

Other fans have posted side-by-side comparisons of Cuphead and Enchanted Portals in order to demonstrate the similarities. The tweet on the official Enchanted Portals Twitter account has gone viral, with fans commenting on the gameplay’s similarity to Cuphead. “We were prepared for some backlash, but the trailer definitely reached way more people than we could ever anticipate, and all the hate and negativity coming our way has definitely had a huge impact on us.” “We’re both avid fans and we wanted to make something similar, but always from a place of respect and admiration for the original. “Yes, of course Cuphead was a huge inspiration for Enchanted Portals,” Gemma told Polygon over Facebook. Polygon spoke to Xixo, which is a studio comprised of two people, identified as Daniel, a director and programmer, and Gemma, an artist and composer. The two protagonists navigate their way through a variety of settings, including an underwater world and a sci-fi level, shooting Cuphead-style at big cartoonish bosses. While the first 30 seconds of the trailer are unremarkable, the gameplay portions of the trailer bear a striking resemblance to Cuphead’s signature animation. It’s the gameplay portion of the trailer that has caused a stir on social media, due to its resemblance to StudioMDHR’s Cuphead, released in 2017. The game’s trailer shows the two plucky protagonists, and their cat, getting into this pickle in the first place.

The concept of Enchanted Portals is that two rookie magicians have lost their way through time and space, and must defeat bosses to find the pages of their spellbook and return home. Xixo’s latest trailer has racked up over 28,000 views on YouTube in under a day due to a controversy about the game’s art style and inspiration - namely how closely it resembles the stylish run-and-gun shooter Cuphead. The game’s developers have been posting small snippets of animation and details about their game to social media since August.

Enchanted Portals is a 2D platformer currently in development by Xixo Games Studio, with a Kickstarter campaign coming soon.
