An Indie Backlog curated overview. We round up the best indie games on Nintendo Switch and how professional critics and players received each one — the scores below are theirs, linked to the source.
A run-and-gun boss-rush of staggering difficulty, drawn frame-by-frame in the style of a 1930s cartoon — there is nothing else that looks like it.
At a Glance
| Developer | Studio MDHR |
| Release year | 2017 |
| Platforms | PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox |
| Subgenre | Run-and-gun |
| Length | ~12 hours (main story) |
| Metacritic | 88 / 100 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (~96%, 200,000+ reviews) |
| Steam Deck | Verified |
| Languages | 12 |
About the Game
Cuphead, from Canadian studio Studio MDHR (founded by brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer), is a run-and-gun action game built almost entirely around boss fights. You play Cuphead — and Mugman in co-op — who loses a bet to the devil and must collect souls to pay off the debt by defeating a parade of wildly inventive, screen-filling bosses.
The hook is the presentation: every frame is hand-drawn and hand-inked in the rubber-hose animation style of 1930s cartoons, painted backgrounds and all, with a live jazz soundtrack to match. It took the small team years to finish, and the craftsmanship shows in every second.
It is also famously, punishingly hard. Bosses shift through multiple phases and demand pattern memorization and precision; victory after a dozen attempts is the entire emotional arc. The 2022 Delicious Last Course DLC added more of the same brilliance. On Switch it’s a gorgeous handheld showpiece.
Screenshots
Screenshots: official Steam media for Cuphead.
Why It Made the List
Cuphead makes the list because nothing else looks or sounds like it — it’s a playable 1930s cartoon. It’s brutally hard in the best way, endlessly impressive to look at, and a perfect demonstration of what a tiny team with a singular vision can pull off.
What the Critics Say
Cuphead holds a Metacritic score of 88. Critics were floored by its animation, music, and boss design, with the only consistent caveat being its steep, sometimes unforgiving difficulty.
What Players Say
On Steam it’s rated Overwhelmingly Positive across more than 200,000 reviews — about 96% positive. Players adore the art and the satisfaction of finally toppling a boss; the difficulty is the lone sticking point.
Praise & Criticism
Praise
- Breathtaking hand-drawn 1930s animation
- Superb live-jazz soundtrack
- Inventive, memorable boss fights
- Excellent local co-op
Criticism
- Genuinely punishing difficulty
- Boss-focused — light on exploration
- Can frustrate newcomers
Games Like This
- Dead Cells — demanding, fluid 2D action
- Celeste — tough but fair precision challenge
- Hollow Knight — beautiful, brutal hand-drawn action
Where to Buy
Plain store links for now — swap in your affiliate-tagged URLs once you’ve joined Amazon Associates and the eBay Partner Network. (Steam and the eShop have no consumer affiliate program; those links are for convenience.)
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