Let’s look at the 11 hardest boss fights of 2022 and what made them so challenging.

Gna – God of War Ragnarok

The new Valkyrie Queen, Gna, is probably easier than Sigrun from God of War (2018). Underestimate her at your peril, though, as she possesses a wide variety of slashes, slices, ranged attacks (including Bifrost), unblockable attacks, and whatnot. If that weren’t enough, she can toss out two glaives in a spinning motion, afflicting you with Fire, Frost, Poison or Bifrost. Did we mention stomps and slams, each causing immense damage? You’ll need max level, fully upgraded gear and weapons, and much more to even stand a chance against Gna.

Subject Alpha – The Callisto Protocol

There’s only one real “boss” in The Callisto Protocol, and it’s the mutated Captain Leon Ferris, aka Subject Alpha. In the first phase, he swings here and there, sometimes grabbing you, and you just hit/shoot back. His second phase sees him mutating further, but don’t worry. Just shoot and dodge, take down the smaller Biophages, and repeat till he keels over. Mechanically boring, and one-note, but it sucks more when the game ends abruptly several minutes later.

In fact, it’s continuing to sell well even now, several months from its launch. Developer Studio MDHR recently took to Twitter and announced that Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course has now sold over 2 million units worldwide across all platforms since coming out in June. That’s up from the one million units it had sold within roughly two weeks after release.

In our review of Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, we awarded it a score of 9/10, saying, “Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course thankfully doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. It takes the already-phenomenal gameplay of Cuphead, and just adds more Cuphead on top. Miss Chalice is also a great new character, making going back to the base game fun, even if you’ve already finished it.” Read the full review through here.

Cuphead and its DLC are available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Much to our amazement, we can announce that The Delicious Last Course has gone Double Platinum, selling 2 million copies across all platforms!!

We are so grateful to everyone who joined Cuphead, Mugman, and Ms. Chalice on this new adventure. Your support means the world to us. pic.twitter.com/nsfpSFiw4Z

— Studio MDHR (@StudioMDHR) December 13, 2022

Studio MDHR recently took to Twitter and announced that, on the occasion of Cuphead’s fifth anniversary, it will release a physical edition of Cuphead for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in partnership with iam8bit. While details such as its release date and exact contents are currently unknown, the indie studio confirms that it will include the base game as well as the meaty expansion The Delicious Last Course, which learned earlier this year.

In our review of Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, we awarded it a score of 9/10, saying, “Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course thankfully doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. It takes the already-phenomenal gameplay of Cuphead, and just adds more Cuphead on top. Miss Chalice is also a great new character, making going back to the base game fun, even if you’ve already finished it.” Read the full review through here.

Shortly after the expansion’s launch, Studio MDHR announced that it had sold over a million units in less than two weeks.

On Cuphead’s 5th anniversary, we’re overjoyed to say: the game is Coming Soon to retail stores everywhere!! It will be available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 & Nintendo Switch…including The Delicious Last Course!

Sign up now to be the first to know more: https://t.co/FAs05ii86R pic.twitter.com/xz2OClBpwq

— Studio MDHR (@StudioMDHR) September 29, 2022

1 – King Dice (All Bets Are Off)

There’s just something brilliant about the King Dice boss fight. Of course, it certainly helps that King Dice has been around as a character since the very beginning of the game, and finally beating him is definitely one of the best experiences Cuphead has to offer. Despite being the second-to-last boss fight in the base game, King Dice steals the show quite handily thanks to his unique design, general presence throughout the game, and fun fight. And yes, I am a sucker for a good boss-rush styled encounter.

2 – Grim Matchstick (Fiery Frolic)

Grim Matchstick is my pick for the second best fight in Cuphead because it’s quite easily one of the first fights where Cuphead’s difficulty has the potential to reach a player’s frustration threshold. Not only is a fall instant death, there are also a lot of projectiles to dodge while staying on the tiny cloud you’re allowed to stand on, all while trying to deal as much damage to Grim Matchstick as you possibly can. This is the fight that most people think about when Cuphead comes up.

3 – The Root Pack (Botanic Panic!)

Talk about first impressions! The Root Pack is likely the first boss most players will face, and it does a wonderful job of teaching players just what it is they can expect from the rest of the game. It tests several skills—avoiding attacks, keeping up with your damage, parrying—but in a relatively safe environment. The Root Pack isn’t a particularly tough encounter, but it’s a brilliant teacher.

