StudioMDHR’s difficult run and gun gameCupheadis trending on Twitter more than two years after the game was first released. Thousands of tweets talking aboutCupheadhave been posted today and it’s all for one very strange reason.
On Twitter, thousands of users are talking aboutCupheadand it’s all because of another game calledEnchanted Portals. That game, a 2D platformer, got a new trailer today and many have criticized developer Xixo Games Studio for making a game that looks a lot like StudioMDHR’s popular release.Enchanted Portalsalso seems to use a 1930s cartoon style of art but the comparisons go beyond that, with fans having created side by side comparisons of the two games
In one comparison image, it’s shown how the piano key level inEnchanted Portalslooks like theKing Dice boss fight inCuphead. There are five otherCupheadimages that have also been compared.
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Twitter users are fighting over just how much of a “ripoff"Enchanted Portalsis. Some have defended the game saying thatCupheadisn’t the first to use the art style from 1930s cartoons. One ofCuphead’s boss battles is also aBatmanEaster egg, as StudioMDHR created aCupheadversion of a level from an oldBatmangame, but it’s normal for games to borrow ideas from each other.
However, others have accusedEnchanted Portalsof just trying to cash in onCuphead’s success. In a screenshot of a post on Facebook from six weeks ago, theEnchanted Portalsteam said that “we are avid fans ofCupheadand were inspired by it to create something similar.” The developer also says that the team is “trying to give it a different spin” and make it “our own thing,” someCupheadfans see the Facebook post as a smoking gun.
For Xixo Games Studio, this could potentially derail the developer’s plans to launch anEnchanted PortalsKickstarter campaign. Backers may not feel like supporting the crowdfunding campaign if they feel like they aren’t getting anything new that they can’t get fromCuphead. The developer will also have to work very hard to show fans that their game isn’t just aCupheadripoff.
StudioMDHR may feel positive about things, though. The developer hasn’t posted a statement on the allegations thatCupheadhas been ripped off, but it shows that many fans are enjoying the game and its art style years after release. MoreCupheadDLC is coming in 2020and it seems like many fans will be ready to enjoy it.
