A Brawl Is Swiftly Brewing In These Games
Cuphead is an incredibly difficult game that made many people rage and shout. However, its incredible art style and homage to old-fashioned animation helped it gain a cult following amongst gamers and animation fans alike. With its intriguing Netflix cartoon and Delicious Last Course DLC finally arriving in fans’ homes, the hype for the series is at an all-time high.
If you’ve finished playing Cuphead and are looking for alternatives – fret not! We’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top 8 picks.
Of course, for all the games we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link, so you can check out our full thoughts on that and see if it’s something you want to invest your time with.
So without further ado, we present 8 games to check out if you’re looking for a game like Cuphead!
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight offers an enriching world filled with personality, charm, and wonder. Like Cuphead, it’s a challenging 2D Platformer title with well-developed characters, intense action, and beautiful visuals. The sound design in Hollow Knight is also top-notch and will give you feelings of dread and excitement during its more action-packed moments.
The difference between the two is that Hollow Knight feels darker and colder in tone compared to the whimsical vibes you’d receive while playing Cuphead. Furthermore, Hollow Knight’s gameplay feels more in line with a Metroidvania title, allowing the player to explore its world and solve the many puzzles dormant within it.
Hollow Knight follows the insectoid warrior called The Knight and his quest to uncover the secrets of an abandoned kingdom called Hallownest. However, the Knight’s journey won’t be an easy task. This land was home to a dangerous plague that ruined many of Hallownest’s civilians’ lives. With the promise of treasure and answers to its ancient mysteries, the Knight decides to embark on this dangerous mission.
Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight was a smash-hit indie franchise when it was released. It resembles many classic SNES-era video games. It successfully captured the same atmosphere, gameplay, and tone as the titles it wanted to replicate. Like Cuphead, it features an incredible cast of characters, a wondrous fantasy world, and many elements of classic RPG games.
Shovel Knight’s difficulty is tamer than Cuphead. This allows players to explore Shovel Knight’s world at their leisure and discover something new with each play-through of the title. The story for the game’s par for the course and should keep players entertained. Shovel Knight’s 8-bit graphics will entice fans to continue playing, simply because they’ll gain a sense of nostalgia while doing so.
Shovel Knight follows the heroic warrior Shovel Knight on his quest to save his mistress from an evil sorceress. Along the way, he’ll encounter many powerful foes and obstacles that he’ll have to conquer to complete his mission. It’s a fairly simple story with impressive gameplay to back it up.
If you’re looking for another title that pays homage to retro media, Shovel Knight’s worth playing.
The Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac is another indie game with an incredible difficulty curve, like Cuphead. The game also offers great replayability and personality regarding its visuals. Although it doesn’t capture the same love of traditional animation as Cuphead does, the art style is rather unique and gratifying. It definitely captures the style of old-school flash games you’d find on minuscule gaming sites.
The Binding of Isaac also covers deeper and darker themes, though. This is echoed well by the game’s haunting environments and gritty atmosphere. Fortunately, this darkened take fuses wonderfully with the game’s personality and dialogue.
Although the gameplay’s different in form, Cuphead fans will find some commonalities. For example, players will need to fight their way past many enemies to reach each dungeon’s end-point. These dungeons feature many powerful enemies and bosses, so expect some challenges around every corner.
You’ll encounter many useful power-ups to strengthen your abilities. If you’re looking for a game with charm, personality, and some challenges, The Binding of Isaac is worth checking out.
Enter The Gungeon
Enter The Gungeon is a bullet hell roguelike dungeon crawler title that’s oozing in difficulty. Players must progress through differently designed dungeons, each spawning a different array of enemies that wish to defeat you. The gameplay encourages high replayability with its multiple dungeons and interesting variety of bosses.
These bosses aren’t a joke, as you’ll find yourself going through several runs to clear a level. However, players should get the hang of the bosses’ gimmicks and patterns upon replaying the levels. This game also has a strong emphasis on its projectile weaponry, as Cuphead does. Players can also dodge enemy attacks to get the upper hand on foes.
Its story is quite simple. This game follows a group of misfits who want to shoot, loot, and dodge their way to wealth and fortune. Their ultimate goal is to claim the legendary Gungeon’s precious treasure. This treasure is a gun that can kill the past.
Bendy & The Ink Machine
Although not as popular as Cuphead, Bendy & The Ink Machine gained a grand following for itself when it was released. This was due to its engaging and mysterious lore than its mundane gameplay. It feels more in line with other first-person horror titles like Outlast and Visage, though. However, Bendy & The Ink Machine’s cartoonish mascots give off the same child-like energy as Cuphead and Mugman.
Developed by Joey Drew Studios, Bendy & The Ink Machine is a first-person puzzle and action horror game filled with mystery, thrills, and chills. It follows Henry, a former employee, that decides to revisit the abandoned workshop of Joey Drew Studios. His mission is to uncover the roots and demons of his past.
While the game includes some mundane tasks, none of them will provide the same ounce of difficulty as Cuphead does. However, Bendy & The Ink Machine knows how to build tension. There are many moments in the game where you’ll need to pause and ponder.
The bosses in the game also provide plenty of challenges. You’ll also stumble across various items that will help you aid Henry during his outing at the animation studio.
It’s an incredible indie game with enough spooks and puzzles to keep you on your toes. If you’re looking for something that feels like a tribute to retro animation but done in a more horrific fashion, check out Bendy & The Ink Machine.
Dead Cells
Dead Cells is a roguelike, Metroidvania-inspired, action-platformer title with enough challenges to keep Cuphead fans entertained. Players will find themselves exploring this game’s castle and its many imaginative areas. The enemies in this game will not disappoint, as you’ll find yourself dying and needing to repeat levels many times.
Witcheye
Witcheye is a fresh action-adventure arcade game with a lot of personality and charm. In the game, players control a witch who transforms into a flying eyeball. She seeks revenge against a knight and wizard after they decide to steal her spell ingredients. However, the witch is in for a world of pain.
This game offers fifty-plus levels of non-stop fun. Like Cuphead, each level in Witcheye feels lively as you’ll encounter a plethora of tricky enemies and puzzles. They’re also structured with an endpoint in mind. Although it doesn’t pay homage to retro animation, it does pay tribute to the classic NES-era of video games with its gorgeous pixel art.
At the same time, Witcheye doesn’t offer multiple power-ups as Cuphead does. The game does present a new approach to the platforming video game genre, though. In this game, you can freely dash through the air and stop on any given spot. You can also reverse your character’s direction or alter their course at will. These options allow the title to feel easier to play. It also gives speed runners phenomenal options.
Ori and the Blind Forest
Ori and the Blind Forest is a spectacular platform-adventure game that gives off a celestial atmosphere. It doesn’t have a jazzy soundtrack or cartoonish graphics like Cuphead. Instead, it offers players a more mystical experience with a soothing soundtrack. But don’t let its harmonious nature fool you. It’s a game that offers incredible challenges.
Ori and the Blind Forest encourages players to explore its large environments. These environments house hidden passages and puzzles for players to find and conquer. The game does feature a variety of bosses with unique personalities and distinct appearances. These bosses will test the player’s knowledge of the game and its many mechanics.
Like Cuphead, the game’s world is chock-full of life. The backgrounds are highly detailed, allowing players to take in their enchanting atmosphere. As you continue your exploration through the game, you’ll unlock various skills, abilities, and access to new locations. These skills and abilities will provide you with a ton of help when fending off bosses or smaller enemies.
If you’re looking for a great platformer title that’ll leave a great impression, check out Ori and the Blind Forest.
So there we have it, our 8 video game picks to keep you busy after playing Cuphead.
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!