Cuphead – September 29
Microsoft unveiled Cuphead, the frenetic run and gun game from StudioMDHR Entertainment, during their E3 2014 press conference. Featuring hand-drawn levels and characters in the old school 1930s animation style, brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer have been developing the indie platformer since 2010. The game focuses heavily on quintessential run and gun mechanics, epic boss fights, and the quirky main character Cuphead — who the brothers designed after a 1936 Japanese propaganda film in which a teacup-headed man turns into a tank.
The impressive animations in Cuphead don’t just mimic the unique art-style of Tex Avery-era cartoons, but also the meticulous process through which those animations were created. Chad Moldenhauer draws every character, animates every movement, and paints every background as if the technology hasn’t changed much since the Depression Era. All of that painstaking work comes to a head in late September, as Cuphead makes its way to the Xbox One after seven years of development.
