It’s about damn time. The most hotly anticipated indie game in recent memory has finally finagled itself a release date. First announced at E3 2014, Cuphead, Studio MDHR’s throwback platformer that evokes classic Disney and Fleischer cartoons, is coming to Xbox One and PC on September 28, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5iGwE0XJ1sThe game, which focuses on grueling combat against massive, screen-filling bosses, was originally intended for a 2016 release, but was ultimately pushed back when Studio MDHR kept making it bigger and bigger. Cuphead lets you play as two adorable anthropomorphic cups, Cuphead and Mugman, as you make your way through a gorgeously animated world to kick ass, take names, and avoid an untimely death at the hands of some brutally difficult boss fights. With both single-player and local co-op capabilities, Cuphead looks like the perfect new obsession for anyone lamenting games that feel too easy or want to scratch the nostalgia itch for Sega Genesis/Super Nintendo-era platformers. As part of Microsoft’s Play Anywhere program, Cuphead can be purchased on either Windows 10 or Xbox One and played across both platforms, so there’s really no excuse not to play this one unless you own a PS4 or a Switch.
In more surprising news, Cuphead is getting a lavish vinyl soundtrack release, too, courtesy of the creative geniuses over at iam8bit. The 4XLP set comes in throwback packaging made to look like a folio straight out of the 1930s. With nearly 3 hours of music by Kristofer Maddigan, album art by Jango Snow, and a digital copy of the soundtrack, this collection will run you $100. Honestly, even if you don’t wind up playing Cuphead, you might want to pick up a copy of this so your next cocktail party can have that vintage vibe you’re striving to create.
Will you be playing Cuphead? Let us know in the comments below.
Images: Microsoft/Studio MDHR/iam8bit
Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).