4 – Ribby and Croaks (Clip Joint Calamity)

Right after The Root Pack, you’ll get access to Cuphead’s first dual boss. Once again acting as a sort of soft tutorial, Ribby and Croaks teach players that they have to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. Again, not a particularly difficult encounter, but the way Cuphead teaches its players how to play the game with expertly-designed encounters is just plain old brilliant.

5 – Captain Brineybeard (Shootin N’ Lootin)

Who doesn’t love pirates? Captain Brineybeard has a great design, but more importantly, Brineybeard’s also a pretty fun fight. Considering that this fight is fairly deep into the base game, Brineybeard doesn’t hold back any punches. Keeping a handle on Brineybeard while dodging attacks, avoiding the barrel, and even dealing with various sea creatures can get hectic, but it certainly makes for a fun fight.

6 – Moonshine Mob (Bootlegger Boogie)

And here’s where we see one of the first encounters from The Delicious Last Course. Having no time for yet another tutorial, one of the few fights available at the start of Cuphead’s DLC throws you right into the thick of it. Moonshine Mob has you pay attention to three different layers, all while avoiding bombs, goons, and a random enemy that shoots lightning. The Moonshine Mob is definitely a great way to kick things off with a bang in Cuphead’s DLC.

7 – The Devil (One Hell Of A Time)

The Devil doesn’t really need much of an introduction; he is the primary antagonist of Cuphead, after all, and this fight definitely puts players to the test. The Devil is an intense fight with four phases to go through, and interestingly enough, varies things up by transforming into various beasts right from the first phase. It certainly helps that finally getting to the final phase of the fight gives The Devil a mental breakdown, which is always great to watch happen to a story’s main villain.

8 – Baroness Von Bon Bon (Sugarland Shimmy)

I’ll admit, Baroness Von Bon Bon is so high in these rankings purely because of her design. In a game filled to the brim with wonderfully-designed characters and enemies, Baroness Von Bon Bon’s entire encounter is truly a sight to behold. And if fighting the Baroness by herself wasn’t enough, players will also have to deal with her castle fortress, which has a mind of its own, of course.

9 – Angel and Demon (One Hell Of A Dream)

Acting as a capstone to finish off Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course—and by extension the entire game—is the Angel and Demon fight. It is worth noting that Angel and Demon is a secret encounter that can only be accessed once you figure out a major puzzle in The Delicious Last Course. I won’t go into details here to avoid spoilers, but I’ll still talk about the fight, and what a glorious fight it is. Having to deal with both bosses at the same time is intense, since when you’re dealing with one of them, the other’s going to be affecting the fight in its own ways, be it by creating a wall of fire, or a wall of water.

10 – Cagney Carnation (Floral Fury)

And once again, we’re at a tutorial fight. Cagney Carnation teaches players an incredibly important skill: how to effectively read the enemy. Like I mentioned higher up in the rankings, Cuphead’s approach to tutorials is one of the best things about the game, since it teaches players by just throwing them into fights where they have to learn the skill, or die trying, and Cagney Carnation teaches players how to keep an eye on an enemy’s tells so that they can watch out for specific attacks.

11 – Gloopy Le Grande (Ruse Of An Ooze)

Maybe I just have a strange preference for earlier fights in Cuphead for some strange reason, but Gloopy Le Grande is right up there with Ribby and Croaks and The Root Pack as an effective way to teach players the necessary skills to survive in Cuphead. Gloopy teaches players how to constantly be on the move, how to figure out positioning, and most importantly, how to have patience. Of the tutorial fights, Cagney Carnation and Gloopy Le Grande are quite possibly the hardest ones on the first island.

12 – Chef Saltbaker (A Dish To Die For)

Chef Saltbaker’s sudden but inevitable betrayal would likely sting a lot more if it wasn’t such a fun fight. Acting as the ending of Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course’s story, Saltbaker throws just about everything he has at you. Using and abusing various ingredients as part of his different attacks, Chef Saltbaker is definitely a worthy villain to a fun story, but more importantly, his post-fight redemption makes beating the crap out of him all the sweeter.

