10 Loveable Video Games That HATE You

5. Cuphead

Crash 4
StudioMDHR

Hooo boy. Cuphead.

If you've played through Cuphead to the very end and your videogame console survived and hasn't been broken into smithereens with a sledgehammer, well done you!

Here's what may have happened to you when you first saw Cuphead. 'Hey!' you exclaimed, excitedly watching the trailer, 'This game looks just like cartoons from the 1920s! I bet it's cutesy and fun and not at all difficult!'

Cut to several months later upon release, and you're found sobbing in the corner, shouting something about being very wrong indeed.

Despite its truly stunning art style and atmospheric charm throughout that perfectly apes ye-olde style of cartoons from back in the day, Cuphead really, really HATES you lots. It doesn't want you to succeed.

Its bosses are rock hard to beat. Its side-scrolling levels are punishing with deadly enemies, difficult platforming and few checkpoints. Then, it even has the gallantry to give you a score for how well you beat a level, challenging you to do it with pinpoint precision to see that glorious A+ ranking pop.

Despite its massive difficulty, we'll forgive Cuphead as he and his best friend, Mug Man, are just far too loveable for their own good.

Contributor
Contributor

Dan Curtis is approximately one-half videogame knowledge, and the other half inexplicable Geordie accent. He's also one quarter of the Factory Sealed Retro Gaming podcast.