This Cuphead Arcade Cabinet Looks Perfect

Studio MDHR's Cuphead has become a cultural phenomenon within the realm of video games. Its undeniably found a place within the hearts of most gamers. In fact, it's become so beloved that some hardcore gamers have turned it into an arcade cabinet, and it looks perfect.

John Sellers published the video over on YouTube, showcasing a minute's worth of gameplay for Cuphead running on the custom made cabinet in the workshop.

Most gamers were curious what the game was running on since Studio MDHR have not made an arcade rendition of the popular 2D side-scroller. According to Sellers, he explained that he took a standard Xbox One game console and put it inside the cabinet. While the marquee lights up along with the coin slot button, the reality is that behind the coin slot there's an Xbox One home console sitting inside the custom made cabinet.

When you power it on it has Cuphead installed on it so one or two players can play. Some modifications were made to accommodate the classic joystick cabinet controls, including the jump button, the attack button, the dash, the special, and the weapon switch. As depicted in the video above, the cabinet supports up to two players, just like in the standard game for PC and Xbox One.

Quite naturally a bunch of gamers were geeked about the idea of playing Cuphead at an arcade and instantly began talking about how popular it would be at certain local joints within their vicinity.

It's no surprise that people would be excited about an arcade rendition of the game, given that it's perfectly suited for the frustration of arcade play. It's difficult, but it's not unfair. The game relies quite heavily on muscle memory reflexes and hand-eye coordination based on the recognition of boss patterns. The game's difficulty is unmistakable, but also adaptable.

This is the perfect mixture for a great arcade game, similar to historic greats like Metal Slug, Dungeons & Dragons, or Final Fight.

What's more is that Sellers managed to create a cabinet that perfectly encapsulates the captivating aesthetic of Studio MDHR's retro-themed side-scroller. A bright yellow motif contrasts the all black panels on the front of the cabinet and around the screen where a yellow bezel is wrapped around a medium sized screen. It looks like something right out of the 1980s.

The classic design and combination of the Cuphead gameplay has made the cabinet an easy fan-favorite. Now if only Microsoft could be convinced to have a limited run of arcade machines made and maybe we could see the return of arcade cabinets proper?

Of course, if you can't be bothered to wait until the twelfth of never for Sellers' arcade rendition of the game to make its way into your hometown pizza parlor, you can always grab a digital copy of Cuphead right now from the Xbox Store or from Steam.

Will Usher

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.