13 – Glumstone The Giant (Gnome Way Out)

Another potentially wonderful first impression, the Glumstone The Giant fight is one of two available at the start of The Delicious Last Course. Unlike the Moonshine Mob, however, Glumstone keeps it relatively simple. I am also a fan of the fact that, after spending the first phase fighting off gnomes from his beard, Glumstone gets frustrated enough that he looses all of his facial hair. If that’s not great design, I don’t know what is.

14 – Hilda Berg (Threatenin’ Zeppelin)

Here we have the first flying encounter of Cuphead—essentially a tutorial for the concept—and as you might have noticed, there aren’t any other flying encounters higher up in the rankings. While great in design, flying encounters tend to be less interesting to me because they disregard your equipment, shoehorning you into a standard moveset for the entire fight. Hilda, however, gets a pass because, ultimately, it’s still a fun boss fight that teaches you all the ins and outs of how to handle flying encounters. Hilda’s use of zodiac motifs is also quite interesting, providing her a lot of possibilities for different attacks.

15 – Phantom Express (Railroad Wrath)

Who doesn’t like a good train encounter? The sheer weirdness of the Phantom Express encounter is truly a sight to behold. Players will have to dodge eyeballs, deal with the Conductor, and even fight off ghosts. Phantom Express definitely earns its place in these rankings.

16 – Cala Maria (High Seas Hi-Jinx!)

Not only does Cala Maria’s name make for a wonderful pun, but Cala herself is a pretty fun boss fight. Despite being a flying encounter, Cala Maria manages to be an interesting fight owing to her wide variety of attacks, which among other things include the use of sea creatures, and a head full of eels.

17 – Sally Stageplay (Dramatic Fanatic)

The Sally Stageplay encounter is involves having to deal with quite a few attacks, even in her first phase. As the fight goes on, Sally likes to use more and more of her acting chops, including background actors that will deal damage.

18 – The Queen (The King’s Leap)

Acting as the final test in The King’s Leap in Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, The Queen will push your parrying abilities as far as they can go. Dealing with a boss by using nothing but the parry ability is an interesting idea, and while the entirety of The King’s Leap series of encounters tests your parrying skills, The Queen is the ultimate challenge.

19 – Dr. Kahl’s Robot (Junkyard Jive!)

Another encounter where the design alone puts it above and beyond most of the other bosses of Cuphead, Dr. Kahl’s Robot is a fun fight where players will have to deal with quite a few attacks, and ultimately dismantle the giant robot.

20 – Djimmi the Great (Pyramid Peril)

One of the first potential bosses on Cuphead’s second island, Djimmi The Great uses weapons like scimitars, weaponizing jewelry, and even using cats in his attacks. The Djimmi encounter is a generally grueling fight, with five phases, and a secret sixth phase that will put your flying to the test.

21 – Chips Bettigan (Inkwell Hell)

Quite easily the most memorable of all the encounters leading up to King Dice in Inkwell Hell, Chips Bettigan makes clever use of his design by having players dodge poker chips, all the while trying to keep up the damage. Like the other Inkwell Hell mini-bosses, Chips Bettigan isn’t a particularly long—or difficult—encounter, he’s memorable thanks to his design and the general motifs.

22 – Tipsy Troop (Inkwell Hell)

The Tipsy Troop is yet another example of just how wonderful the design for some of the enemies in Cuphead can get. You’re invading a den in hell. Again, Inkwell Hell bosses aren’t particularly long or memorable, but with designs like this, they don’t have to be.

23 – Mr. Wheezy (Inkwell Hell)

Keeping up with Inkwell Hell’s general motif of vices, Mr. Wheezy is a sentient cigar that loves teleporting all over the ashtray. While the fight itself is quite fun, what makes Mr. Wheezy so memorable is his death; on defeat, Mr. Wheezy is crushed by King Dice’s shoe.

24 – Pip and Dot (Inkwell Hell)

The sentient domino Pip and Dot is a duo that has a couple of interesting things going on in its fight. Alongside having to deal with Domino Birds throughout the fight, players will also have to keep avoiding various hazards in the level, and even avoid 20-sided dice. The whole encounter is topped off with platforming challenges throughout the fight.

25 – Hopus Pocus (Inkwell Hell)

The crazy magician Hopus Focus is yet another encounter King Dice throws in your way. Throughout the fight, players have to avoid rabbit skulls, and playing card-based attacks. Hopus Pocus also puts your parrying skills to the test, especially with the card attacks.

26 – Phear Lap (Inkwell Hell)

In a series of fights basically meant to slow your progress down before the finale, Phear Lap is here to test your aerial battle skills. Phear Lap is an especially intense flying encounter owing to his omni-directional horseshoe attacks, and a ghost that likes to attack you for no reason whatsoever.

27 – Pirouletta (Inkwell Hell)

After fighting a sentient domino, a sentient roulette wheel is the obvious next choice. Pirouletta’s fight isn’t particularly memorable, all things considered, but her fight’s still quite fun. Dodging boomeranging poker chips and Piroletta’s dance moves can be quite the challenge.

28 – Mangosteen (Inkwell Hell)

Mangosteen ends up feeling like one of the weaker encounters in the line-up of Inkwell Hell mini-bosses. Mangosteen only has one real attack that ends up being quite easy to dodge. The real challenge in the fight comes from having to deal with billiard chalks dropping from the sky.

29 – Mr. Chimes (Inkwell Hell)

Mr. Chimes ends up being last in our rankings amongst the Inkwell Hell encounters because it’s a flying encounter, and not a particularly memorable one at that. The only worthwhile mechanic in this fight is having to deal with cards; picking the wrong cards makes Mr. Chimes faster, but not picking any cards for a few seconds slows Mr. Chimes back down. Thankfully, Mr. Chimes has a great design, and there’s something about a mechanical monkey with cymbals that always manages to bring a smile to my face.

30 – The Pawns (The King’s Leap)

The first encounter in The King’s Leap quite handily sets the tone for the rest of the series of encounters. Revolving around getting you to practice your parrying skills, The Pawns is an encounter where you have no other tools but jumping and parrying. Having to deal with an army of small pawns running all over the place is quite hectic, especially when you have to perfectly time your parries to win the fight.

31 – The Knight (The King’s Leap)

The second King’s Leap fight revolves around dealing with an enemy that can actually attack. The Knight is a fun fight because it has a number of attacks to deal with, all with you only being able to use your parrying skills.

32 – The Bishop (The King’s Leap)

The chess motifs continue with The Bishop—the third Kings Leap encounter. The Bishop likes to make use of diagonal movement and sending his extra heads out to attack you. Once again, armed with nothing but your parrying skills, players have to deal with The Bishop’s variety of attacks to progress further in The King’s Leap.

33 – The Rook (The King’s Leap)

Quite easily the most personality-filled encounter in The King’s Leap, The Rook’s introduction alone was enough to make me like the fight; he’s spending his time dreaming of a female guillotine to spend his life with, after all. The fight itself is also the most intense test of your parrying abilities aside from The Queen. Ultimately, however, it is still just a test of your parrying skills. If you’ve been practicing, The Rook goes down just like any other boss.

34 – The Howling Aces (Doggone Dogfight)

Make no mistake—The Howling Ace is a fun fight. Sadly, however, it isn’t particularly memorable. The fight is mostly held up by its excellent art design, and when it comes to actual difficulty, The Howling Ace isn’t all that bad. Sure, there are quite a few things to deal with throughout the fight’s 3 phases, but they’re all surprisingly manageable. The Howling Aces is an excellent reminder that even when the fight’s fun, in a game like Cuphead, it is easily overshadowed.

35 – Rumor Honeybottoms (Honeycomb Herald)

As an encounter, Rumor Honeybottoms features some clever ideas. The general insanity of the fight, coupled with the fact that it’s a vertically auto-scrolling level leads to a fair bit of stress in the fight. But overall, the fight ends up feeling like you’re spending more time fighting smaller enemies rather than the boss itself. Phase 2 and 3 get better about this, having you fight  the boss head-on, but considering the nature of the game means that you’ll be fighting through the first phase more times than any of the other phases, fighting worker bees just isn’t all that fun.

36 – Beppi the Clown (Carnival Kerfuffle)

In a game filled with unique and memorable boss designs, Beppi the Clown sure feels like a bit of a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, though, the fight is still quite fun. Having to dodge a bumper car, dealing with cardboard ducks, and then seeing the boss turn into a helium balloon is exactly the kind of insanity I love Cuphead for. But Beppi’s overall design really brings down this fight in the rankings for me.

37 – Mortimer Freeze (Snow Cult Scuffle)

Mortimer Freeze’s biggest problem is that, after having dealt with fights like Glumstone and the Moonshine Mob, Freeze ends up feeling surprisingly manageable. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of insane attacks to avoid, all while having to keep up your damage. But ultimately, from a boss that’s supposed to be a cult leader, Mortimer Freeze just doesn’t do enough to set himself apart from some of the other, more interesting fights in the game.

38 – Wally Warbles (Aviary Action)

Have you noticed I don’t like flying encounters yet? It’s a real shame that Wally Warbles is a flying encounter, because I generally love the idea of a bird stuck in a bird house that’s also a cuckoo clock for some reason. Wally Warbles is also quite a difficult fight, with attack patterns rivaling some of the easier bullet hell games out there, but it doesn’t matter how much you dress it up, I just don’t think the flying encounters are particularly fun in this game.

39 – Werner Werman (Murine Corps)

Werner Werman’s army motifs feel like a bit of a downgrade when it comes to the design and general art direction for the encounters in Cuphead. Oh, they definitely manage quite a few jokes along with a generally decent fight, but after having dealt with a dragon, a pirate, and even a sea siren, dodging attacks from literal cannons just doesn’t scratch the same itch.

40 – Esther Winchester (High Noon Hoopla)

Unfortunately, we weren’t done with the flying encounters in The Delicious Last Course. As a boss, Esther Winchester is a great visual gag on the idea of a cowgirl, and thematically, the fight is still pretty great. But I only wish it wasn’t a flying encounter. With the sheer number of cool equipment, and even the unique moveset offered by Miss Chalice thrown out the window in this fight, Esther Winchester is a pretty big let down in an otherwise phenomenal DLC.

There are about 12 new bosses and they’re all incredibly well animated. Take a look at all of them below (spoilers follow so beware):

• The Pawns
• The Knight
• The Bishop
• The Rook
• The Queen
• Glumstone The Giant
• Moonshine Mob
• The Howling Aces
• Mortimer Freeze
• Esther Winchester
• Chef Saltbaker
• Angel and Demon

Check out all of the boss fights in the video below by AbdallahSmash026. The best way to overcome most of them is by memorizing their patterns, knowing the right moments (and timing) to parry, and choosing the weapon most comfortable for you. If things are especially tough, try knocking down the difficulty. This will take out some phases in the fights but allows for feeling out the fights at a more relaxed pace.

How to Access and Defeat the Secret Boss

It wouldn’t be Cuphead without a secret boss battle and The Delicious Last Course packs one heck of a fight. First, you’ll need to progress through Inkwell Isle 4 enough to unlock the graveyard and airplane hangar.

Go to Porkrind’s shop and purchase the Broken Relic Charm for one Coin. Now venture towards the three mountain climbers standing on the podium. Each will have something to say that includes a direction, like “downright.” Head back to the graveyard and with the Broken Relic, you can activate the tombstones. A blue ghost will pop out when one is activated.

Pay attention to the podium position of each climber and the corresponding direction in their dialogue. This pertains to which tombstones need to be activated. If one says “right up” for instance, then you need to activate the one on the top-right. If one says “looking up”, then it’s the top-middle tombstone. “Downright” indicates the bottom-right one and so on.

These are randomized for each playthrough so keep that in mind when looking up the solution. If you do this correctly, then the middle tombstone should light up. Interact with it and the prompt “Take a little nap?” will come up. Answer “Yes,” and you’ll immediately fight the secret boss, Angel and Demon.

The gist of this fight is that there are two bosses – the Angel and the Demon – that will swap places with each other quickly. The Angel fires empty projectiles and a non-damaging column of energy. The Demon, on the other hand, deals damage with its projectiles and fiery energy columns. A cloud platform also moves back and forth through the arena with lightning underneath, which will damage you while periodically rising and falling.

Naturally, falling off the stage reduces your health by 1. Try going with Ms Chalice since she can use her dodge roll to duck under the cloud’s lightning. Be super careful when parrying projectiles. When an empty projectile approaches, a pink outline will indicate if it will eventually turn into a parryable projectile. However, parryable projectiles could also just as easily turn into empty projectiles, leaving you open to atttack.

There’s only one phase to this fight so once you’ve got the rhythm down, it’s all about survival. Winning will reward the Cursed Relic Charm. It sets your HP to one, reduces the amount of Super charge with each parry and randomizes your weapons. This is truly the ultimate challenge for a Cuphead fan and also provides a nice little randomizer mode to mix up your boss fights.

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is available for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch. Check out our review for it here.

Studio director and executive producer Maja Moldenhauer said, “This marks an even quicker timeline than it took for the original game to achieve this momentous feat, and we are just beside ourselves with joy and appreciation. These words certainly do not encompass how grateful we are, but to the amazing Cuphead players worldwide we say nonetheless: thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course introduces a brand new storyline where Cuphead, Mugman and Ms Chalice work with Chef Saltbaker to solve the mystery of the Legendary Chalice. Set on Inkwell Isle 4, the new region is teeming with tough bosses to fight. To even the odds, players can equip new weapons and Charms while Ms Chalice comes with unique abilities (like parrying with dashes).

For more details on the DLC, check out our review here. Where the series goes from here after the DLC’s success remains to be seen but there should be additional updates in the coming months. Stay tuned in the meantime.

To do so, you need to first complete one of the Mausoleums. This is where you need to protect an urn from the Spectre Syndicate. Inside of the urn is the Legendary Chalice. After parrying all of the pink ghosts, she’ll give you a new Super Art.

You only need to complete one though because after doing so, a new NPC will be present near the Mausoleum. Speak to them and you’ll be taken to the new Inkwell Isle 4 by boat, meeting several new characters and begin The Delicious Last Course DLC. If you ever want to return, speak to the same NPC again.

If you’re new to Cuphead as a whole, you only need to complete Forest Follies, the first Run and Gun level, to reach the first Mausoleum in Inkwell Isle 1. After clearing this, the new NPC will pop up and take you to Inkwell Isle 4. However, you should purchase more Charms, beat a few more bosses and generally get comfortable with the game’s mechanics before pushing on.

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is available for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch. Check out our review for it here.

While we’ve already spoken about Cuphead at length in our original review, we can’t really discuss The Delicious Last Course without talking about the base game. This is because not only does The Delicious Last Course add a whole new island with a bunch of new bosses, a new story, and a new character to the game, but all of these aspects also affect the base game. So let’s get started.

"Thankfully, rather than feeling overpowered, Chalice instead feels unique. You won’t be plowing your way through Cuphead’s notorious boss fights just because you’re playing a DLC character. If you couldn’t beat the carrot as Cuphead, you likely won’t be able to beat it as Chalice either."

Accessing The Delicious Last Course is quite simple. Since it had been quite a while since I last played Cuphead, I decided to start a fresh save to play through the DLC. Unlocking it involves just playing enough of the game to be able to do the first Mausoleum. Clearing the Mausoleum spawns a new character that will take you to the new island in The Delicious Last Course.

The Delicious Last Course’s plot kicks off the moment you get on the boat, and pretty soon, we’re introduced to the new playable character—Miss Chalice. Since Chalice has her own unique moveset, rather than picking her as a character through any menu, you instead just equip a new item in the accessory slot. Chalice is quite unique when compared to Cuphead or Mugman, since she has an innate double jump, and even a unique dash that doubles as her parry.

In Cuphead, Miss Chalice originally starts out as a ghost that you help out during the Mausoleum levels. The moment you get to the new island in The Delicious Last Course, Chalice is able to trick Mugman into eating a fancy cooking that allows her to live while turning Mugman into a ghost. The plot doesn’t get too complicated from there; Cuphead, Mugman, and Chalice are out to figure out a fancy baking recipe, through which they can learn to control the astral plane.

"Much like the Mausoleums, the Floating Palace challenges act as a soft refresher on mechanics in a way by taking away just about every other tool you have except for the one being tested. Sure, it’s a series of challenges, but in a way, it’s also a great way to practice things like the perfect timing for Miss Chalice’s unique dashing parries."

What makes Miss Chalice even more interesting is that you can play as her even in the base game. Thankfully, rather than feeling overpowered, Chalice instead feels unique. You won’t be plowing your way through Cuphead’s notorious boss fights just because you’re playing a DLC character. If you couldn’t beat the carrot as Cuphead, you likely won’t be able to beat it as Chalice either. Instead, Miss Chalice is more of a new tool to add to your collection. If you think a boss fight could become more manageable thanks to her unique abilities, you can quickly switch to her.

You can’t really talk about Cuphead without talking about its brilliant boss fights, and that is one situation where The Delicious Last Course does not disappoint. All of the new bosses feel distinct from what we’ve already seen in the base game. The game’s unique art style is handled better than ever, and the care and attention that has gone into designing these new bosses becomes obvious once you actually pay attention to the sheer number of moving parts in any of these new fights.

It’s interesting that the Mausoleum challenges are back in a new form. Rather than trying to help out the ghostly Miss Chalice—since she’s essentially alive now—a king invites you to partake in some challenges at the Floating Palace. Much like the Mausoleums, the Floating Palace challenges act as a soft refresher on mechanics in a way by taking away just about every other tool you have except for the one being tested. Sure, it’s a series of challenges, but in a way, it’s also a great way to practice things like the perfect timing for Miss Chalice’s unique dashing parries.

"The Delicious Last Course continues Cuphead’s proud tradition of just being a downright great game to play. The controls are as tight as ever, the boss fights are incredibly fun—especially the new ones—and its general sense of style is one that can be matched by perhaps a handful of other games."

The Delicious Last Course continues Cuphead’s proud tradition of just being a downright great game to play. The controls are as tight as ever, the boss fights are incredibly fun—especially the new ones—and its general sense of style is one that can be matched by perhaps a handful of other games. As we all know, the art style is good enough to actually get adapted for a TV show, and the new music is arguably even better than what the base game had. Of course, it’s also possible to completely miss out on the new music thanks to the frantic boss fights.

Now, before we go any further, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the difficulty. Cuphead has a reputation for being a hard game. I won’t try and sugarcoat this; Cuphead and The Delicious Last Course may not be for everyone. Both the base game and the expansion are pretty difficult, and the expansion assumes that you have some experience with playing Cuphead before. In fact, the DLC’s whole goal is to give you more Cuphead to play. To that end, The Delicious Last Course doesn’t really offer any real ‘tutorial’, aside from a couple of screens telling you how to switch your character to Miss Chalice.

I, personally, don’t see Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course’s difficulty as a negative. While all the boss fights generally tend to have a lot going on, and some of the later bosses demand a lot of concentration, nothing in The Delicious Last Course feels unfair. All of the boss fights have been finely tuned with the general toolkits available to Cuphead, Mugman, and Miss Chalice. Once you’ve attempted a fight a few times, you’ll eventually realize that the bosses don’t really throw curveballs at you. All bosses have patterns that can be studied, and every attack can be avoided, either by just moving out of the way, or by making use of the parry on specific attacks.

It also helps that if an attempt at a boss is going particularly badly, the restart option, and even the ability to change equipment to try a different build, is just a pause menu away.

"Those who don’t like Cuphead won’t really find anything to love in The Delicious Last Course, and that’s perfectly fine. Ultimately, The Delicious Last Course is meant to essentially be more Cuphead, and I, for one, am glad for that."

Thematically speaking, Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course’s difficulty works quite well with its general story. Getting the ability to control the astral plane wouldn’t exactly be a walk in the park after all. Oh, and if for some reason you do find a fight too difficult, the shop sells quite a few items that can be used by Cuphead and Mugman that might just end up making some mechanics easier to handle.

Those who don’t like Cuphead won’t really find anything to love in The Delicious Last Course, and that’s perfectly fine. Ultimately, The Delicious Last Course is meant to essentially be more Cuphead, and I, for one, am glad for that. The Delicious Last Course adds great new fights, and interesting new characters, and an interesting secret to figure out. Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is the perfect example of how a DLC or expansion doesn’t really have to reinvent the wheel; it just has to remember what made people love the base game to begin with, and expand on those concepts.

The Delicious Last Course is basically a must-buy for anyone who likes Cuphead, but it’s also worth keeping an eye on if you just like great side-scrolling action.

This game was reviewed on PC.