Cuphead could be this year’s big run-and-gun game

It has skyrocketed to the top of my radar, at least

That’s my hope, anyway. Cuphead is one of those games I feel bad for not noticing sooner. Sporting a remarkable sense of style and animation, this looks to represent the best of the run-and-gun genre, with developer Studio MDHR citing influences like Gunstar Heroes, Contra Hard Corps, and the Mad Hatter boss fight in Batman & Robin. These people know their stuff.

“With Cuphead, we aim to evolve the genre by adding new features such as: super arts, infinite lives, a playable world map and hidden secrets,” writes the team. “In addition to that, we will have refined controls, additional boss patterns on harder modes and balanced weapons to equip (that you don’t lose!). We plan to release 10-15 bosses per episode and end up with over 30 bosses.” The full introductory blog post, linked below, is an insightful read about the design intentions.

The game is expected to hit PC first, followed by Mac and Linux releases and, eventually, PlayStation 4 and/or Xbox One versions.

What kind of game is Cuphead? [Studio MDHR via Digital Trends]

This clip of the Captain Silver boss fight is only several seconds in length, but it says so much: