Cuphead similar games & best alternatives

Cuphead - Trailer
Cuphead - cuphead_1.avif
Cuphead - cuphead_2.avif
Cuphead - cuphead_3.avif
Cuphead - cuphead_4.avif
Cuphead - cuphead_5.avif
Cuphead - cuphead_6.avif

Cuphead

PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch • 2017

Should you play it?

Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles. Inspired by cartoons of the 1930s, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era, i.e. traditional hand drawn cel animation, watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings.

What works

  • Unique hand-drawn 1930s cartoon art style
  • Challenging but fair boss fights
  • Addictive gameplay with rewarding progression
  • Excellent jazzy soundtrack
  • Local co-op mode

Things to keep in mind

  • High difficulty may frustrate some players
  • Limited story depth
  • Run & gun platforming levels less engaging
  • No online multiplayer
  • Physical strain reported by some players

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Lost Castle / 失落城堡

  • Rampage Knights

  • Absolum

  • Astral Ascent

  • Rotwood

  • Don't Starve Together

More competitive

Games that feels like Cuphead but with more competition against others

  • Rivals of Aether II

  • Skullgirls 2nd Encore

  • Slap City

  • Alien Hominid Invasion

  • Ms. Splosion Man

  • Castle Crashers®

Less social

Games that feels like Cuphead but with less teamwork and cooperation

  • MOUSE: P.I. For Hire

  • Gryphon Knight Epic

  • Dead Estate

  • Just King

  • Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

  • Pizza Tower

Less intimate

Games that feels like Cuphead but with less focus on close relationships

  • Chenso Club

  • Sundered®: Eldritch Edition

  • Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection

  • Active DBG: Brave's Rage

  • Touhou Genso Wanderer -Reloaded-

  • Super Cyborg

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Cuphead. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Cuphead. These titles are not in What to play next.

Cuphead: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Cooperation, Fellowship, Intimacy, Leadership. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Survival. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Leadership, Relaxation.

Last update: 21/08/2026