About the game's difficulty [constructive criticism]

[DaemonX_HUN]

1. The real reason why this game is hard

A lot of people made a statement already about the game's unforgiving difficulty level. What most people seem to not realize however is that the reason behind this high difficulty doesn't really lie in Cuphead's gameplay design. The game is not necesseraly hard because the creative and varied enemy attack patterns that the enemies have for example - those only make the game challenging but fair.

The main reasons behind the often frustratingly hard difficulty are the controls. Simple as that. I often feel like I could be way more better and effective (and this way more succesful) in this game, but the controls create an artificial barrier between me and the game that doesn't allow me to fully utilize my knowledge/skills/etc.

It's very frustrating because I constantly have to fight against the controls basically, rather then sinking into the game's world and enjoying it in the way it's meant to be played. Now I know that most of you will probably disagree with me, but there has to be a reason why so many people are saying this game is hard. Hard in an unfair, frustrating way. So please, let me explain.



2. How a good control scheme works

Cuphead wants to be a fast paced side-scroller action-shooter (with minor platforming elements), but one of (if not the most) fundamental things aren't built around this concept. I'm talking about the controls.

In basically any other side-scroller (with heavy emphasis on shooting to different angles/heights) the basic controls are the following (or in any other twin stick shooter, to name something similar in concept): you move with the Left Stick and you use the Right Stick for aiming+shooting.

Pretty simple, right? It is, but it works. It works well, because you can control your camera independently from your movement, so even if you are moving to a direction, you can still maintain full control over where you want to aim and shoot. What that means is you can keep the momentum going and never slow down (it's an ideal fit for a fast-paced game like Cuphead) and still be able to deal with all the enemies you want (without ever stopping).

It's also important to aim freely, not just into 6-8 pre-determined directions (up, up-left, left, down-left, etc.), at least in a game like this, where:

* a lot of enemies can attack at once
* they can attack from a wide range of angles/heights
* some of them are constantly respawning

It's crucially important because you have to be able to fight back against those enemies in time.



3. What Cuphead does wrong in terms of controls

You can't aim independently from your movement (at least not really) because the game uses the same stick for movement as for the aiming. It's just as bad as it sounds in my humble opinion.

It's not really possible to play the game fast (that would fit to the stye of the game), because for example you can't run to the right side (of the screen) while shooting enemies behind you (on the left side of the screen), and you also can't aim upwards completely without stopping.

For the more "precise" aiming you have to stop and hit the right shoulder button (so you can aim and shoot without moving). The problem with this however is it's really clunky and it breaks the flow of the gameplay (I also have a feeling that the devs wanted to compensate the basic but flawed shooting by adding this feature).

The static aiming and the aiming+movement should be merged together to create something more simpler, yet better (more functional), and different, which is the control scheme I explained above. There's a reason why it's used in many games.

The limited 8-way aiming also makes it much more harder to play the game - especially because the 3 key points (marked with *) I mentioned in the 2nd section. A lot of times it's a pain in the♥♥♥♥♥to hit an enemy thanks to his movement and the limited aiming. It's not really challenging - it's rather annoying and frustrating instead.

A lot of times I either shoot above or below enemies that are next to me, but not at the same ground level. So I constantly have to re-adjust my character's position, almost pixel-perfectly sometimes to be able to hit an enemy (that would be ♥♥♥♥ing easy to hit with proper controls). But by the time I do that, either another enemy reaches me, or something else happens and I lose a health anyway. I think this is the thing that is happening with most of the people too.



4. The solution

Simple. Implement the control scheme I mentioned to the game, so we can finally enjoy this game experience. I think this way it would become "challenging in a fair way" from "absolutely frustrating and hard in an unfair way", because my suggestion would finally solve the one and only problem: the controls. The game would be much more pleasant to play this way, but it would still be challenging thanks to it's enemy design.

But a valid counter-argument can be that the devs simply can't change the limited aim to free aim, because some bossfights could be exploited this way. I don't know if this is true or not, because I haven't played that much (I think you know why). Either way, if it's true, then at least make it possible to aim independently from the movement. It would solve most of the problems.



5. For those who are saying it's paying homage to old game's controls

It's not a solid counterpoint, sorry. I have no problem if a team pays homage to classic and influental games from the past, and they take inspiration from them - I love Hotline Miami, FEZ, Hyper Light Drifter, Hollow Knight, etc. But paying homage to a control scheme is like saying that for the highest level of authenticity this game will run at 320x240 4:3, at 25FPS max. It's just dumb and makes no sense. In this case especially not, if the game's controls are so bad and go against the game's core nature and style.

Old games (such as Contra, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, etc.) used simpistic (and sometimes not quite good) controls because technical limitations, not because those would have been the best way to intaract with and experience them. But hell, even these have better controls most of the time, or at least the controls were better suited towards the gameplay.

But that's not always true either As much as I love Castlevania for example, every one - myself included - ♥♥♥♥ing hated the bats and medusas (I think) in those old titles. It was rather frustrating to fight against them with those controls. Why make the same mistakes again, 20+ years later? Hell, those weren't really mistakes back in the day because the devs had to work with what they had (NES/SNES controllers). But you guys can't say the same.



6. Closing thoughts

Controls shouldn't supposed to act as a barrier. They should rather act like a bridge that creates a seamless connection between the player and the game (in order to let the player to dig into the game's world, sink in it's atmosphere, and truly enjoy the experience). A gamer's and a game's journey starts with the interactivity. With the controls. Don't ♥♥♥♥ this up.

[Sharkofspace]

Dude just rebind the controls LOL

[MrGringus]

Too much work

[DaemonX_HUN]

Originally posted by Sharkofspace:

Dude just rebind the controls LOL

"Dude" What I wrote here isn't possible with rebinding, "LOL". Do you even bothered to read it?

