Johnny vs. Cuphead

[Music] ah damn I've been looking forward to this one hey how's it going everybody welcome back happy holidays got a small one for you today I figure cup hell was not gonna be along again it's about four or five hours but how long are waiting for this game felt like an eternity I remember cuphead being revealed at Microsoft's conference at e3 in 2014 immediately it stuck out to me oh my god what is this I thought look at the animation quality look at the aesthetic this looked right out of the 1930s and it's a [ __ ] video game when and where can i buy this I was mesmerised testing the look of the game which was doubly impressive now that I look at it in hindsight because as the first game developed by newly found indie team studio mdh are founded by brothers Chad and Jared moldenhauer this was a hell of a first impression and then the game just vanishes off the face of the earth like 2015-2016 we get a glimmer here and there that the game isn't dead but I'm like what the [ __ ] I want to play this so badly what's the deal so the lowdown was Cup heads five-year development cycle according to interviews and such was quite a trip through hell studio mvhr went through a lot of [ __ ] just to get this game out it was their first game with a super ambitious design one that I know as a student of animation had to be the [ __ ] worse in terms of workload but against all odds they stuck to their guns it's an admirable effort it's not every day I think where game developers have to quit their jobs and remortgage their houses just to finish a [ __ ] game but they were dedicated and at last in 2017 cuphead was finally released to widespread critical acclaim a classic cinderella story and no doubt inspiring two upcoming indie developers out there the old-school aesthetic aside what kind of game was cuphead was my next train of thought with look it was going for I thought it was gonna be a platformer and it does have some elements of that but strangely it's predominantly a run-and-gun shooter akin to classics like contra and gun star heroes and it's clear they liked gun star heroes but the game also has two DS shooting sessions that wouldn't be out of place in the Gradius series or perhaps the greatest sub series Herodias there are Japanese develop games and then there are Japanese develop games seriously check out Proteus when you get the chance and bask in the total mind [ __ ] so we have in one part a running gun platformer and another part 2d space shooter as someone who's grown up with those kind of games and as someone who's and while running this channel for close to 10 years is played Castlevania ghosting Goblin since all the to aventure flink I think I'm in for a good time but will you be well okay let's not mince words here cuphead is pretty [ __ ] challenging definitely not the kind of game I would recommend to those looking for a comfortable springtime breeze it's more suitable to those that enjoy a harsh winters ball kicking you and a Frank could take control of both cuphead and his pal mug man though for this review unsurprisingly I went solo because I don't think anyone around me were like getting kicking that dick repeatedly cup headed mug laner out recklessly gambling their time away in a casino owned by the [ __ ] devil himself and find themselves in a bind when they lose a bet against the ruler of hell and have to pay up for it not wanting to lose their souls Cup head and mug men agree to be the devil's muscle so to speak and collect the debts of other folks who owed the devil as well so is either cup header mug man the objective is to take a jolly stroll through these three separate hub worlds and face off against all the unfortunate saps were in deep with the Prince of Darkness Cup heads almost nothing but boss fights there's a couple of 2d running gun segments this is where most of the contra elements come from but there's only a handful of these compared to the numerous bosses you'll face off against immediately and these guys and gals are no slouches in any sense of the word they know they got an answer to the devil and they're gonna give you a lot of [ __ ] before they bow down from the start Cup head doesn't let up you have a health meter can does take multiple hits but that won't [ __ ] matter I can assure you your HP is gonna drop fast anyway cuphead is all about pattern recognition memorization old-school trial and error it's about learning what to do and what not to do in order to deliver the final hit and collect that contract bosses are not entirely set on what they do next either there's a degree of randomness on what attack they'll follow up with and they all have multiple forms that have even more dangerous pattern so if you're thinking you got a down pat after only two or three encounters don't rest easy yet because you definitely haven't seen everything yeah the deaths definitely piled on sure enough but I kept going and no it wasn't because well I had to because I had to review the game but no [ __ ] this was starting to feel personal I saw the ins and outs of how this boss work or how that boss worked and because of one minor slip-up on my end I don't know maybe I didn't finish my coffee maybe I didn't have the proper breakfast and other [ __ ] like that I ended up losing the fight but I jumped right back in every time you die you see how far into the fight you progressed and whenever I was so close to seeing the next phase or seeing that I was right [ __ ] there from finishing it I had to keep going it was the principle of the thing that classic mentality the one that makes you say oh just one more time just one more time I'll get you this time you [ __ ] gamers of the 80s and 90s know exactly what I'm talking about and competent splits that to hell and back and back to hell Oh without feeling cheap I should stress with one or two exceptions every death felt like my