22 Facts About Cuphead

Cuphead is a run-and-gun video game developed and published by Studio MDHR.

Cuphead had a preview at E3 2014 and was released in 2017 as a timed-exclusive for Microsoft's Windows and Xbox One, with ports to other systems subsequently added.

Cuphead received widespread critical acclaim, with praises for its art style, gameplay, soundtrack, and difficulty; the latter was singled out for scrutiny, with multiple outlets naming Cuphead one of the hardest video games ever created.

Cuphead is the first game by Studio MDHR, a Canadian indie game development studio founded by brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer.

The character that became Cuphead descended from a 1936 Japanese propaganda animated film featuring a character with a teacup for a head.

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Moldenhauers described Cuphead as having a difficult, "retro game" core for its emphasis on gameplay over plot.

Cuphead was released on September 29,2017 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One, and it supports Xbox Play Anywhere.

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.

Cuphead said it "stood out immediately" and that everyone in the website's press room viscerally reacted to the trailer.

Cuphead won the IGN Best Xbox One game at E3 award in 2015, and "Best Indie Game" at the Gamescom 2015 Awards.

Cuphead received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Cuphead thought structuring the game around boss battles was well executed, and that each boss encounter held "different and special and memorable" traits.

Cuphead said the "eight-direction firing radius" was "clunky and awkward".

Cuphead lauded the "gorgeous" hand-drawn visuals, surpassed only by the gameplay which goes "beyond pattern recognition".

Cuphead described the cartoon aesthetic as charming, infusing "color and expression", and a "true recreation" of hand-drawn cel animation.

Cuphead relished the quick loading times which serve trial and error tactics.

Lucas Sullivan at GamesRadar+ wrote that Cuphead "stands tall among the best 2D shooters of all time", and that the gameplay demands patient pattern recognition, but which is not frustrating and would reward players "tenfold".

Cuphead called platforming battles the most imaginative part, and the lack of enemy health bars its "smartest" and "most devilish" feature.

Cuphead said the "run 'n' gun, left-to-right platforming" lacked inventiveness, and criticized the "parry system" and control scheme.

Cuphead enjoyed the "crucial" and "relatively forgiving" parrying system, more than the various attacks.

Cuphead complained that the final bosses diminished the game's greatest features, and that the difficulty "eventually goes too far".

Cuphead was nominated for "Breakout Game of the Year" in PC Gamers 2017 Game of the Year Awards, and won the award for "Best Xbox One Game" in Destructoids Game of the Year Awards 2017.