The Cookies are Strong in this DLC

Cuphead and Mugman are back in a much-anticipated DLC that will make their fans happy after a five-year wait. Studio MDHR’s Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course brings a new playable character into the battle against an unknown island filled with twelve bosses, a DLC storyline, three weapons, and five inventive charms. The DLC is easy to access since it only requires unlocking the Super Art on the first island, and for returning players, every section gets direct connections to it. Despite minor flaws, the indie add-on packs a ton of value for players on a PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch systems.

Welcome to Island IV, the home of the new DLC story, which starts with Chef Saltbaker promising a recipe that permanently restores Ms. Chalice to the living realm. Players must defeat five unique bosses to gather the necessary ingredients, but best believe they come armed with various phases to challenge gamers at every level! Several of those bosses appear as entire groups of enemies with dynamic sets of moves in each stage. The developers mixed in another plane level, but players are not pilots in it. Unlike normal flying sections, they must control the machine by running on the wings. Another favorite from the original, Studio MDHR cleverly added an alternate boss mode, which is easy to miss without precise damage distribution.

Gamers were not looking for an engaging story in this DLC because they desired its best feature, allowing players to battle as Ms. Chalice. That feeling is understandable because her moves give the player a greater range of options for dodging and defeating enemies. Her specialized abilities include an invincible roll, double jump, and dash parry, bringing a new style to any section of Cuphead or its DLC. It is worth noting that only the first player who selects the cookie charm will get to use her in combat since there is only one Ms. Chalice, as quoted from the Highlander: “there can be only one!”

I also enjoyed the expansion’s three unique weapons, especially Converge’s spread capability or focused attack with targeting. However, the real gameplay changes come with new ability-boosting charms, like the Heart Ring that adds life for parrying. Ms. Chailce’s cookie charm is only one of five, and the other two bring complexity for players to switch up any level. Only one charm series entails defeating a series of bosses, while the rest are available at Porkrind’s Shop. However, it is hard to top Ms. Chalice’s cookie for the best charm!

Another charming addition within the DLC is the continuation of the unlockable Expert difficulty similar to the base game. Players must beat all levels in Normal mode from the DLC, including the final boss, before the highest difficulty challenge is available. Although, I found finishing the floating island challenge called King’s Leap much harder than  Expert since the challenge’s five bosses are parry only. Even after defeating each king’s cohort, the intrepid gamer must battle them all in a challenging Gauntlet mode to earn the king’s grace award.

This DLC is not all roses as it still suffers some issues from the main game, like players flipping to the right mid-combat, especially when using a controller and thumb-sticks. PC players may sometimes experience a lag in keyboard and mouse responsiveness, especially during extremely busy boss fights, which the DLC loves to throw at them. Thankfully the flaws are minor and will not detract most gamers from enjoying this DLC, especially since Ms. Chalice and all the other added gear are selectable in all sections of Cuphead.

At $7.99, the DLC adds twelve full bosses for less than a dollar a piece and an incredible value in-game centered around tough boss fights. Anyone who enjoyed Cuphead should pick up The Delicious Last Course since it adds challenging mechanics and usable weapons throughout every level. The story on Island IV and its inhabitants brings more lore for players to explore and bosses to beat, get a friend in the couch co-op action to play the ultimate Cuphead challenge on Expert Mode.

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course

• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

• Developer: Studio MDHR

• Publisher:  Studio MDHR

• Release Date: 6/30/2022

• Played on PlayStation 4 and PC