fault because while bosses are packing all kinds of killer attacks they're all telegraphed in some fashion and can be avoided or counter once you learn how it works there's no impossible to avoid scenario yeah there's a lot of [ __ ] me I'm gonna die moments but it shouldn't take you more than save five minutes to finally decipher a coherent strategy and finally whip their [ __ ] asses and luckily it also helps that cuphead controls damn well for this kind of game it can aim in all directions movement shoot at the same time or hold a study for a precise shot and can even do a short dash in midair to help with platforming or dodging tricky attacks he can also parry certain attacks anything that's colored pink can be neutralized so to speak and when that's done it fills up your special attack meter when you fill up a card you can unleash a stronger projectile and later on you can upgrade this to an all-out super attack like a giant [ __ ] laser or short burst of invincibility or a fully controllable harbinger of death now I like the parry system as a means of defense but in the heat of the moment I feel it's more of a liability than anything else the one thing I hate the most about it is the short pushback you get when pairing something I especially hated it during funhouse Fryzel a 2d side-scrolling stage with the standard anti-gravity gimmick so I already hated in that regard but to dodge certain enemy patterns were to get the best vantage point you had to switch gravity from time to time and you did that by pairing these cards which was remarkably clumsy and again it was all because of that little pushback you get by pairing [ __ ] it left me disoriented because I see cuphead going one way and thinking he'll end up here and instead he goes the completely opposite direction and yeah this stage was the low point for me that there was no sense of accomplishment for this one but again the side-scrolling segments make only for a small percentage of this game the bosses are the centerpiece and thankfully top hat can hold his own in terms of potential arsenal and I thought the standard pea shooter was a fine enough weapon and the charge super attack that could be aimed in multiple directions was great for making up lost time but thanks to the coins you can collect in the handful of side-scrolling stages you could buy different types of weapons and give them a whirl you're allowed to carry two types of weapons at all times and you can switch between the two at any point I didn't find them all helpful or at least I didn't see the potential in all of them but the few I did enjoy I kept equipped for the duration of the game the spread shot that didn't have much coverage what was the best in close range and later on the charge shot that didn't have auto fire but a full charge blast ripped these guys a new [ __ ] the number of boss fights was staggering but every one of them had a unique feel I think okay what less with the 2d shooters because those all had similar strategies and tactics but that notwithstanding they still had their own look and feel and every encounter on the ground was a pure test of dexterity that was somehow I was able to rewrite away and some I gritted my teeth that just from the sight of them I hate at doctor Cal's robot and junkyard jive and the Phantom Express and Railroad wrath even as a fan of 2d shooters the robots still gave me a pain in the ass and by the final for me just goes apeshit and fires bullets constantly the Phantom Express feels like one of the longest fights in the game and I hate it that I could accidentally move the cart back and forth my parry maneuver when I just meant to hit the other pink objects that was frustrating but like the others there was that euphoria I experienced when all these fights and it's studio mdh are wanted to pay homage to not only the old-school cartoons in the 1930s but also the old-school design of a game that kicked your ass hard sure but felt good when you finally claimed victory but you know this is always the kind of game that's tricky to recommend isn't it is the game hard [ __ ] yeah it is but there's more to this game than just the tough but fair game play for the love of God look at it the blood and sweat poured into the design here is obvious and that's just the looks the soundtrack is top-notch to a delightful ensemble of energetic jazz and swing that kind of makes you want to dance and sing sorry I just realized that run there 20 bucks will get you a game that now only rewards your perseverance that yeah it's a little antiquated sure but also gives you a visual love ler to classic Disney and Fleischer era cartoons that I personally didn't grow up with I was more of a Renaissance kid but I admired the attention to detail regardless is both a fan of animation and lover of video games I implore you whether for the holidays are not consider adding cuphead to your collection and if you happen to love it please let studio mvhr know that their hard work has indeed paid off and with that I'm jumping from one in detail to the next as I'm ending 2017 with a look at a hat in time which I have a good feeling won't be such a rigorous test as cuphead but here's hoping the year ends well regardless afterwards the second donators marathon shall begin and I hope you guys look forward to that it's gonna be a doozy well anyway thank you all for watching have yourselves a fantastic than a happy holiday Happy New Year in case I don't get that video out in time and take care [Music]

Channel: SomecallmeJohnny

Views: 409,174

Keywords: Somecallmejohnny, Somecallmejohnny Video, Somecallmejohnny Review, Johnny vs, Video Game Review, Somecallmejohnny Cuphead, Somecallmejohnny Indie, Somecallmejohnny Studio MDHR, Johnny vs. Cuphead, Johnny vs. Studio MDHR, Cuphead, Indie

Id: qRGfRgYbGhQ

Length: 9min 18sec (558 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 20 2017