Cuphead
Cuphead | |
---|---|
File:Cuphead (artwork).jpg | |
Developer(s) | StudioMDHR |
Publisher(s) | StudioMDHR |
Director(s) |
|
Producer(s) |
|
Designer(s) | Jared Moldenhauer |
Programmer(s) |
|
Artist(s) | Chad Moldenhauer |
Writer(s) | Evan Skolnick |
Composer(s) | Kristofer Maddigan |
Engine | Unity |
Platform(s) | |
Release |
|
Genre(s) | Run and gun |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Cuphead is a run and gun video game developed and published by the Canadian video game developer StudioMDHR in 2017. The game was inspired by the rubber hose style of animation used in cartoons of the 1930s, such as the work of Fleischer Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios, and sought to emulate their subversive and surrealist qualities.
Cuphead features one or two players taking control of animated characters Cuphead and his brother Mugman to fight through several levels that culminate in boss fights, in order to repay their debt to the devil. The game was praised for its art style and noted for its challenging difficulty. It was both a critical and commercial success, winning several awards and selling over five million copies within two years. An animated series based on the game is in production by Netflix.
Gameplay
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6a/Cuphead_gameplay%2C_Captain_Brineybeard.png/256px-Cuphead_gameplay%2C_Captain_Brineybeard.png)
Cuphead's gameplay is centered around continual boss fights, interspersed with run-and-gun levels. Each of these boss fights and run-and-gun levels is housed in three different worlds, with the final one being against the Devil himself. The game also includes role-playing elements and a branching level sequence.[1][2] Cuphead has infinite lives, maintaining all equipment between deaths.[1] The player can purchase weapons and "Charms" (special abilities) from the shop using coins collected from the run-and-gun levels. Player characters feature a parry attack that can be used on certain objects marked in pink, to various effects, the most important of them being increasing a "super meter" that enables more powerful attacks.
After completing a level, the player is ranked with a grade based on their performance on factors such as the time taken to defeat a boss, damage avoided, and number of parried attacks. The levels are accessible through a top-down perspective overworld with its own secret areas.[2] The game also has a two-player local cooperative mode.[3]
Plot
On the fictional Inkwell Isles, Cuphead and his brother, Mugman, are two fun-loving cups who live under the watchful eye of Elder Kettle. Against the elder's warnings, the brothers enter the Devil's Casino and begin playing craps. When they go on a winning streak, the Devil himself offers to raise the stakes. If Cuphead and Mugman can win one more roll, they will receive all the money in the casino; if not, the Devil will take their souls. Cuphead loses by rolling snake eyes, and he and Mugman beg for mercy. The Devil makes a deal with them: collect the "soul contracts" that signify his ownership of the souls of his runaway debtors by midnight the next day, and he might let them keep theirs. They visit Elder Kettle, who gives them a potion that allows them to fire blasts from their fingers to aid in their quest, but also warns them the debtors may change physical form in an effort to stop them.
The brothers travel around the Inkwell Isles, fighting the debtors in order to obtain their contracts. On entering the second island, the Elder Kettle notices that the duo are getting stronger from their battles, and informs them about "doing the right thing" when they come up against the Devil again. Once they have the contracts, they return to the Devil's Casino, but its manager King Dice blocks their way. He has lost a bet with the Devil, presumably over whether Cuphead and Mugman would be able to complete their task, and forces them to fight his own henchmen before confronting them directly. After the brothers defeat King Dice, the player must choose whether to give the contracts to the Devil. If the player turns over the contracts, the Devil turns the brothers into his evil lackeys, and the game ends; if not, the Devil becomes furious at the brothers' refusal to honor their deal and fights them himself. Cuphead and Mugman triumph over him, burn the contracts and race home. Learning that they no longer have anything to fear from the Devil, the former debtors honor the brothers for their heroic actions.
