Cuphead

Now that it is available for Macs, I got Cuphead off Steam a couple days ago.

Cuphead's most exciting feature is its animation style - evoking the experimental and inventive (because the medium was so new) images of 1930s animation like Felix the Cat, Betty Boop, and of course the original Disney shorts, Cuphead attempts to place itself in that context of iconic cartoon designs, and the art style of it is profoundly cool. Pure cartoon-logic moments are frequent, like an anthropomorphic zeppelin transforming into a large and malevolent (and somewhat mechanical) crescent moon in the fight's last phase.

Sort of a platformer, but with a strong focus on lengthy boss fights, Cuphead is also infamously difficult. While the gameplay is very distinct from Dark Souls, the attitude one must cultivate to enjoy the game is similar - you're going to be spending time learning the rhythms of these fights and you will likely die many, many times before you finally eke out a victory.

Most of the encounters are boss fights, with most a sort of platforming challenge while others having you fly a little plane and go into full bullet-hell gameplay. Indeed, bullet hell is probably a good way to think about the whole game, as this is going to be more about figuring out how to effectively dodge attacks than placing your shots carefully - holding down the "shoot" key and then focusing mostly on dodging attacks is probably the right way to play.

There are a few Run and Gun levels - which are more traditional platforming levels with similarly unforgiving things to dodge.

As difficult as the game is, persistence and careful learning of the boss' patterns will eventually allow you to succeed, but it's definitely a game that I'd recommend stepping away from if you get frustrated.

Still, its evocation of old-school cartoons is really great, between the animation, the soundtrack, and the ridiculous notion that the final boss is the literal devil.