Cuphead

Cuphead is a hand-drawn, 1930s-cartoon-inspired run-and-gun boss rush. It’s all about tight controls, incredible animation, and brutally fair pattern-based fights. If your Tesla Arcade time was spent bashing your head against bright, jazzy boss battles, this is the same game taken much further on PC and console.

Game overview

At its core, Cuphead is a series of high-intensity boss fights with a few run-and-gun levels in between. You dodge patterns, parry pink bullets, swap between weapons and charms, and slowly learn each fight until it “clicks”. It supports single-player and two-player local co-op, with one person as Cuphead and the other as Mugman.

On full platforms (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch) you also get:

• The complete original campaign
• The Delicious Last Course expansion (optional purchase) with a new island, bosses and Ms. Chalice as a playable character
• More weapon and charm builds so you can tune difficulty a little

It’s still hard, but the extra content and build variety make it a much deeper game than what you see in the Tesla Arcade version.

Where you can play Cuphead

Today Cuphead is available on:

• PC (Windows, macOS) – via stores like Steam, GOG, and others
• Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S – including support for Xbox cloud saves within the Xbox ecosystem
• Nintendo Switch – full portable version with optional TV play via the dock
• PlayStation 4 – plays on PS4 and via backward compatibility on PS5
• Tesla Arcade (Tesla Edition) – see below for the important limitations

On handheld PCs like Steam Deck, Cuphead runs as a standard PC game through Steam or other launchers, so it’s an easy win if you already have a PC library.

Tesla Arcade vs other platforms

The Tesla Edition of Cuphead is a special cut-down build designed for in-car play:

• Only the first Isle (world) is playable
• Your car must be in Park
• A USB controller is required; behaviour can vary by controller model
• It’s intended for short sessions while you’re stopped, not as a full campaign platform

By comparison, the full versions on PC and console offer:

• All islands, all bosses, full story
• Access to the Delicious Last Course DLC with an extra island and Ms. Chalice
• More control over performance, resolution and display (especially on PC / Steam Deck)
• Easier local co-op on a TV or monitor with multiple controllers

If you enjoyed the Tesla Edition, buying Cuphead on one of the main platforms is effectively “unlocking” the rest of the game you never got to see in the car.

Cross-saves and keeping your progress

Right now there is no official cross-save between Tesla Arcade and other platforms, and no simple way to export a Tesla save and import it on console or PC. The Tesla build is sandboxed inside the car’s system.

However:

• On Xbox, Cuphead supports Xbox cloud saves within the Xbox ecosystem (Xbox consoles + PC via Xbox app / Game Pass where available).
• On Steam, Cuphead uses Steam Cloud so you can move saves between desktop and devices like Steam Deck automatically.
• On Nintendo Switch, save data can be backed up if you have Nintendo Switch Online, but it does not automatically sync to PC or other manufacturers’ consoles.

There are community-discovered methods to move saves between PC and Switch by manually handling save files, but they require hacking or homebrew tools and are well beyond a normal plug-and-play setup. For most players, it is better to treat each platform as its own run.

If you want the smoothest “play anywhere” progression today, the easiest combinations are:

• Steam (PC) + Steam Deck
• Xbox console + Xbox cloud saves

Both give you a clean, supported way to keep progress between devices.

Features that matter for on-the-move gaming

When you’re thinking about Cuphead as part of a portable setup (rather than locked to a car), a few things stand out:

• Short, intense sessions
  Boss attempts are typically a few minutes long, which suits travel, quick breaks and evenings away.

• Local co-op anywhere
  Two controllers and a screen are enough. On Switch or Steam Deck/PC this turns Cuphead into a great “holiday rental” or family-room game.

• Works well on handheld screens
  The bold 1930s cartoon art style scales nicely to 7–8 inch handheld displays and still looks sharp on 1080p or 4K TVs.

• High difficulty, but predictable
  Once you learn a pattern, you can reliably repeat it. That makes it satisfying for repeated play, but it may be frustrating for very young or casual players.

Recommended setups if you’re coming from Tesla

If you’re leaving your Tesla behind but want Cuphead (and similar games) back in your life:

• Already own a capable PC?
  Buy Cuphead on Steam or another PC store, then pair it with a Steam Deck or small form-factor PC so you can play both at a desk and on the sofa.

• Prefer simple, family-friendly setups?
  Pick up Cuphead on Nintendo Switch, dock it to the TV at home, and use handheld mode when travelling. Joy-Cons or a Pro Controller make local co-op easy.

• Deep into the Xbox ecosystem?
  Get Cuphead on Xbox, lean on Xbox cloud saves, and use Game Pass / cloud streaming where available to keep your library with you on different screens.

Whichever path you choose, Cuphead is a great “anchor” title for a portable gaming kit, especially if you already know its patterns from the Tesla Arcade version and just want the full experience.