Cuphead

Cuphead's gameplay is centred on continual boss fights, interspersed with run and gun levels. Each is housed in one of four worlds, with the final fight against the Devil (has 3 phases). Each boss fight includes simple, regular, and expert difficulty modes (except for the final two bosses, which lack a simple mode). Defeating a boss on regular mode is required to progress through the game and unlocks expert mode for that particular level.

Most boss battles take place on land, although some involve player characters piloting aeroplanes and play like a side-scrolling shoot 'em up. The game includes role-playing elements and a branching level sequence. Player characters have infinite lives, maintaining all equipment between deaths.

On Inkwell Isle, the game follows Cuphead and Mugman, two fun-loving brothers who live under the watchful eye of Elder Kettle. Against his warnings, the brothers wander off to the Devil's Casino and begin playing craps. When they go on a winning streak, the Devil appears and makes a deal, offering to give them all the money in the casino if they win the next roll and threatening to take their souls if they lose. Cuphead accepts the offer but loses by rolling snake eyes.

As he and Mugman beg for mercy, the Devil offers them another deal – if the brothers can collect the "soul contracts" from his runaway debtors by midnight the next day, the Devil might spare them. After returning home and informing Elder Kettle of their predicament, he gives the brothers a potion that allows them to fire blasts of energy from their fingers and warns them that the debtors may not willingly turn in their soul contracts.

Cuphead is a game by Studio MDHR, a Canadian indie game development studio founded by brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer. The game was written by Evan Skolnick; additional animation work was contributed by Jake Clark, with programming led by Tony Coculuzzi. Its development began in 2010 using the Microsoft XNA, later switching to the Unity game engine in 2014, and it was developed from the brothers' homes in Oakville, Ontario and Regina, Saskatchewan, respectively. It was inspired by cartoons from the early days of the golden age of American animation such as those from Disney and Fleischer Studios, along with cartoonists Ub Iwerks, Grim Natwick and Willard Bowsky. Chad Moldenhauer called Fleischer Studios "the magnetic north of his art style", and particularly sought to mimic their "subversive and surrealist" elements.

The Moldenhauers watched many early golden-age cartoons in their youth, largely from VHS compilations their parents supplied. Among other siblings in their Regina, Saskatchewan childhood home, the duo shared an interest in video games. They attempted a game in the style of Cuphead in 2000 but lacked the tools to continue. The brothers decided to try again after the success of the indie game Super Meat Boy, released in 2010.

Ben Kuchera of Polygon wrote that Cuphead was one of the five most interesting reveals at Microsoft's E3 2014 press conference, even though he knew little about the game apart from its aesthetic. He said it "stood out immediately" and that everyone in the website's press room viscerally reacted to the trailer. Cuphead won the IGN Best Xbox One game at E3 award in 2015, and "Best Indie Game" at the Gamescom 2015 Awards. It was nominated as "Best Independent Game" at the E3 2016 Game Critics Awards.

Cuphead received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Its difficulty was noted by several media outlets. Destructoid's Brett Makedonski welcomed the high difficulty, which he noted as "tough but fair". Based on "exhaustive" pattern recognition, he said it ultimately relied on muscle memory, rather than reaction.

Since its release, Cuphead has expanded into a broader brand encompassing various forms of licensed merchandise, including accessories and collectibles. In 2019, McFarlane Toys launched a series of Cuphead-themed construction sets. The following year, in 2020, Arby's released limited-edition toys and papercrafts inspired by Cuphead characters in select locations. In 2022, Youtooz released a line of limited-edition Cuphead figures.

That same year, Studio MDHR collaborated with Zara on a Cuphead-themed clothing collection. In 2023, Good Smile Company released Nendoroid figures of Cuphead and Mugman.