Development
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/StudioMDHR_GDC_2018.jpeg/220px-StudioMDHR_GDC_2018.jpeg)
Cuphead was the first game by StudioMDHR, a Canadian indie game development studio consisting of brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer.[1] Additional animation work was contributed by Jake Clark, with programming lead by Eric Billingsley.[4] Its development began in 2010 using the Unity game engine, and it was developed from the brothers' homes in Oakville, Ontario and Regina, Saskatchewan, respectively.[2][5][6][7] The game was inspired by cartoons produced by the Fleischer and Walt Disney animation studios, along with cartoonists Ub Iwerks, Grim Natwick, and Willard Bowsky.[1] Chad Moldenhauer called Fleischer Studios "the magnetic north of his art style," and particularly sought to mimic their "subversive and surrealist" elements.[8]
The Moldenhauers watched 1930s-era cartoons in their youth, which Chad Moldenhauer describes as happenstance, based on gifts and VHS compilations. Among other siblings in their Regina, Saskatchewan childhood home, the two shared aesthetic taste and interest in gameplay. They attempted a game in the style of Cuphead in 2000, but lacked the tools to continue. The brothers decided to try again following the success of the indie game Super Meat Boy, which released in 2010. The character that became Cuphead descended from a 1936 Japanese propaganda animated film where a man with a teacup for a head morphs into a tank. The Moldenhauers emulated the animation because they found it strange, and "right away it stuck."[8] Before settling on him as the main character, the brothers had created around 150 different character designs, including a kappa in a tophat and characters with a plate or fork for a head.[8]
The animation techniques behind Cuphead are similar to that of the 1930s cartoons.[8] Chad Moldenhauer, who had previously worked in graphic design, hand-drew the animations and painted the backgrounds using watercolors, colorizing them in Photoshop.[9] The gameplay runs at a framerate of 60, while the animation runs at 24, which is a film standard. Chad Moldenhauer also saw his process with its human imperfections as a reaction to the perfectionism of pixel art.[vague] Jared Moldenhauer worked on other aspects of the game, though they discussed gameplay design together. Their studio hired a Romanian developer, a Brooklyn animator, and an Ontario jazz musician for the project. They sought to keep the recording processes of the time period as if the team were developing in that era.[8] The score for the game was composed by Kristofer Maddigan, and consists of 51 tracks performed by jazz and big band musicians.[10]
The Moldenhauers described Cuphead as having a difficult, "retro game" core for its emphasis on gameplay over plot.[1] Kill Screen described the developers as "obsessed" with run and gun fundamentals of "animations and exploits and hitboxes."[2] Over the development process, they have made multiple revisions to many gameplay elements, including how gameplay actions feel at the edges of platforms and how long players are disabled after receiving damage.[8] They planned multiple difficulty levels, and chose to abandon a typical damsel in distress plot for one where Cuphead perpetually creates trouble for himself.[1] The developers planned to surpass the Guinness World Record for number of boss battles in a run and gun game by having over 30 to the record's 25.[3] The game's implementation and visual design, combined with the limited number of people available to work on the game, proved to be StudioMDHR's biggest challenge, so the Moldenhauers had to go the extra mile to bring the game to life, even remortgaging their house in order to finance the project.[11][12]
Release
Though the game was shown during the Xbox press event of Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014 to audience approval, Cuphead was not available to play and was estimated to be 40 percent complete.[citation needed] Cuphead was expected to be extended via expansion packs[2] with 10 to 15 bosses each,[3] similar to how Sonic & Knuckles added atop the Sonic series formula.[2] Cuphead was released on September 29, 2017 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One, with potential later releases for macOS and Linux. Cuphead was an Xbox console exclusive, and supports Xbox Play Anywhere.[13] King Features Syndicate has the licensing rights to Cuphead merchandise and assorted paraphernalia.[14] Downloadable content for the game, titled The Delicious Last Course and featuring a new playable character, levels, and bosses, was revealed at E3 2018 for release in 2019.[15] However, the new content was pushed back into 2020 as to avoid putting too much pressure and crunch time on their development team.[16] A port of Cuphead for macOS was released on October 19, 2018, and advertised with an animated short titled "Crisp Apples."[17]
