I’m too much of  a coward to actually attempt playing Cuphead but I have a lot of respect and admiration for it in terms of its aesthetics. StudioMDHR did a fantastic job replicating the 1930’s style of animation and music. I’ve admittedly not checked out the entire soundtrack but there was one track that immediately resonated with me and, judging by all the YouTube covers, many others – Die House.

Essentially a villain song for the Devil’s right-hand man, King Dice, this track manages to be both rather bombastic and mellow. Despite the somewhat threatening lyrics, it has this weird chill vibe to it, though I doubt that was the intention.

Maybe it’s meant to display how calm and confident King Dice is. He knows that Cuphead and Mugman stand no chance against him, so he’s going to kick back, relax and mock the two boys by bragging how much better he is. He even has a backing chorus, so you know he’s serious. The lyrics also serve as a constant reminder to the player that they’ve still got a ways to go before they can even attempt to challenge King Dice, let alone the Devil himself. And considering the average player has probably died a lot by this point, it can feel almost demoralising. Either that or make you more determined to get the rest of the contracts so you can get the opportunity to smack King Dice in his smug-ass face.

The fact that the song is just very catchy and perfectly fits the aforementioned 30’s aesthetic helps too. Even without the lyrics, I’d still probably tap my toes to it on the dance-floor. Oh, and did you know that a woman is singing this? One Alana Bridgewater, to be precise. Don’t believe me? Check her out for yourself and don’t forget to pick your jaw off the floor afterwards.