Cuphead
Hooks you almost right away
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 7 reviews are negative (14%); after 10h it's 1 in 40 (3%).
- Fully opens up by hour 10.
- The opening is criticised less than in 84% of games we track.
- At least 23% of players who start reach the ending.
- Most players drop off before “A Walk in the Park” (Defeat every boss in Inkwell Isle I): only 70% of starters get there.
- 77% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 224,602 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 294 reviews: 16.5h for positive, 7.7h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (76.6% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- A Walk in the Park Defeat every boss in Inkwell Isle I Most players quit here 70% −30
- A Day at the Fair Defeat every boss in Inkwell Isle II 41% −29
- A Trip Downtown Defeat every boss in Inkwell Isle III 29% −12
- Souls Saved Complete the game on Normal ≥23% −6
story milestone ending (most common ending) biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (42)
story milestone ending side
- Taking Names Defeat a boss 100%
- Parry Persistance Complete 20 parries 98%
- Parry Performance Complete 100 parries 77%
- Cutting Corners Find a shortcut 71%
- A Walk in the Park Defeat every boss in Inkwell Isle I 70%
- Perfect Run Complete a level without getting hit 60%
- Ceramic Strike Defeat a boss with an Extra Special move 54%
- A Day at the Fair Defeat every boss in Inkwell Isle II 41%
- Porcelain Power Defeat a boss with a Super Art 37%
- Magician Lord Obtain all Super Arts 32%
- A Trip Downtown Defeat every boss in Inkwell Isle III 29%
- Bouncing Ball Parry five times before hitting the ground 28%
- Casino Night Complete the Casino 24%
- Swing You Sinner Defeat the Devil 23%
- Souls Saved Complete the game on Normal 23%
- Alive and Kicking Defeat a boss with Ms. Chalice 18%
- Coffers Full Get every coin in all of the levels 17%
- The Latest Sensation Defeat a boss with one of Porkrind's new weapons 16%
- Selling Out Give in to the Devil 15%
- Butter-and-Egg Man Buy everything in Porkrind's Shop 13%
- Sheriff Obtain an A-Rank or higher on all bosses in Inkwell Isle I 13%
- King Obtain an A-Rank or higher on all bosses in Inkwell Hell 13%
- A Vacation in the Wilds Defeat every boss in Inkwell Isle IV 12%
- Put On a Show Get an S-Rank 12%
- Compliments to the Chef Complete your quest on Inkwell Isle IV 11%
- Checkmate Defeat all of the King of Games' Champions 11%
- High Roller Get every coin in the game 11%
- Rolling Sixes Defeat King Dice without taking a hit 10%
- A Horrible Night To Have a Curse Survive the nightmare 9.7%
- The Golden Touch Defeat a boss with one of Ms. Chalice's Super Arts 8.7%
- Boss Obtain an A-Rank or higher on all bosses in Inkwell Isle II 8.6%
- Decadent Defeat 10 bosses with Ms. Chalice 8.6%
- Mayor Obtain an A-Rank or higher on all bosses in Inkwell Isle III 6.9%
- Pacifist Complete all levels without killing an enemy 6.3%
- Hearty Have 9HP at one time 5.9%
- Paladin Obtain great power 5.6%
- Bravo Zulu P-26 Defeat a boss using only the mini-plane bullets 5.1%
- Beat The Devil At His Own Game Complete the game on Expert 4.8%
- Ranger Obtain an A-Rank or Higher on all bosses in Inkwell Isle IV 4.4%
- A King's Admiration Defeat the King's Gauntlet 4.4%
- The High Hat Defeat a boss on Inkwell Isle IV without killing any of its minions 4.3%
- Cooked to Perfection Get an S-Rank on a stage of Inkwell Isle IV 3.8%