Cuphead: How to Beat the Devil (Final Boss Guide)

The beautifully animated and independently made Cuphead provides a single-player experience as gorgeous as it is difficult. Inspired by the “bullet hell” titles of the past, Cuphead combines the vintage animation style made popular by classic Disney works. Drawing inspiration from the Contra series, Cuphead forces players to go blow-to-blow with some of the most difficult bosses fights ever created. Forcing its player-base to develop technical skill and extreme reflexes to survive the brutal world of Cuphead. Even with its aesthetically appealing art style, Cuphead is one of those cult-classic titles that will draw as many people to play as it will reject those frustrated by its difficulty.

As players progress through the beautifully characterized world of Cuphead the level of difficulty they face will continue to increase. From relatively simple fights with Blobs and Carrots to eventually facing the dangerous Lord Dice, the level of difficulty increases with player’s developing skills. However, the primary antagonist of the title and the driving focus of the game is to defeat the Devil himself. The final fight of the main story the Devil will test all of the skills harnessed throughout the campaign and will certainly be a frustrating experience. However, with some guidance, the Devil will be nothing more than a trivial fight.

How to Beat the Devil’s First Phase in Cuphead

When fighting the Devil it is important to first understand the intricacies of his first phase. As is common with most of the boss fights found within Cuphead the Devil has two different “phases” or forms. The first being his form in which he sits on his throne and pesters the titular Cuphead.

Fighting this first phase is all about staying in the middle of the stage. The Devil’s main weak point is his head and the best way to attack this weak spot is to stand in the center of the stage and shoot upwards. However, it is important to know that standing in the middle of the stage is also the most dangerous place to be when facing the Devil. Devil will throw a multitude of projectiles, minions and other Satanic special moves at this location. So to stand directly in front of the main villain of the series will require a strong understanding of the game’s mechanics and good reactionary skill.

After claiming the center of the stage watch out for the Devil’s arm attack. He will stretch his arms to the right of the stage and they will slither towards the center of the arena. So as you see his arms make their way towards you be sure to jump away from the middle of the arena. However, after evading the first strike be sure to dash back to the middle of the stage. For the arms will slither their way towards wherever the player decided to jump. This arm attack is a relatively tricky move to avoid so be patient and cautious.

Another attack in the Devil’s arsenal is his bubble attack. This is simply a matter of looking where the bubbles are floating to and dodging accordingly. All the while taking shots at the Devil’s face when able.

His third attack is the Devil’s powerful fireball attack. This will require players to run to the corner of the arena in order to avoid the circular fireballs. If you choose to stay in the middle of the stage just jump accordingly to avoid the projectiles and fire shots at the Devil as you can.  This is a good strategy to quickly and efficiently destroy the titular villain.

The Devil also possesses a powerful Spider attack which descends from the top of the screen and attempts to land on the player. This attack is a simple act of running and dashing to avoid potential damage. The attack does not track to where the players are standing so just look at where the spider is dropping from and dodge it accordingly.

Finally, the Devil’s serpent attack is a tricky move to evade. It requires players to run to the corner and stay patient. The attack will slither over player’s heads if crouching in the corner, so stay patient and then counter-attack when possible.

Defeating the Devil’s Second Phase in Cuphead

As the fight transitions to its second phase are sure to immediately use your super attack to score big damage on the Devil. This will start the grueling fight with a solid chunk of damage. When using the super attack aim for the Devil’s eye, as that is his weak spot. Given how large the head is hitting this target will not be a difficult task.

Keep in mind when facing the second form of the Devil that your arena space is tiny in comparison to the first fight. So it will require patient and solid navigational skills to overcome. The main weapon the Devil will use is his enflamed poker chips falling from the sky. These will cover the coveted platform space that is few and far to come by. So be sure to watch the screen space and adjust accordingly.

The Devil will send out a variety of demons to attack the players throughout the battle. This will require players to kill these demons before they can truly start to harass them. The last thing a player will want is to be peppered by these demons while jumping and avoiding the poker chips falling from the sky.

As the fight reaches its conclusion the arena will whither away to only one platform. Be sure to avoid the powerful weapons the Devil will use against you and pepper away at his weak spot. The fight will conclude with the titular villain beginning to shed tears. This will serve as the indication that you beat the villain and overcame your pact with Satan.

Cuphead is available on Xbox One and PC.