This game limits itself in understandable but boring ways. The conundrum you have when designing action game bosses tends to be split between two paths-- where one side prioritizes precise hitboxes and hurtboxes-- and the other side is mostly inferred and contextual. The latter is a bit abstract, but think the infamously funny Plesioth hip hitbox in the earlier Monster Hunter games. You can't intermingle the two, because then that just creates a very inconsistent experience on what's possible or not. Cuphead tries to do this and creates the most wack hitboxes ever.
It's not even necessarily wrong to do it the 2nd way in a tight 2d side scroller like this game. This has a profound effect on the DPS of the game. A slight tangent, but certain people wanted this game to have a strafing button without understanding how that would break most boss designs. If you could strafe, then retreating and shooting would end up increasing DPS and lowering the amount of times you'd have to focus on repositioning. You'd end up doing too much damage, too safely; And the number tweaking required by that point would expose its own flaws. But well, this game's bosses could've totally just designed around that should they have considered it-- but they didn't. This is kind of what I meant about it having a sort of restraint to itself.
There's very little in the way of mechanics that interact together. Even in 2P, theres nothing like how you can throw each other in Gunstar Heroes, which on its own really elevated the multiplayer of that game. There's kind of no reason to want to play this with someone past the novelty of playing it together, because there's nothing like that that can meditate any potential skill gaps. A 2nd player can just end up making the game more difficult in a way that isn't necessarily due to any bosses core concept; And generally it's just because it's like these bosses were mostly designed for one person in mind anyway.
I do like this game, there just isn't anything particularly new here in terms of boss encounters. I really love the sound and visuals. And while that's enough for me to occasionally revisit it, it leaves me unsatisfied.
It's not even necessarily wrong to do it the 2nd way in a tight 2d side scroller like this game. This has a profound effect on the DPS of the game. A slight tangent, but certain people wanted this game to have a strafing button without understanding how that would break most boss designs. If you could strafe, then retreating and shooting would end up increasing DPS and lowering the amount of times you'd have to focus on repositioning. You'd end up doing too much damage, too safely; And the number tweaking required by that point would expose its own flaws. But well, this game's bosses could've totally just designed around that should they have considered it-- but they didn't. This is kind of what I meant about it having a sort of restraint to itself.
There's very little in the way of mechanics that interact together. Even in 2P, theres nothing like how you can throw each other in Gunstar Heroes, which on its own really elevated the multiplayer of that game. There's kind of no reason to want to play this with someone past the novelty of playing it together, because there's nothing like that that can meditate any potential skill gaps. A 2nd player can just end up making the game more difficult in a way that isn't necessarily due to any bosses core concept; And generally it's just because it's like these bosses were mostly designed for one person in mind anyway.
I do like this game, there just isn't anything particularly new here in terms of boss encounters. I really love the sound and visuals. And while that's enough for me to occasionally revisit it, it leaves me unsatisfied.