A port for the Nintendo Switch was announced on March 20, 2019 and released on April 18, 2019.[18] This was made possible when Microsoft approached the development team about creating a Nintendo Switch version.[19] In June 2019, an adapted port for Tesla, Inc.'s Linux-based operating system for some of its cars was announced by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who expressed his appreciation of the game.[20] It was released in September 2019 as part of Tesla's software version 10.0, though only the game's first level is playable.[21][22]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | PC: 88/100[23] XONE: 86/100[24] NS: 87/100[25] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Destructoid | 9.5/10[26] |
Edge | 8/10 [27] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 9.5/10[28] |
Game Informer | 8/10[29] |
GameSpot | 8/10[30] |
GamesRadar+ | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Giant Bomb | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
IGN | 8.8/10[33] |
PC Gamer (US) | 86/100[34] |
Polygon | 8.5/10[35] |
VideoGamer.com | 8/10[36] |
Ben Kuchera of Polygon wrote that Cuphead was one of the five most interesting reveals at Microsoft's E3 2014 press conference, even though he knew little about the game apart from its aesthetic. He said it "stood out immediately" and that everyone in the website's press room viscerally reacted to the trailer.[37] Cuphead won the IGN Best Xbox One game at E3 award in 2015,[38] and also won the award for "Best Indie Game" at the Gamescom 2015 Awards.[39] It was also nominated as "Best Independent Game" at the E3 2016 Game Critics Awards.[40]
Cuphead received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[23][24] The game has also been noted for its difficulty by several media outlets.[41][42] Destructoid's Brett Makedonski welcomed the high difficulty, which he noted as "tough but fair." Based on "exhaustive" pattern recognition, he said it ultimately relied on muscle memory, rather than reaction. He thought structuring the game around boss battles was well executed, and that each boss encounter held "different and special and memorable" traits. Praising the 1930s aesthetics as cohesive, Makedonski found the jazz-based soundtrack to be "similarly fabulous."[26] Despite dying 188 times in his playthrough, Ray Carsillo at EGMNow felt no frustration from the difficulty, but rather motivation to "dig my heels in deeper." Carsillo lauded the "gorgeous" hand-drawn visuals, asserting that the only thing surpassing the artwork was the gameplay, which he said went "beyond pattern recognition."[28] Peter Brown of GameSpot opined that combatting enemies provided a considerably rewarding experience. He described the cartoon aesthetic as charming, adding that it infused "color and expression" to the game. Further, he saw Cuphead as a "true recreation" of hand-drawn cel animation. Brown also relished how quick loading times proved beneficial to trial and error tactics.[30]
Lucas Sullivan at GamesRadar+ wrote that Cuphead "stands tall among the best 2D shooters of all time," and agreed the gameplay challenges demanded patient pattern recognition to be accomplished, from which he said players would be rewarded "tenfold." Sullivan called the animation adorable, noting the wealth of detail present in the watercolor backdrops, and said it worked well with the gameplay. Like Carsillo, Sullivan claimed never to be frustrated with the difficulty.[31] Giant Bomb's Ben Pack remarked that playing the game yielded one of his most enjoyable experiences with video games, citing the combination of "brutal" platforming and an "exceptionally well realized" art style.[32] Writing for IGN, Joe Skrebels declared every scene a "masterwork" and commended the sound work, calling it an "ideal match" to the aesthetics. Platforming battles were seen as the most imaginative part of the game, and having no health bars for enemies its "smartest" and "most devilish" addition. Like Brown and Sullivan, Skrebels found the battles to be rewarding as well as "one of Cuphead's greatest strengths."