{"id":92200,"date":"2019-04-18T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/cuphead"},"modified":"2019-04-18T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T13:00:00","slug":"review-cuphead-the-xbox-masterpiece-becomes-an-essential-purchase-on-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/04\/18\/review-cuphead-the-xbox-masterpiece-becomes-an-essential-purchase-on-switch\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Cuphead &#8211; The Xbox Masterpiece Becomes An Essential Purchase On Switch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/e93460d4eb1df\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/e93460d4eb1df\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Cuphead Review - Screenshot 1 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95962\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95962\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Cuphead Review - Screenshot 1 of 5\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>It\u2019s a well-known fact that teamwork makes a dream work. Console wars are all well and good, but when great games are made available on multiple systems, the ultimate winner is the player. The recent love-in we\u2019ve been seeing between <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/02\/talking_point_nintendo_and_microsoft_working_together_isnt_as_crazy_as_you_think\">Nintendo and Microsoft<\/a> started a while back when <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/minecraft\">Minecraft<\/a><\/strong> was released on Nintendo systems, and grew stronger when the two paired up to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/06\/shots_are_fired_in_this_new_minecraft_cross-play_trailer\">passive-aggressively taunt Sony\u2019s refusal to embrace cross-platform multiplayer.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now, though, we\u2019re being treated to the most impressive sign of their partnership yet: a Switch port of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/cuphead\">Cuphead<\/a><\/strong>, one of the most critically acclaimed games on the Xbox One and a title that was an Xbox console exclusive (until now, obviously). Not only that, but in a future update the game is going to receive Xbox Live integration, including the ability to unlock Xbox achievements. Yes, it\u2019s fair to say that Nintendo and Microsoft are best buds just now, and Switch owners are starting to get the benefits of that.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Cuphead Review - Screenshot 2 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95964\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95964\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Cuphead Review - Screenshot 2 of 5\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Cuphead is already much loved by the Xbox community, so for those already familiar with it here\u2019s all you need to know: the Switch version is a near-perfect port. For everyone else new to the game, read on.<\/p>\n<p>When Cuphead and his brother Mugman enter the Devil\u2019s Casino, the Devil himself offers them a bet: double their money or forfeit their souls. Naturally, the big man wins, but he gives the pair a chance to redeem themselves: if they can chase down other debtors who are on the run from the Devil and collect their souls instead, he\u2019ll let the drinks-based duo go free. Cue a series of extremely difficult action stages in which you have to take out a bunch of boss characters on your way to freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Cuphead mainly consists of two types of level: run-and-gun stages and boss battles. The former are much fewer in number (there are only six in total) and are straightforward enough affairs \u2013 get to the end of the stage with at least some health intact \u2013 but it\u2019s the 19 boss encounters which are the real meat of this game, and the ones that will test your abilities to their limits.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Cuphead Review - Screenshot 3 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95963\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95963\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Cuphead Review - Screenshot 3 of 5\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>In case you\u2019ve missed out on its notoriety on other systems, Cuphead is known for being an exceptionally difficult game. The reality is that, yes, it can be tricky at times, but it\u2019s not like it hits you with an endless onslaught of abuse: it\u2019s more about pattern recognition. The boss fights may be a little longer than those in other action platformers, but the same general principle applies: learn each boss\u2019s attack patterns, figure out how to avoid each type of attack, discover its weak spots and let it have it until it eventually keels over.<\/p>\n<p>Most players\u2019 frustration will likely lie with the bosses\u2019 random nature; although they tend to have three unique phases, each with their own sets of attacks, these attacks are generally chosen at random throughout each phase. This means you can\u2019t stand there thinking,<em>\u201cRight, he\u2019s going to do this attack, then he follows up with that attack, then I can get him\u201d<\/em>, as if you were learning a sequence of fight choreography: instead, you have to wait to see which of their attacks they\u2019ll use next and react quickly (and often you won\u2019t have a lot of time to do this).<\/p>\n<p>At the risk of sounding like an insufferable <em>\u201cgit gud\u201d<\/em> macho man, practice really does make perfect with this one: this is a game where you\u2019re expected to take on these boss fights over and over again and slowly learn every attack permutation as you edge ever closer to completely defeating them. While there is a \u2018Simple\u2019 mode, which greatly reduces each boss\u2019s health and generally makes things more manageable for beginners, it\u2019s not an ideal solution: it removes a lot of boss attack types \u2013 even entire phases at times \u2013 and doesn\u2019t give you a soul contract when you beat them, meaning you can\u2019t reach the final stages and beat the game. By all means, consider it a way to ease into Cuphead\u2019s parry and weapon-changing mechanics, but you\u2019re going to want to switch to Regular difficulty as soon as possible to make sure you don\u2019t miss out on a lot of the game\u2019s charm.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Cuphead Review - Screenshot 4 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95966\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95966\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Cuphead Review - Screenshot 4 of 5\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>It\u2019s this charm where Cuphead\u2019s real strength lies. Designed in the style of 1930s Fleischer and Disney animations (think <strong>Betty Boop<\/strong> and <strong>Steamboat Willie<\/strong>) and nailing that style with laser precision, it\u2019s easily one of the most visually jaw-dropping 2D platformers you\u2019ll ever play. Everything is of an immaculate standard, from its hand-drawn animated characters to its deliberately blurry and scratched film look, to its fantastic original jazz and big band soundtrack: it\u2019s not an exaggeration to say this game is a piece of art.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, this Switch port handles everything masterfully, too. Image quality is more or less on a par with the Xbox One and PC versions \u2013 bear in mind this is a game that\u2019s designed to look blurry and low-res anyway \u2013 loading times are nice and quick, and everything runs at a smooth 60 frames per second the vast majority of the time. There are occasional hiccups, most notably during the more intense run-and-gun moments, but these are the exception rather than the norm.<\/p>\n<p>The Switch version also adds a few new features, which are also being added to the other versions in a free update. Mugman \u2013 who usually plays the Luigi role and appears during co-op play \u2013 can now be selected from the start in single-player mode, just in case you like your heroes wearing blue instead of red. There are also a bunch of new character animations included; while these are generally minor things like new pre-battle taunts, they\u2019re still a welcome addition.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Cuphead Review - Screenshot 5 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95967\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/95967\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Cuphead Review - Screenshot 5 of 5\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>In all, Cuphead\u2019s short bursts of action make it a perfect game for the Switch. Playing it in handheld mode is an absolute delight (though you may need to change the default controls for comfort\u2019s sake) and it runs almost as well as it does on more powerful systems. If this is the sort of thing we can expect more of as a result of Nintendo and Microsoft being best pals, this could very well be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Cuphead was an absolute masterpiece when it launched on Xbox 18 months ago and nothing has been sacrificed in its move to the Switch. It\u2019s the same visually jaw-dropping, aurally delightful, knuckle-whiteningly difficult game it was on Microsoft\u2019s console and the Switch\u2019s library is all the better for its presence. Its focus on intense boss battles won\u2019t be to everyone\u2019s tastes, but as long as you know what you\u2019re getting yourself into we can\u2019t recommend it enough.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s a well-known fact that teamwork makes a dream work. Console wars are all well and good, but when great games are made available on multiple systems, the ultimate winner is the player. The recent love-in we\u2019ve been seeing between Nintendo and Microsoft started a while back when Minecraft was released on Nintendo systems, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92200\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}