I swear The Delicious Last Course has been in development forever. It was unveiled years ago, set to build upon the massive success of Cuphead with a new playable character, new bosses, and new features that maintain the trial-and-error challenge of the base game.

Now it’s finally here, and it does just that. This cheap slice of downloadable content might be brief, but it features some of the most inventive encounters Studio MDHR has ever produced alongside some wonderfully creative designs that reignite this classic’s charm all over again.

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Those who weren’t swayed by Cuphead’s devious approach to difficulty won’t be swayed by this expansion, since it doesn’t rock the boat so much as it expands the deck and politely iterates on everything we’ve already played. Given the huge wait for its arrival, part of me was hoping for something a little more out there. Putting that complaint aside, it’s wonderful.

Cuphead

The Delicious Last Course slots in seamlessly alongside the base game. You need to reach a certain point in the campaign before an NPC appears and offers to take you to a new island filled with mysterious bosses and obstacles to overcome. Chef Saltbaker greets our duo of porcelain pals upon their arrival, giving them the skinny on who needs to be fought and how they’re the only ones who can help. We’re also introduced to Ms. Chalice, a personified cup who also happens to be a lady. Cuphead has gone woke I see.

She’s excellent, and was the character I immediately switched to upon unlocking her because her basic abilities make her far more useful than Cuphead and Mugman, although she is unable to equip charms and other bonuses to avoid becoming too overpowered. I’d hesitate to call her an easy mode of sorts, but her abilities made navigating bosses and dealing damage far easier than before, and because I’m terrible at video games this is definitely a good thing. She has a double jump as standard, a dash parry that can be used on the ground and in the air with a much longer timing window, and a dodge roll that provides her with invincibility frames. Ms. Chalice also has an extra health point to boot, so it makes perfect sense why charms are forbidden so the game doesn’t become a cakewalk.

Cuphead

You can tackle the new levels with existing characters too, but I’d recommend playing as Ms. Chalice for a change of pace and to make use of her new skills. Her design is cute too, exhibiting the same sense of playfulness as her partners in crime alongside a fun aura of flirtatiousness. I’m going to wait to see if the internet wants to shag this cup. Who am I kidding, of course they will. Anyway, she’s cool, even though she doesn’t so much change the game as she does make it a little easier for players who struggle with its difficulty.

The new bosses are wonderful - once again coming across as classic homages to imagery of the era and animated icons of the time while also taking on a life of their own with phases that never cease to surprise. However, you’ll eventually tire of the unexpected twists and turns once you’ve seen them dozens of times in pursuit of victory and they stop being so unexpected. Still, everything is beautifully hand-drawn, characters moving with a smoothness that justifies why this game took so damn long to make. I won’t spoil all of them, but here are a few worthwhile highlights that had my frustration turn into a flurry of smiles as I couldn’t help but marvel at what Studio MDHR has achieved.

Cuphead

Glumstone The Giant is a grumpy giant who must be fought across a series of moving platforms, with gnomes below hurling small projectiles towards you that make avoiding damage almost impossible until you deal with them. Winning this fight is all about precise timing and pattern recognition, while remembering to take cover when the bulking baddie pulls out a feline and aims to use it as a living weapon. His transformation sees him tear his beard away before altering the battlefield completely, and it’s a joy to see Cuphead change the game so drastically all within the space of a single fight.

There’s also a fancy spider whose stage is made up of several platforms that he moves throughout, planting bombs which can detonate at any moment. You need to find a safe space away from the explosive radius while dishing out damage until he dies and his sultry friend emerges. This second stage has a bug dancing to a jazzy tune, with physical streams of notes beaming out in all directions that deal damage the second you cross their path.

Cuphead

While there’s a great focus placed on bosses, Cuphead’s more traditional platforming levels take a backseat in this expansion, and a side quest centred on an ever-evolving puzzle that is a delight to solve steals the spotlight. I’ve been asked not to spoil things as part of this review, but it involved a new item found at Porkrind’s Store where a number of other new perks and abilities can be obtained. Given Ms. Chalice can’t equip such abilities, I’d encourage playing through all the new bosses multiple times as different characters once you’ve gotten to grips with everything.

The Delicious Last Course is excellent. Hardcore fans will adore the addition of new bosses, a new playable character, and a surprising amount of content that manages to delight despite its relative familiarity. I’ll admit that returning to Cuphead after so long meant I had to get my ass kicked a few times before finding my groove again, but once everything clicked the magic returned, and I couldn’t stop until all the bosses had been dealt with.

Even after all these years, I can’t think of a platformer that looks or plays as good as Cuphead, and this downloadable content only further cements that reputation.

Cuphead DLC Review Card

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