[33] Chris Schilling of PC Gamer expressed approval of the controls, saying that their "reliable jump and dash" led to more "nimble and responsive" handling. Disagreeing with Makedonski, Schilling explained that certain random elements meant "you can't simply learn patterns by rote and rely entirely on muscle memory."[34] Chris Plante at Polygon commented that, at its best, the game serves to educate the player in strategy through trial and error. He enjoyed the parrying system more so than the various attacks, as it proved to be a "crucial" and "relatively forgiving" mechanic.[35] Colm Ahern of VideoGamer.com wrote in his verdict, "Cuphead will best most games in how it looks and sounds, and defeating that boss that you once deemed unbeatable is glorious."[36]
Conversely, Makedonski said the "eight-direction firing radius" was his least favorite system in the game, calling it "clunky and awkward."[26] Even though Brown saw "the fear of the unexpected" as part of what made Cuphead thrilling, he disparaged the game's failure to identify progress and capability.[30] Skrebels thought that the "run 'n' gun, left-to-right platforming" lacked inventiveness, while also subjecting the "parry system" and control scheme to criticism.[33] Plante complained that the final bosses made Cuphead's greatest features less effective, and mentioned that the difficulty "eventually goes too far."[35] Ahern agreed with Plante in his reproval of the final bosses, also saying that the challenge was "a step too far."[36]
Unwinnable writer Yussef Cole wrote an essay titled "Cuphead and the Racist Spectre of Fleischer Animation," in which he argued that by using the rubber hose animation style, Studio MDHR also brought up the "bigotry and prejudice" which had a strong influence on early animation, claiming that Studio MDHR ignored the context and history of the aesthetic it "so faithfully" replicated.[43] Cole identifies that much of the imagery that Studio MDHR took from the Fleischer style effectively carried the racial stereotypes of the 1930s Harlem and minstrel shows that the animation style was built on.[43] Chad and Jared Moldenhauer had stated prior to release that they wanted to make an animation style that harkened back to 1930s cartoons without getting ties to racism or minstrel shows in them.[12] Maja Moldenhauer further stated that all they wanted from the Fleischers was the animation style and visuals, and that anything else happening "in that era we're not versed in it."[44] In response to Cole's essay, Brandon Orselli of Niche Gamer defended the game as a tribute to that art style, writing that it was not meant to deliver narratives, or "go anywhere beyond where it needs to go in terms of its basic and child-like storytelling."[45]
In the two first weeks of release, Cuphead sold over one million copies worldwide.[46] Sales rose to over four million by July 2019,[46] and reached five million by its second anniversary of release.[47]
Awards
Entertainment Weekly placed Cuphead fifth on the list of its "Best Games of 2017",[48] while GamesRadar ranked it ninth on their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017,"[49] and Polygon ranked it 14th on their list of the "50 best games of 2017."[50] In Game Informer's Reader's Choice Best of 2017 Awards, the game won the "Best Microsoft Game" and "Best Co-op Multiplayer" categories, while it came in third place for "Best Action Game."[51][52] The website also gave it the awards for "Best Microsoft Exclusive" in their "Best of 2017 Awards," and for "Best Bosses" in their 2017 Action Game of the Year Awards.[53][54] EGMNow ranked the game at #2 on their list of the 25 best games of 2017,[55] while Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation ranked it third on his list of the Best Games of 2017.[56] The Verge named it one of their 15 best video games of 2017.[57]
Cuphead was nominated for "Breakout Game of the Year" in PC Gamer's 2017 Game of the Year Awards,[58] and won the award for "Best Xbox One Game" in Destructoid's Game of the Year Awards 2017.[59] It also won the award for "Best Xbox One Game" and "Best Art Direction" in IGN's Best of 2017 Awards,[60][61] whereas its other nominations were for "Game of the Year," "Best PC Game," "Best Platformer," "Best Original Music," and "Best Multiplayer."[62][63][64][65][66] The game also won the award for "Best Looking Game" and "Best Style," in addition to being runner-up for "Best Shopkeeper" for the character Porkrind, "Best Music," "Best Debut," and "Game of the Year" at Giant Bomb's Game of the Year 2017 Awards.[67][68][69][70]
