beverage-holding companion Mugman have lost a bet with the Devil and are now stuck collecting Soul Contracts from various debtors. In fact, minus the occasional standard run-and-gun segment, horizontal shooting stretch or unique bonus round, it’s all an elaborately rage-inducing succession of one-on-one fights. For those who haven’t been following Cuphead’s development, the game is structured a little unconventionally, probably a bit different than you were expecting, in that there’s a very strong focus on boss battles. But I’m already getting a little ahead of myself, so let’s back up real quick. Just how hard am I talking, though? I suspect even the first several levels in this beautiful game will give most competent players a solid run for their money, especially if they’re choosing not to opt for the included easy mode. But before you ask: Yes, I got through the tutorial just fine, thank you very much, but it’s after the short and now-infamous how-to area when the war for old-timey victory truly begins.