Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course Review

Michael Cabrer July twenty ninth, 2022 – 5:49 AM

An extremely divisive matter, DLC for video games has been rather more frequent lately, starting from costume variants to full blown growth packs for beloved titles. While some folks establish DLC as nothing greater than a cash-grab (and in some circumstances this has credence), there’s benefit in a studio lovingly producing a bit of extra content material that not solely feels prefer it belonged to the unique recreation, however elongates the time folks can benefit from the recreation. Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course feels prefer it was all the time part of the sport, and expands on each lovable a part of the already established Cuphead world and characters. 

What makes Cuphead: The DLC so particular is how a lot love and energy has gone into meticulously crafting a aspect story that doesn’t intrude with the principle plot and permits the participant to expertise one thing new fully with out going off the important path. Using an already established character in Ms. Chalice, The DLC appears to broaden on her character and convey her again to life. With a magic cookie that enables her to modify locations with both Cuphead or Mugman, Ms. Chalice takes on a litany of latest bosses in an effort to get components for a pie that can carry again her corporeal type. What many different video games falter with in creating extra content material is bringing new experiences and methods of taking part in to the desk. Sure there might be an added boss battle or two and so they might need a single new gimmick, however there’s nothing greater than that. Cuphead: The DLC creates fully new experiences that aren’t unfamiliar to the participant, however have an attention-grabbing quantity of latest mechanics and an issue curve similar to the conventional gameplay bosses. This is the magic that enables The DLC to really feel so near the bottom recreation; for those who’ve performed the conventional story you’ll match proper in with the brand new bosses.  The mechanics vary from barely acquainted to “oh wait, that’s how this works?” The problem curve of Cuphead has all the time come from memorizing boss patterns and mechanics and creating a method to greatest cope with them, and the brand new boss layouts and mechanics in The DLC add a little bit of spice to that formulation. Of explicit curiosity have been the Moonshine Mob and The Howling Aces, as they each launched new methods of taking part in that have been both absent or not expanded upon within the base recreation. The Moonshine Mob is a 3 layer stage with obstacles spawning in at random whereas needing to battle the bosses, in addition to a feint soundwave assault that must be averted correctly by both leaping or dodging on the proper time. The Howling Aces battle at a look appears to be an airplane stage, however as an alternative has the participant standing on a aircraft and maneuvering across the stage by leaning on the wings. Both of those levels have been extra cerebral than anticipated, and proved to be a substantial problem when used to the conventional leaping and dodging within the different boss fights. That being stated, these levels are much more maneuverable and manageable with Ms. Chalice as a playable character. Ms. Chalice has a wholly distinctive moveset and approach of parrying, in addition to new specials and a dodge roll. While this appears bloated, Ms. Chalice solely appears like an alternate playstyle that will have been current within the base recreation, not one thing to make many levels simpler. Even with all her modifications, she requires a special playstyle and positioning in comparison with Cuphead and Mugman, and this breathes life into older levels as properly. 

Cuphead: The DLC has unbelievable artwork path as properly, from the music to the character designs and levels. While every part encapsulates not solely the rubberhose animation fashion however the distinctly “Cuphead” fashion, there are particular areas and boss thematics that really feel so contemporary and new. The first that involves thoughts is the King’s palace, with each battle there being pacifistic and based mostly on a puzzle mechanic. The King and his topics are based mostly on chess items, and the rotating background that’s his citadel is definitely 3D, which is superbly juxtaposed with the remainder of the cartoonish foreground. The new characters really feel proper at house with the remainder of the solid, and every boss theme is superbly orchestrated similar to within the base recreation. Again, the Moonshine Mob stole the present with this one, having a cabaret-esque cowl of the conventional music that provides a singer when the later phases of the battle introduce the gramophone. The artwork path is as stellar in The DLC as it’s in regular Cuphead, and for that Studio MDHR must be lauded. The quantity of effort that goes into producing a product like that is nothing wanting great, and there’s not an oz of affection that missed its mark right here. 

All in all there are only a few accessible DLCs that attain this stage of completeness that solely provides to an already good product. A foul DLC can take away from a good base recreation, and a very good DLC can assist a recreation that didn’t carry out properly on launch or within the opening months. Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is a really uncommon incidence that reveals the quantity of effort and pleasure Studio MDHR put into an incredible product. A labor of affection that hit its mark, The Delicious Last Course feels virtually crucial for Cuphead followers that need to lengthen the most effective elements of their journey. 

Score: 10 out of 10

Reviewed on Windows PC