An evolution in platformer animation and art style. Any player can tell Studio HDMR poured an enormous amount of work and creativity into the development of Cuphead. Every fight in this game excels in achieving aesthetically stunning moments that stand alone in an industry which has seen its fair share of artsy side scrollers. Its difficulty can be infuriating at times, although its bosses' systems are fair and built on predictable patterns that can be mastered in a reasonable amount of tries.

The only flaw I found in Cuphead was its slight lack of depth outside the major levels. The Run 'n Gun sequences, while again beautiful, seemed a little boring in comparison to the rest of the game. They do function as a nice break from the anxiety inducing dragons and mad clowns, although I felt the developers could've done a slightly better job fleshing everything else out by implementing possibly more side missions, collectibles, achievements, etc. These shortcomings are slight annoyances and detracted little from my enjoyment.

The absolute perfection of "high-octane gameplay". Doom Eternal is mainly tailored for adrenal highs and fast paced movement while surprisingly avoiding the pitfalls of mindless slaughter shooters through thoughtful resource management, distinguishable enemy types, and sweet spot difficulty levels. Locations are also littered with fun side quests like skins, collectibles, and secrets that provide an additional layer of depth aside from the campaign.

People complain about the logs being a cheap substitute for proper story telling, but the world's environment proved interesting enough for me to read them without feeling bored. That is based on my personal preferences, however, and players not as immersed in the underlying narrative may find the main quest satisfying still. This being the first Doom and high intensity shooter I played made this experience especially memorable and a staple in my catalog that I would find myself replaying in the future.