Cuphead - and its DLC The Delicious Last Course - is full of mesmerizing animation, foot-tapping music, and notoriously tricky bosses and stages. While Cuphead may look like a cartoon from the 1930s on the surface, it's actually one of the most challenging games on the market.
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Fortunately, there are a plethora of different weapons you can choose from, as well as a handful of charms that can be used to change how the game plays. You can only equip one charm at a time, so you may have to experiment with a few until you find the right one for whichever situation. Each charm certainly has potential, but some are definitely more helpful than others.
9 Twin Heart
How many times have you fought against a boss in a video game and lost because you were a little short on health? Cuphead usually has three hit points when entering a battle, but the Twin Heart charm allows him to enter with five in exchange for reduced attack power.
Being able to take two extra hits can be extremely helpful, especially against bosses like Grim Matchstick or Wally Warbles. Unfortunately, it drains so much attack power that you will need to fight the boss for much longer than usual, and that only increases the chances of being hit anyway. The pro and the con balance each other out to make the Twin Heart feel almost useless.
8 P. Sugar
One of the key mechanics you will need to master if you want to find success in Cuphead is parrying. Using this tactic at the right time can not only save you from an incoming projectile, but it also builds up your super move faster. P. Sugar is one of the first charms you will purchase and automatically parries the first object you jump towards.
It can be incredibly useful against early bosses like Cagney Carnation, but it quickly loses its appeal once you begin unlocking more powerful charms. An automatic parry is handy, but when you're up against the game's toughest bosses, it won't help much. Parrying becomes a reflex eventually as well, so you shouldn't need to rely on an automatic attack later in the game.
7 Whetstone
When you face a boss in Cuphead, a reliable strategy is to stay back as far as possible, shoot, and hope for the best. If you prefer to challenge yourself and take on giant enemies up close, then the Whetstone charm may be the one for you. It turns your parry into an attack that deals massive damage to nearly any enemy in the game.
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If used effectively, the Whetstone charm could be used to take down bosses faster than if you were shooting at them. The biggest problem with it is that you need to get very close for it to work, and it often feels impossible to attack without taking damage yourself.
It's effective at making bosses more challenging, but can still be used in run and gun levels to take out smaller enemies easily.
6 Broken, Cursed, And Divine Relics
One of the three new charms added with The Delicious Last Course expansion is the most mysterious of them all when you first purchase it. The Broken Relic doesn't appear to do anything when you equip it, but if you talk to the locals, you may realize it's a piece to a secret puzzle.
After solving the mystery, the Broken Relic becomes the Cursed Relic. This new charm reduces your health to one hit point at the start of a battle and randomizes the weapons you bring into battle. Sound like fun? If you can defeat bosses with the Cursed Relic, then it will eventually blossom into the Divine Relic.
It still randomizes your shots every once in a while, but also provides the powers of the Smoke Bomb, Whetstone, and Heart Ring charms all in one. It's a lot of work, but you can become pretty powerful if you see it all the way through.
5 Astral Cookie
One of the highlights of The Delicious Last Course is the introduction of a third playable character, Ms. Chalice. She plays very differently compared to Cuphead and Mugman, with the ability to double jump as well as a roll that makes her invincible for a short time. It may take some time to adapt, but she makes certain bosses much easier.
The only caveat is that to play as Ms. Chalice, you need to equip the Astral Cookie charm. That means that you can't use any other charms while playing as the reanimated goblet. If you can master her unique abilities, then you may not need to rely on them, but having the flexibility to switch between charms makes playing as Cuphead slightly more interesting.
4 Coffee
Whenever you deal damage to an enemy, you also fill up Cuphead's super meter. Once it's fully charged, you can unleash a devastating special attack that swiftly depletes your foe's health. It can take a while to build up, but once it's used it can help you take down some of the toughest bosses in the game.
Coffee is a powerful charm that automatically fills up your super meter, even when you're not shooting an enemy. It also fills up faster while you are attacking, so you can use your special attack way more often than usual. This is especially effective against Dr. Kahl's Robot or King Dice, which are typically longer and more frustrating confrontations.
3 Heart
Remember the Twin Heart charm from earlier? Its main issue was that it drained too much attack power to gain two extra hit points. The Heart charm rewards those who hold back and allows Cuphead to enter the bout with four hit points in exchange for a tiny amount of damage output reduction.
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Having the extra hit point while still being able to deal slightly below-average damage is the perfect trade-off. Enemy phases don't really feel much longer with the Heart Charm equipped, and there are many bosses where three HP just doesn't feel like enough. It's one of the earliest charms you will purchase, and may be one of the most reliable in the entire game.
2 Smoke Bomb
Cuphead can often be overwhelming with the number of projectiles and enemies on screen at any given time. It's easy to become cornered and take damage from the onslaught of lethal objects around you, which can end a run prematurely.
The Smoke Bomb charm circumvents this issue by allowing Cuphead to disappear when he dashes, creating a window of invincibility that can get him out of nearly any situation.
Turning invisible while dashing lets you sneak past enemies and escape potentially run-ending scenarios with ease. The Smoke Bomb charm is especially effective against bosses like Wally Warbles or The Devil, as they tend to unleash massive attacks that require focus to evade without getting hit.
The only thing to be aware of while using this charm is that it may become harder to predict where Cuphead will land after a dash. It may take some time to get used to, but the Smoke Bomb is one of the best tools in Cuphead's arsenal.
1 Heart Ring
Cuphead may appear to be a simple platforming adventure with shoot 'em up mechanics weaved throughout, but it's also a game about survival. It's ultimately up to you which weapons and charms to equip to make it to the end of the journey, but being able to take more damage during a fight is often the solution to a frustrating confrontation.
While the Heart and Twin Heart charms give you a health boost in exchange for attack power, the Heart Ring - which was added to the game alongside The Delicious Last Course - can give you up to six hit points without affecting your stats.
The gimmick of the Heart Ring is that you still start each battle with three hit points, but you can earn an additional three when you parry the first, third, and sixth object in a fight. Parrying should become a reflex over time, and being able to essentially double your HP in any situation should help you take down the most formidable of bosses.
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