Welcome to another episode of Retrotopia: Another Video Game Podcast. This is a show where we, Alan, Brian, and Sam, get together to discuss video games from years gone by. We like to look at video games from the perspective of lifelong gamers and how they hold up in the retro sphere.

This week we are discussing Cuphead, an Xbox One and PC game released in 2017 that blends punishing run-and-gun action with a stunning 1930s hand-drawn cartoon aesthetic. Inspired by the rubber-hose animation of Fleischer Studios and early Disney shorts, Cuphead follows the reckless titular hero and his brother Mugman after they lose their souls to the Devil in a high-stakes casino gamble. To repay their debt, they must traverse a series of surreal islands, battling a wildly creative lineup of screen-filling bosses to collect soul contracts.

Beneath its charming, jazzy exterior lies a brutally challenging experience built around pattern recognition, tight platforming, and precision shooting. Every boss fight feels like a playable cartoon short, complete with original big band music and painstakingly inked animation. It’s a love letter to vintage animation wrapped around an old-school difficulty curve that demands patience, skill, and maybe a second controller for co-op support.

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