image: studiomdhr.com
In E3 of 2014, a developer came out with the first renderings of a game called Cuphead, a game with character models and backgrounds inspired by the rubberhose animation style of the 20’s and 30’s. I have always had a fondness for that era of entertainment, and the demo shown looked crisp and clean with hand-drawn animation cells as well as a recognizable and easy to understand concept of the run-and-gun genre of games. I immediately fell in love with the art style and music of the game, but I knew I would never be able to get my hands on it considering it would be released on the Xbox One and PC. I never owned or wanted to own an Xbox One due to the high price and the infamous hardware malfunctions. I also have a Macbook so running the game would be a nightmare.
The game came out to critical acclaim and an overall positive response from gamers for having crisp game play and oozing charm. I watched and still continue to watch play throughs online and have always wanted to hear the music coming from my TV and try to get my soul back from the devil. The soundtrack is a regular on my Spotify most played, and the art style made me want to explore drawing and animation. There were rumors floating here and there that the game would be ported to the Switch, but I thought it would be unlikely due to indie titles sticking with one platform from which to release from.
Cuphead was announced for the Switch and was said to be released in April, and when this news was dropped, I was so excited. Cuphead could now go with me anywhere, and I could now personally own a game that I have been following since the announcement way back in 2014. I know that this is one of the hardest games in recent memory, and with me being a sub-par gamer, I am ready to get my ass kicked.
For me, the most important part about Cuphead coming to the Switch is that it is a stepping stone for successful indie games to cross into other platforms. Cuphead is not from a huge developer like Activision or EA, but it is a passion project that happened to become very popular in 2017. There is a lot of console pride in every platform available, and to see a successful indie game putting aside this unnecessary bias is really refreshing. The Cuphead developers recognized that there are millions of gamers who could be reached by porting their game to the Switch and I think it’s a brilliant idea. I’m not innocent when it comes to console bias, but I think that making the steps to bridge the gap among gamers can lead to a healthier relationship for gamers.
I will be getting Cuphead on April 18th and happily shell out the $19.99 for the game. Don’t expect me to do anything else that week, because I will play the game until my thumbs bleed (and considering the difficulty, they likely will). Supporting independent developers is going to become a lot easier with titles like Cuphead heading to the Switch.
