Arby’s announced yesterday in a press release that Cuphead toys are coming to its Game On Kids Meal, but the advertisement shared by developer Studio MDHR is a disturbing one with some unsettling implications about the game’s universe. Cuphead launched in 2017 as an Xbox exclusive that immediately helped give that console’s library a boost, as the gorgeous, hand-drawn art style of the game coupled with its brilliant boss battle design immediately ensnared consumers the world over.

Since then, Cuphead has come to other platforms, most notably both the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4. The Cuphead PS4 launch was particularly noteworthy as it bridged the gap between two consoles – its Xbox One original home and the PlayStation 4 – that tend to be less likely to share games that were formerly exclusives without that being part of the plan initially. It’s indicative of how popular the game remains years after its launch, too. Support for the game remains strong, and a Cuphead animated series on Netflix called The Cuphead Show! is currently in development, and it seems the game’s easy-to-love character designs are now making the leap into the world of fast food, too.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Arby’s and Cuphead announced their partnership yesterday with a press release, stating that the Cuphead-branded kids meal program will be found in 3,300 locations in the US and 85 Canadian locations beginning this month. The collection will feature Cuphead, Mugman, Ms. Chalice, and Elder Kettle (alongside others) and will run as a feature product for 12 weeks. However, when developer Studio MDHR shared the news on Twitter, it accompanied the announcement with an disturbing ad: Cuphead holding a sentient Arby’s sandwich and soft drink. Worse still, it’s a gif, and Cuphead actually drinks from the soft drink, which then makes what can only be described as an intense face in response.

This raises a lot of questions. Is what Cuphead has been confirmed to engage in with Arby’s products cannibalism? Is it a sign of affection between drink-based entities in the world of Cuphead lore? It’s hard to get a read on the soft drink, and because the gif loops, it simply rotates between blissful ignorance and whatever this is:

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Maybe this is a brain melding situation, as Cuphead’s own juices appear to be bubbling as he ingests his fellow sentient being’s contents. That’s before even considering the Arby’s sandwich, which, pictured above, gleefully observes everything that’s happening – despite the fact that Cuphead will presumably consume him next.

It’s difficult to find a property more well-received across such broad demographics as Cuphead has been. The game continues to impress fans who are arriving late to its party, and the gorgeous designs have paid off with a Netflix deal and now an Arby’s partnership. However, underneath the cute surface of Cuphead‘s aesthetic appears to lie a seedy underbelly filled with disturbing questions that, in retrospect, perhaps fans don’t even want the answers to.

Cuphead is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Studio MDHR

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Cody Gravelle
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Cody is Screen Rant’s Game Reviews Editor. He joined the team in 2018 and has been reporting on games pretty well every day since – except on weekends, where he’s typically playing them instead. Despite being in a field ostensibly about critiquing and enjoying quality games, his most played game of 2019 was Fate/Grand Order – something unlikely to change in 2020 and beyond.

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