In the week of 14 September 2019, the album Selected Tunes from Cuphead topped the Jazz Albums Billboard charts.[71]
List of awards and nominations for Cuphead | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
2017 | Golden Joystick Awards | Best Visual Design | Won | [72] |
Best Xbox Game of the Year | Won | |||
The Game Awards 2017 | Best Art Direction | Won | [73][74] | |
Best Independent Game | Won | |||
Best Debut Indie Game | Won | |||
Best Score/Music | Nominated | |||
Best Action Game | Nominated | |||
Titanium Awards | Best Indie Game | Nominated | [75][76] | |
Best Artistic Design | Won | |||
Best Soundtrack | Nominated | |||
2018 | New York Game Awards 2018 | Off-Broadway Award for Best Indie Game | Won | [77] |
Statue of Liberty Award for Best World | Nominated | |||
45th Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Video Game (Hanna Abi-Hanna) | Won | [78][79] | |
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Video Game (Tina Nawrocki) | Nominated | |||
21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Game of the Year | Nominated | [80][81] | |
Action Game of the Year | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Achievement in Animation | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition | Won | |||
NAVGTR Awards | Animation, Artistic | Won | [82][83] | |
Art Direction, Period Influence | Won | |||
Character Design | Won | |||
Control Precision | Won | |||
Game, Original Family | Won | |||
Original Light Mix Score, New IP | Won | |||
Italian Video Game Awards | Best Art Direction | Won | [84] | |
Best Audio | Nominated | |||
Best Indie Game | Nominated | |||
SXSW Gaming Awards | Excellence in Musical Score | Nominated | [85][86] | |
Excellence in Visual Achievement | Nominated | |||
Excellence in Animation | Won | |||
Excellence in Art | Won | |||
Most Promising New Intellectual Property | Nominated | |||
Excellence in Design | Nominated | |||
Independent Games Festival Awards | Excellence in Visual Art | Nominated | [87][88] | |
Excellence in Audio | Nominated | |||
Game Developers Choice Awards | Best Audio | Nominated | [89][90] | |
Best Debut (Studio MDHR) | Won | |||
Best Visual Art | Won | |||
16th Annual Game Audio Network Guild Awards | Audio of the Year | Won | [91] | |
Best Original Instrumental ("Sugarland Shimmy") | Nominated | |||
Best Original Song ("Die House") | Nominated | |||
Breakout Talent of the Year (Kristofer Maddigan) | Won | |||
14th British Academy Games Awards | Artistic Achievement | Nominated | [92][93] | |
Debut Game | Nominated | |||
Music | Won | |||
Original Property | Nominated | |||
2018 Webby Awards | Action | Nominated | [94] | |
Best Art Direction | Won | |||
Best Visual Design (People's Voice) | Won | |||
Develop Awards | Sound Design (Sweet Justice Sound) | Nominated | [95] | |
The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards | Best Arcade Game | Nominated | [96][97] | |
Visual Design | Nominated |
Legacy
Cuphead was an influence on the in-development game Enchanted Portals by Xixo Games Studio. When Enchanted Portals was announced, it was heavily criticized from fans of Cuphead for sharing gameplay and art style with Cuphead. In response, the developers of Enchanted Portals stated that they had wished to make a game similar to Cuphead, while retaining respect for the original.[98]
The creator of episodic horror survival game Bendy and the Ink Machine, which also uses rubber hose animation, has discussed wanting to make a crossover with Cuphead.[99] A Cuphead Mii Fighter costume was added to the 2018 crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate via downloadable content in January 2020. It also came bundled with one of the game's boss level themes, "Floral Fury."[100] Additionally, four Cuphead-themed Spirits were added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in February 2020.[101]
Animated series
