Review Roundup: Cuphead was worth the wait for Xbox One, PC

After a long wait and delays, Cuphead has finally released after getting its official (and final) release date during E3 this year. The developers went through plenty of hardships to get the game released, but it's finally happened and the game appears to be pretty darn good!

On Metacritic, the Xbox One version is sitting at 85/100 and the PC version is at 89/100, OpenCritic has the game at 87/100 – at the time of writing.

Destructoid

Cuphead's incredible style belies its magical complexity. It's so much more than a hard-as-hell shoot-'em-up with artistic flair. It's cerebral in a way that these kind of games rarely are. Cuphead's commitment to forcing the player to understand is commendable. Those who don't have the patience to learn won't get far. That's the kind of stand-your-ground moxie that makes this a hallmark of game design. My praise runneth over."

9.5/10

GamesRadar

Yes, Cuphead was worth the wait. Too often, I find myself thinking "Thank God I never have to do that again" after wrapping up a difficult game – but with Cuphead, I'm mighty excited to further my eight-to-nine-hour Regular run and trounce those bosses in an Expert encore. If you're partial to a tough-but-fair challenge, and you have even the slightest appreciation for the rich history of animated cartoons, you'll be overjoyed by the wonderfully artistic adventure that is Cuphead. Maybe you'll even get a blistered thumb or two to remember it by.

5/5

GameSpot

Cuphead has been a longtime coming, and it's great to see that it lives up to its initial promises. It's beautiful to look at, and with a pitch-perfect soundtrack, it flawlessly captures the era its developers so clearly revere. It's also an intense action game that pulls no punches. It could benefit from a few tweaks, and two-player co-op doesn't feel like the valuable addition you might imagine, but Cuphead remains a rare, unique game that truly stands out.

8/10

Polygon

Cuphead’s deal with the devil eventually leads to hell, and so perhaps it’s fitting the conclusion should be so torturous. Though, honestly, even the residual headache has been soothed by the sweet, sweet salve of victory. When I think of my time with Cuphead, instead of frustration I’ll remember the dozens of tiny breakthroughs, when the impossible became possible, and a game that built an identity around difficulty helped me to feel, however briefly, undefeatable.

8.5/10