One thing that stood out immediately is the old-timey cartoon aspect of the visual design. Cuphead looks very similar to an old Mickey Mouse cartoon. Other critics have added Popeye and Betty Boop to the list of inspirable sources.
Some have said that Cuphead was inspired in part by the Mickey Mouse game, World of Illusion, which came out for the Sega Genesis in 1992. While it certainly is evident that Cuphead resembles Mickey Mouse, the games are very much different art styles. Cuphead is way more old-school, and World of Illusion does have decent graphics given the console, but World of Illusion is cast more in the actual Disney universe, whereas Cuphead has the freedoms and fresh animations of an indie title. Both games feature platform elements and co-op gameplay, but a clear line of inspiration is thin at best. Cuphead is a revolutionary addition to the platforming genre.
Today, Korean developer Shift Up, known for Stellar Blade and Goddess of Victory: Nikke, announced its financial results for Q1 of 2025
I just saw the Stellar Blade director just finished Clair Obscur (96hrs playtime). He clearly has good taste. Gives me some confidence concerning their new game.
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Glad they didn't change the art style. This is looking good.. Why did they change the way the characters look anyway? The very first style was kind of ok, it was fine by Risky's Revenge and Pirate's Curse.. both in game sprite and the dialogue popups, why keep changing it? I am not as fussed on her newer look. She's looking kinda too dark or sunburnt now.
In the end, how did the Marathon Closed Alpha go? There are two components to this, how the game felt and how it was received more generally.
Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion on 3DS could also be another source of inspiration
Definitely has that look
The whole marketing/appeal of this game is that it took inspiration from these cartoons.
Pointless article is pointless
It's inspired by that era of cartoon art. Nothing wrong with paying homage to that. Would be cool to see more art styles in videogames from past eras of cartoons. I would love more 2D hand drawn games. I miss games like SF that had it in fighting games. Because some 3D is terrible choices for side scrolling. Except if it looks like Trine. Trine is a beautiful looking game. But even Trine would look awesome with hand drawn art like Cup Head and some parallax scrolling.
Did Cuphead capture an era in cartoon and animation as well as make a well crafted and tight platformer?