In July 2019, Netflix announced The Cuphead Show!, an animated series based on the game. It will feature adventures of Cuphead and Mugman across Inkwell Isle, exploring areas and characters beyond those in the video game. While the series will be targeted for children, StudioMDHR also anticipated that they will include humor and gags for adult audience appreciation. The series will be animated; it will not be done as meticulously as the video game using traditional pen-and-paper methods, as that would take far too long to complete, but it will feature hand-drawn characters and movement. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer from StudioMDHR will be executive producers along with CJ Kettler from King Features Syndicate. Dave Wasson and Cosmo Segurson will co-executive produce, while Clay Morrow and Adam Paloian will be supervising directors.[46][102]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Suszek, Mike (January 4, 2014). "1930s cartoon-inspired Cuphead targeting late 2014 on PC". Engadget (Joystiq). AOL Tech. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Purdom, Clayton (July 3, 2014). "Cuphead is roughly 40% done, but hey, it's gonna be a trilogy". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
- ^ a b c Pitcher, Jenna (June 9, 2014). "Cuphead is a game. Watch it, view it". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
- ^ "Cuphead Team". StudioMDHR. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
- ^ Gilbert, Ben (July 10, 2014). "Cuphead: Bringing 1930s style to 21st century games". Engadget. AOL Tech. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ Dornbush, Jonathon (October 11, 2016). "Cuphead Delayed to 2017". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
- ^ "Studio MDHR Presskit". www.studiomdhr.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Purdom, Clayton (July 14, 2014). "Where Did Cuphead Come From?". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
- ^ Callaham, John (April 13, 2016). "Check out how the Cuphead team brings its animations to life". Windows Central. Windows Central. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "High Scores: Kristofer Maddigan's Big Band Soundtrack for "Cuphead"". Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- ^ Fillari, Alessandro (November 11, 2017). "How Cuphead's Devs Gambled On A Dream". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
- ^ a b Alexandra, Heather (November 3, 2017). "Cuphead Developers Talk Cut Bosses And What's In The Cups". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
- ^ Hall, Charlie (July 4, 2017). "Cuphead won't be coming to PlayStation 4". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
- ^ "KING FEATURES SYNDICATE TO REPRESENT CUPHEAD FOR LICENSING". King Features Syndicate. April 12, 2017. Archived from the original on June 4, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
- ^ Grant, Christopher. "Cuphead DLC, The Delicious Last Course, coming in 2019". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- ^ McCafferty, Ryan (July 2, 2019). "Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course DLC Delayed Until 2020, New Trailer Released". IGN. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ Soto, Fran (October 19, 2018). "Cuphead Celebrates Mac Launch in "Crisp Apples" Short". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ Plante, Chris (March 20, 2019). "Cuphead is coming to Nintendo Switch in April". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
- ^ Bloodworth, Daniel (March 21, 2019). "Daniel Bloodworth on Twitter: "Oh yeah I was talking to one of the Cuphead devs yesterday and he said that it was Microsoft actually approached them and asked if they'd like to make a Switch version. Crazy stuff." / Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ McCaffrey, Ryan (June 2, 2019). "Cuphead Will Be Playable in Tesla Model 3, Model S, and Model X Cars". IGN. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ Holt, Kris (September 26, 2019). "Tesla update with Netflix, 'Cuphead' and Smart Summon is rolling out now". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 28, 2019). "You can now play Cuphead on a Tesla". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ a b "Cuphead for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ a b "Cuphead for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
- ^ "Cuphead for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
- ^ a b c Makendonski, Brett (September 29, 2017). "Review: Cuphead". Destructoid. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
- ^ "Cuphead". Edge. No. 313. Future. November 9, 2017. pp. 114–115. ISSN 1350-1593.
