DLC Review: Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course

Remember the Cuphead DLC? It was announced sometime during the Reagan administration I think. They showed it off at E3 and then it dropped off the face of the Earth, leaving me to periodically wonder what the hell happened to it. Well, it turns out it took so long because the devs were making sure they avoided any and all crunch, a decision I fully support because crunch can do one, and it finally came out the other day. It’s been years now; LET’S SEE IF I CAN STILL PLAY CUPHEAD.

Turns out, I can. So Ms. Chalice, that ghost from the main game whom you have to protect from other ghosts who all want to kick her head in for some reason, has found a way to return to the land of the living. Unfortunately, it only lasts for a brief time and requires eating a sort of spiritual ghost cookie. Fortunately, the man who made it, Chef Saltbaker, has a plan to create something so spectacular it’ll bring Chalice back for good, and so off our heroes go to batter a load of 30s cartoons and pry the ingredients from their cold, dead hands. Right off the bat, the biggest change is the addition of Ms Chalice as a playable character, who makes up for taking up your special item slot with her own unique playstyle; her air dash is used to parry, she can double jump, has an invincible roll, and comes with four lives. I had a go at some of the new bosses as Cuphead, and while I’m sure they’re doable with him, the DLC is clearly designed around you using Ms. Chalice; her parry being horizontal rather than vertical alters where she bounces to after a successful impact and her dodge roll renders her completely invincible for its duration; the rate and placement of enemy projectile attacks take both of these things into account. Her parry is also quicker, easier to achieve and requires less specific timing then her cup-bonced friends, which is handy given the aforementioned lack of a special item slot meaning she can’t take coffee in with her to auto-fill her super gauge. She doesn’t make the game easy, but she does feel like she has more options available to her, and her double jump and four lives give you some breathing room. You’ll need it, because every boss is a hectic onslaught of projectile attacks from all angles, with different timings and one fight that messes with perspective, and your controls. As hard as they are, none of them ever got annoying, and they’re all interesting and well designed; my stand-outs being a team of canine fighter pilots and a gang of insect and arachnid bootleggers.

The one problem I do have is with the DLC’s optional content, where the main game’s run n’ gun platforming levels have been replaced with a series of fights with opponents who can only be attacked with parries. At the time of writing I’ve only made it to the second one, and honestly it’s unlikely I’ll get any further because they just don’t interest me. It’s a nice idea, but I would have preferred a new platforming level; getting a P for pacifist on the three in the main game was a nice fun challenge I’d happily revisit. But alas, it wasn’t to be. That’s my only problem though; otherwise it’s basically just more Cuphead, but with a new character with her own moves and abilities that make her feel unique, with the DLC being tailored around her playstyle. If you enjoyed Cuphead and want more of it, this is a no brainer; though they aren’t all amazing, none of the bosses are bad, and at their best they rival anything from the main game. I feel like I’ve been waiting for The Delicious Last Course for ages but it was worth it, both for the DLC itself and to spare those who worked on it from crunch.

Oh, one last thing: they’ve changed the song on the main menu. I miss the old one.

By James Lambert
@jameslambert18

Omori Review

I stumbled upon Omori on Gamepass knowing nothing about it, and having finished it entirely blind, I recommend doing the same. So this is your out: I won’t be doing full spoilers or anything, but I will be talking about elements of the game that are best discovered naturally. If you are planning on playing it blind though, just a little trigger warning that you can ignore if that sort of thing doesn’t apply to you. Still reading? Okay: suicide and the emotional effect it has on others is an important plot point. Look into it online if you need further context. Okay, here we go.

You are Omori, a young boy who lives alone in a white void; one he can leave to hang out with his friends. They go on adventures in a fantastical world filled with creatures and people in need of help, alongside the adorable, flower-loving Basil and Omori’s sister Mari, who’s always on hand to offer love, support and a lovely picnic. Everything is grand; you go to Basil’s house to look through his cherished photo album, he drops a photo…and suddenly, horrified, disappears at the hands of a shadowy being. It’s actually a horror game, you see, and not only that, the game then throws another curveball your way: you’re in the dreams of a boy named Sunny, who’s spent the last four years as a hikikomori for unknown reasons. The game is split between the two worlds; Omori and his friends search for Basil, getting into turn-based RPG fights, helping out those in need and exploring the world, while Sunny, who’s moving away in three days, reconnects with those same friends in real life, having been torn apart by whatever caused Sunny to shut himself away for all this time. To say any more would potentially spoil it, but both parts of the story are really good. The dreamscape is a funny, eccentric trip through some neat locations, and as the horror elements start to seep in it takes a real dark turn, with some strong Yume Nikki influence on display, which is fitting for a game about someone dreaming. Omori’s friends are all likable, which is good because they’re your only party members for the whole journey. The real world sections start off emotionally blunt and depressing, but gradually lighten up, and as they intersect with the darker side of the dream world the game ends in a way I really liked, for reasons that are spoilery, so skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to see them. Basically, it deals with the concept of someone doing something awful in the heat of the moment, being filled with suicidal self-loathing but coming to the conclusion that they need to accept what they did and move forward in a positive way, trusting that their loved ones will still accept them. When I finished it I felt sad, but in a cathartic way, like when you’re all worked up and then have a good cry.

Gameplay wise, it’s a turn-based RPG (which I’ve discovered I really like, actually), one that’s paired back to its benefit. It completely eschews status effects like bleed, poison or sleep, instead using four emotional states, with a hidden fifth one that pops up now and then for story reasons. There’s neutral, which is the default, then sad, angry and happy, with each one affecting your stats in different ways; increased speed, lowered hit rate, take and receive more damage, that sort of thing. They have a cyclical hierarchy that makes them all weak to another in a rock, paper, scissors kind of way, and there are skills and items that apply and remove emotional statuses. Outside of combat, every party member has unique skills that enable you to clear obstacles, and within combat their different personalities and weapons allow you to do follow up team attacks during fights that can cause heavy damage and inflict emotional states on party members. To begin with it can fall on its face; for example Kel can throw his ball to Omori and it’ll bonk him in the head, or Omori’s love interest Aubrey can look at him for approval and he won’t see it, leading to nothing happening. As you make progress Omori will catch Kel’s ball, throw it for high damage and become ecstatic, bringing all the benefits of the happy status, or he’ll finally notice Aubrey, letting her strike for high damage. There’s also a super attack caused by letting the follow up power meter fully charge, which by the last fights in the game hit for massive damage for me. As I said, it is paired back compared to other turn based RPGs, but by no means does it feel limited. The emotional states, different skills and gorgeous presentation (more on that in a moment) kept the combat fun and engaging from start to finish.

Speaking of the presentation, the game’s rough sketch art style is lovely, especially when characters who have been rendered as sprites are engaged in combat, and suddenly become gorgeous, hand drawn art works, with animation that compliments the style. This works particularly well for boss fights, where the switch to a more detailed art style shows that seemingly goofy characters actually look really serious and ready to kick your head in. It looks fantastic.

Omori drew me in immediately and didn’t let me go until the credits rolled. It’s sweet, funny and has satisfying combat, but also handles the horror elements, serious emotional moments and heavy subject matter really well. I enjoyed it throughout, and as it reached a conclusion and everything fell into place I enjoyed it even more, as I realised just how good it really is. Go play it if you haven’t.

Still here? Waiting for something to happen?

By James Lambert
@jameslambert18