Cuphead

Cuphead is a difficult run and gun video game made and published by Studio MDHR in 2017. Cuphead is mostly adored by its similar artstyle from 90s cartoon animations, soundtrack, and its extreme difficulty. The game features 19 unique bosses, 6 run and gun levels, and 4 areas. A Netflix animated series named "The Cuphead Show" which is a series about the game is also in development. An announced Cuphead DLC that has been delayed multiple times is also planned to release soon.

Plot
In Inkwell Isle, Cuphead and his brother, Mugman, are two fun-loving children who live under the watchful eye of the Elder Kettle. One day, the brothers wanders off far from home and discovers the Devil's Casino. They enter and begin to start playing craps. Momentarily, they start owning a winning streak and the Devil, the casino's owner, approaches the brothers. The Devil himself offers a deal to the pair, if Cuphead and Mugman manage to win another roll, they win the casino's loot. If not, the Devil will take their souls. Unfortunately, they lose and they start begging for another method to repay. The Devil requests Cuphead and Mugman to collect the soul contracts of previous runaway debtors before midnight. They quickly go to visit Elder Kettle and he gives them a potion that allows them to shoot from their fingers. He also warns them that the runaway debtors may attempt to fight back.

Gameplay
Cuphead mainly focuses on continuous boss fights and multiple run-and-gun levels. In run-and-gun levels, the player must fight mini-bosses and reach the arrow sign at the end of the level to complete it. In boss fights, the player must defeat the boss while dodging his/her attacks. Each boss has multiple phases, each one being different and much more difficult. Occasionally, the boss shoots a pink-colored attack that the player can parry. If the player manages to parry, it fills the super meter faster and can also help dodging attacks easier. If the super meter is ready, the player can launch an attack that does massive damage. If the player manages to max the super meter, which means to obtain 5 playing cards, the player can perform an attack called "Super Arts". Super Arts are obtained after completing a mausoleum, they can be found in all the three worlds and the player must protect an urn and prevent groups of ghosts in touching the urn by parrying them. The player can also purchase items in the in-game shop, Porkrind's Emporium, the player can get special abilities and weapons using Coins, the in-game currency and is attained during levels and in the overworld. The boss fights can also either be battled in aero planes, platforms or on the ground. In the overworld, this is where you can play run-and-gun levels and challenge bosses. The player can also talk to NPCs and sometimes do tasks for them for coins. Hidden shortcuts are also available in the overworld.

After defeating a boss/completing a level, the player is presented the results of the battle. The player is ranked with a grade based on their performance. The results is based on the time completion, the number of parried attacks, and overall health. An alternate route called the Pacifist route can be completed during run-and-gun levels. However, the player must not kill any enemies during the levels and reach the end. The player will then be ranked as P (Pacifist) in the results screen. Cuphead also contains multiplayer, with the secondary player being Mugman. If the player completes the game in Regular mode, an Expert mode difficulty is unlocked, which is the third difficulty in the game, the others being Simple and Regular. If the player defeats a boss in Simple mode, the boss's soul contract will not be collected, forcing you to complete the game on Regular mode. In Expert mode, the bosses receive more health, faster attack speed, and sometimes new phases. The player can also attain a S-Rank (the perfect score), by completing the objectives needed in the results screen in Expert mode.