- ^ a b Carsillo, Ray (October 4, 2017). "Cuphead review". EGMNow. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
- ^ Cork, Jeff (October 2, 2017). "Cuphead". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
- ^ a b c Brown, Peter (September 29, 2017). "Cuphead Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
- ^ a b Sullivan, Lucas (September 29, 2017). "Cuphead review: 'Stands tall among the best 2D shooters of all time'". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
- ^ a b Pack, Ben (October 12, 2017). "Review: Cuphead". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ^ a b c Skrebels, Joe (October 2, 2017). "Cuphead review". IGN. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ a b Schilling, Chris (October 2, 2017). "Cuphead review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ a b c Plante, Chris (September 29, 2017). "Cuphead review". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
- ^ a b c Ahern, Colm (October 2, 2017). "Cuphead review". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ Kuchera, Ben (June 9, 2014). "Five of the most interesting reveals of the Xbox press conference". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
- ^ "IGN's Best of E3 2015 Awards". IGN. Ziff Davis. June 16, 2015. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
- ^ Coone, Sharon (August 7, 2015). "Gamescom 2015 Award Winners Announced; Star Wars Battlefront Cleans Up". Twinfinite. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Hussain, Tamoor (June 29, 2016). "Battlefield 1 Leads E3 Game Critics Nominees". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^ White, Sam (October 9, 2017). "Cuphead review: come for the 1930s visuals, stay for the hard-earned thrills". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ Webster, Andrew (October 3, 2017). "Cuphead, Ruiner, and the joy of really hard games". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Cole, Yussef (November 10, 2017). "Cuphead and the Racist Spectre of Fleischer Animation". Unwinnable. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
- ^ Kleinman, Jacob (September 25, 2017). "'Cuphead': Why 1930s Animation Continues to Grip Contemporary Culture". Glixel. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
- ^ Orselli, Brandon (November 16, 2017). "Stop Trying To Be Offended At Every Video Game". Niche Gamer. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
- ^ a b c Shanley, Patrick (July 9, 2019). "Netflix to Adapt 'Cuphead' Into Animated Comedy Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ^ Boudreau, Ian (September 29, 2019). "Cuphead celebrates 5 million copies sold with a birthday sale". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
- ^ Morales, Aaron; Abrams, Natalie (December 29, 2017). "The Year's Best Games". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1496–97. pp. 92–94. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ^ GamesRadar staff (December 22, 2017). "The best games of 2017: Page 2". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- ^ Polygon staff (December 18, 2017). "The 50 best games of 2017". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 21, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^ Cork, Jeff (January 4, 2018). "Reader's Choice Best of 2017 Awards". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ Cork, Jeff (January 4, 2018). "Reader's Choice Best of 2017 Awards (Page 2)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ Game Informer staff (January 4, 2018). "Game Informer's Best of 2017 Awards". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ Miller, Matt (January 5, 2018). "2017 Action Game of the Year Awards (Page 3)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ EGM staff (December 31, 2017). "EGM's Best of 2017: Part Five: #5 ~ #1". EGMNow. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^ Escapist (January 10, 2018). "Best, worst, and blandest games of 2017 (Zero Punctuation)". YouTube. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
- ^ Verge staff (December 15, 2017). "The 15 best games of 2017". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
- ^ PC Gamer staff (December 8, 2017). "Games of the Year 2017: The nominees". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
- ^ Makedonski, Brett (December 18, 2017). "Destructoid's award for Best Xbox One Game of 2017 goes to..." Destructoid. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ "Best of 2017 Awards: Best Xbox One Game". IGN. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Best of 2017 Awards: Best Art Direction". IGN. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Best of 2017 Awards: Game of the Year". IGN. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Best of 2017 Awards: Best PC Game". IGN. Archived from the original on December 25, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Best of 2017 Awards: Best Platformer". IGN. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Best of 2017 Awards: Best Original Music". IGN. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Best of 2017 Awards: Best Multiplayer". IGN. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ Giant Bomb staff (December 25, 2017). "Game of the Year 2017 Day One: Old, Disappointing, Shopkeepers, and Looks". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on December 26, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
- ^ Giant Bomb staff (December 26, 2017). "Game of the Year 2017 Day Two: Music, Surprise, Multiplayer, and Mess". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ^ Giant Bomb staff (December 28, 2017). "Game of the Year 2017 Day Four: Debut, New Characters, Story, and Styyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyle". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ Giant Bomb staff (December 29, 2017). "Game of the Year 2017 Day Five: Best, Worst, Cast, and Capture". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
- ^ Billboard (September 14, 2019). "Jazz Music: Top Jazz Albums & Songs Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ VideoGamer.com staff (November 17, 2017). "Zelda: Breath of the Wild & Horizon: Zero Dawn among big Golden Joysticks winners". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
- ^ Makuch, Eddie (December 8, 2017). "The Game Awards 2017 Winners Headlined By Zelda: Breath Of The Wild's Game Of The Year". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ^ Grubb, Jeff (December 8, 2017). "Cuphead wins its biggest prize: the praise of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
- ^ "The list of finalists for the Fun & Serious Titanium Awards has been revealed". Fun & Serious Game Festival. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- ^ "Titanium Awards 2017". Fun & Serious Game Festival. December 11, 2017. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- ^ Whitney, Kayla (January 25, 2018). "Complete list of winners of the New York Game Awards 2018". AXS. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 4, 2017). "Annie Awards: Disney/Pixar's 'Coco' Tops Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik; Haithman, Diane (February 3, 2018). "'Coco' Dominates Annies; 'Rick And Morty' Tops TV: Complete Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
- ^ Makuch, Eddie (January 14, 2018). "Game Of The Year Nominees Announced for DICE Awards". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- ^ Makuch, Eddie (February 22, 2018). "Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Wins Game Of The Year At DICE Awards". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ^ "Nominee List for 2017". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 9, 2018. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ "Horizon wins 7; Mario GOTY". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. March 13, 2018. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ "Italian Video Game Nominees and Winners 2018". Italian Video Game Awards. March 14, 2018. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ McNeill, Andrew (January 31, 2018). "Here Are Your 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Finalists!". SXSW. Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- ^ IGN Studios (March 17, 2018). "2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Revealed". IGN. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ Faller, Patrick (January 5, 2018). "Independent Games Festival Awards Nominees Announced". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ Chan, Stephanie (March 21, 2018). "Night in the Woods wins the grand prize at the Independent Games Festival". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
- ^ Gamasutra staff (January 5, 2018). "Breath of the Wild & Horizon Zero Dawn lead GDC 2018 Choice Awards nominees!". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ Chan, Stephanie (March 21, 2018). "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is GDC 2018's game of the year". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Awards". Game Audio Network Guild. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ deAlessandri, Marie (March 15, 2018). "Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice at forefront of BAFTA Games Awards nominations". MCV. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
- ^ Makedonski, Brett (April 12, 2018). "BAFTA names What Remains of Edith Finch its best game of 2017". Destructoid. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Winners". The Webby Awards. April 24, 2018. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- ^ MCV staff (May 21, 2018). "Announcing the Develop Awards 2018 nominations shortlist". MCV. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
- ^ Stephenson, Suzi (September 19, 2018). "TIGA Announces Games Industry Awards 2018 Finalists". The Independent Game Developers' Association. Archived from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Winners". The Independent Game Developers' Association. November 1, 2018. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
- ^ Marshall, Cass (October 9, 2019). "Indie game Enchanted Portals draws backlash over Cuphead similarities". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- ^ The Leaderboard. "Bendy Co-Creator Talks Cuphead Crossover +MORE, Interview w/ BATIM's Mike Mood - The Leaderboard". Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ Carter, Chris (January 16, 2020). "Cuphead and Assassin's Creed are invading Smash Ultimate in Mii form". Destructoid. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "Cuphead Gets A Special Spirit Event In Smash Bros. Ultimate Later This Week". NintendoLife. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
- ^ McCafferty, Ryan (July 9, 2019). "Cuphead Netflix TV Show Details". IGN. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
External links
- 2017 video games
- Annie Award winners
- Cooperative video games
- Fictional characters who have made pacts with devils
- Indie video games
- MacOS games
- Multiplayer and single-player video games
- Nintendo Switch games
- Nintendo Switch eShop games
- Run and gun games
- The Devil in fiction
- Video games with alternate endings
- Unity (game engine) games
- Video games developed in Canada
- Video games featuring anthropomorphic characters
- Windows games
- Xbox One games
- Xbox Play Anywhere games
- Video games set in amusement parks
- Video games adapted into television programs