Originally posted by Mrscaredypants:

Too much work

I only have basics programming knowledge, but I'm pretty sure that allowing players to move and aim+shoot independently wouldn't be that much work at all.

[Valkyrie]

Control scheme works fine for me. I think it just comes down to people whining that it takes trial and error and there's no instant gratification, which is what modern gamers are used to. Controls however become second nature after the first two levels.

[DaemonX_HUN]

Originally posted by Sincerest_Wish:

Control scheme works fine for me. I think it just comes down to people whining that it takes trial and error and there's no instant gratification, which is what modern gamers are used to. Controls however become second nature after the first two levels.

Well they are either whining and/or they just not intelligent or experienced enough to properly explain what's their problem with the game - but they feel it. Me, personally, I made a lot of strong points here.

Also - but I can only speak for myself - I completed more than 631 games, so I'm everything but a casual player, and tons of games I completed on highest difficulty (last ones are: Dishonored 2 and Dishonored: Death of the Outsider). So I think there's a bigger meaning/depth to my words if I say that the controls are flawed in this particular game.

[Valkyrie]

Originally posted by DaemonX_HUN:

Originally posted by Sincerest_Wish:

Control scheme works fine for me. I think it just comes down to people whining that it takes trial and error and there's no instant gratification, which is what modern gamers are used to. Controls however become second nature after the first two levels.

Well they are either whining and/or they just not intelligent or experienced enough to properly explain what's their problem with the game - but they feel it. Me, personally, I made a lot of strong points here.

Also - but I can only speak for myself, I completed more than 631 games, so I'm everything but a casual player, and tons of games I completed on highest difficulty (last ones are: Dishonored 2 and Dishonored: Death of the Outsider). So I think there's a bigger meaning/depth to my words if I say that the controls are flawed in this particular game.

There is one thing I will agree with you on and it's that the precise aiming button is almost useless. Freezing to aim has more drawbacks than positives because you're usually stopping in mid-battle where projectiles and boss movements are constantly moving around and it just makes it that much easier to get hit. You're better off using the regular aim-and-run even if your aim won't be precise.

[Mad_Man]

You're basically complaining that it isn't a twin stick shooter, but it follows the same control scheme as Contra, Metal Slug, Gunstar Heroes and every other run 'n gun game's control scheme. It's like complaining why on-rail-shooter won't let you walk around freely and take cover. It's a pointless wall of text to me

[DaemonX_HUN]

Originally posted by Mad_Man:

You're basically complaining that it isn't a twin stick shooter, but it follows the same control scheme as Contra, Metal Slug, Gunstar Heroes and every other run 'n gun game's control scheme. It's like complaining why on-rail-shooter won't let you walk around freely and take cover. It's a pointless wall of text to me

No. I'm complaining because the controls doesn't make sense in the context of the gameplay.

[Marble]

If your thumb is on the second directional stick, it's then too far away from the rest of the buttons. You're essentially describing the control scheme of "Hell Yeah" which was even worse. As for firing backwards, there's a weapon that does that and is very useful in certain situations.

[EVILBONESAW]

This doesnt address your points but I found changing the fire button to Right Trigger....this allowed me to use my thumb freely for jumping dashing and Ex shots. Felt it gave me alot better control since I didnt have to keep thumb pressed on fire nonstop.

[Xersin]

If you're having issues hitting something with your chosen gun, USE A DIFFERENT GUN. You can pack two of them at the same time. Enemy likes to move all over the place? Homing will still track them, or you can charge up during movement to smash them with the most powerful gun. Enemy has a huge hitbox and slow attack patterns, allowing you to stay up close? Choose the spread. Enemy likes to hang out on the other side from you? Use the Peashooter. Every boss, and even level, has a gun and item that will make life so much easier for you. There was a level in the third world tthat was annoying the crap out of me, until I picked the lobber, and Axe, and then I snoozed through it.

[Yung Zunga]

LOL I never really post on steam forums but people really trying to blame everything else but themselves with this game.

[VoreTechz]

I beat the game quite easily in about 12 or so hours and I didn't even rebind anything. The controls worked fine for me. Never did I feel like I needed to move and shoot at the same time or I would fail. It's called prioritizing living over damaging until you learn to do both at once. Or you can always use another weapon loadout. There are auto lock on weapons that aim for you. lol

[same]

... but the game is built around this control scheme

it's just a design decision, not something that could or should be fixed

[Sinister-Sama]

Controls.... Wow. Ok, pet peeve triggered.

Firstly, More often than not, the Aim button is to score a fair amount of its for a non moving target, but that's not to be confused with auto aiming, WHICH CHASER DOES AT THE COST OF DAMAGE.

Secondly, I rebinded the controls once I realize that if I have to stop to change a weapon, I'm better of using a button that I don't need off the rip. I rebinded the Dash and Weapon Switch to be inverse and found great success.

The artificial feel of control is not the central focus. Though you made some valid points, a lot of that equates to "The design and control of the game is why I can't win." Understandable had you not mentioned the 631 games ou've beaten (FYI 1209 games done and overwith myself. It's not impressive to me in the slightest.). What would happen if we couldn't rebind the controls, oh hell would break loose? No, more people would complain, sure but many of us would get over it and learn the scheme.

If you've beaten this game already, why do you care? I'm almost done and personally, I find the game nice to my hands (33 years old and not getting younger) and that's saying a lot.

The only thing I can tell you is Cuphead himself feels floaty at times. Deal with the in-game mechanics before you try to blame it on controls.

Good day, sir.