Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsThis game is easy. Remember to play on "Regular" when choosing a level or you won't be able to finish the game.
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2017
You have to play the boss levels on Regular difficulty or you won't get the soul contract after beating the boss which will make it so you do not beat the game and you'll have to redo all of them.
Cuphead is not nearly as hard as people online think it is. It's a simple case of "Oh, these people say it's impossible to beat so it must be and therefore, my play through feels so hard." I played the tutorial, the first level and retrieved the first soul on Saturday night before bed then continued the game on Sunday afternoon and finished it after dinner. This includes taking time out to shower, eat and take bathroom breaks. This was no crazy binge play session. The game just isn't as hard as I expected it to be based on hearsay from the google interwebz.
It works as I expected a 2D platformer to run. Start level, progress through, make it to the end and finish the mini-boss. Alternatively, the boss levels instantly start the battle against the boss which just has the boss attacking then things change somehow and it may or may not be harder (the sunflower boss got harder but the root pack got easier). These are where you get the contract for the devil.
Simply google "Cuphead controls" and you'll find article after article telling you to change the controls, so do that first. This game is best played by changing the default controls to the following:
Shoot - RT
Lock - LT
Ex shot - RB
Switch weapon - LB
Equip menu - Y
Jump - A
The D-pad is the best movement method however because of the lousy D-pad location of the Xbox One controller, it's impossible to beat using it. This would be way better on my Glacier White PS4 Pro, which is still the superior console. PS4 looks better, runs games better and has a better controller that doesn't weigh a ton so except for the couple worthy exclusives (Forza Horizon and Recore are the only ones worth playing), Xbox One S is still little more than an expensive paperweight. Albeit, an attractive paperweight. Please release this game on PS4.