Don't Deal With the Devil
Cuphead and Mugman are two carefree brothers living on Inkwell Isle. They love to play around the island with the old, wise mentor Elder Kettle watching over them and giving them advice from time to time. However, they are rather mischievous and said mischievousness sometimes gets them into trouble.One day, Cuphead and Mugman accidentally wander off a long distance and find themselves at a menacing place called the Devil's Casino. Entering the foreboding building, they try their luck at the Craps table and get a huge winning streak to the amusement of the casino's manager, King Dice. However, Old Scratch himself arrives and makes a deal with the brothers: Cuphead and Mugman will win all of the casino's money if they win, but if they lose, their souls will be his. Allured by the riches before him, Cuphead rolls the pair of dice against Mugman's objections... only to get snake eyes, losing the game. The Devil prepares to collect their souls, and the two brothers are left begging him for another way to repay him. As such, the Devil instructs them to gather a myriad of soul contracts from his previous debtors by midnight tomorrow.
The two brothers hurry back to Elder Kettle, who is disappointed that they ignored his warnings to not enter the casino and over the trouble they are in now. Deciding to help them complete their deal with the Devil for the time being, he gives the brothers a special potion which gives them power to fire energy pellets from their fingers, warning them that the fiend's previous debtors may attack them for going after their contracts, and some may turn into more dangerous beings to drive them away.
Now armed and ready for their quest, Mugman and Cuphead embark on their journey, going around Inkwell Isle's many lands to gather soul contracts from the Devil's many, many debtors and battling them all. Along the way, Elder Kettle notes of their growing strength and advises them to "do the right thing" once they gather every single contract. Meanwhile, King Dice and the Devil also note of the brothers' increasing combat prowess and keep a close eye on them should they try to do anything funny...
Eventually, Cuphead and Mugman gather all of the soul contracts from across Inkwell Isle and return to the casino. There, King Dice congratulates the brothers for completing their task, but reveals they hade made him lose his bet. As such, he and his minions engage Cuphead and Mugman in retaliation, only to lose to them. Cuphead and Mugman then confront Old Scratch, who applauds them for completing their end of their bargain and tells them to hand over the contracts... and join him. This is when the player can make a choice to influence the game's ending.
- If the player chooses to hand over the contracts, Cuphead and Mugman join the Devil, ending the game.
- If the player refuses, the Devil angrily attacks Cuphead and Mugman for backing off from their deal. However, the two brothers overpower him, forcing him to surrender. Accepting his plea to give up, Cuphead and Mugman destroy all of the contracts, releasing Inkwell Isle's residents from their debt to the Devil. The two brothers are hailed as heroes by all of Inkwell Isle, and resolve to not get into trouble again.
The Delicious Last Course
Cuphead and Mugman hear word of a person called "the Legendary Chalice" needing their help. Deciding to respond to this calling, the two brothers head off on a boat to the faraway fourth land of Inkwell Isle. There, they run into the Legendary Chalice, who is revealed to be a ghost. Chalice has currently found a way to get back to life via a special cookie. The consumer who eats the cookie will end up swapping places with her, allowing her to live once more, but the effects don't last long, and she and the consumer will eventually swap back to their original places after a short time.Miss Chalice leads the brothers to the cookie's maker, the highly skilled Chef Saltbaker, who tells them that he intends bake another amazing treat to ensure Chalice will be able to truly live again: the Wondertart. However, he does not have any of the five ingredients to make it. As such, the three cup people are tasked to find them all, which they willingly do so, battling the island's residents for them.
Once the gang gather all of the ingredients, they return to Chef Saltbaker... only to find an open trapdoor. Entering into Saltbaker's basement, they find him with one of their friends, now a ghost, trapped. Chef Saltbaker reveals the Wondertart needs a living soul to work its magic and let him conquer the Astral Plane. He engages the other two, intending to off them for serving their purpose, but is defeated by them. Miss Chalice returns to being a ghost once more, just as Chef Saltbaker's bakery collapses from the battle. As everyone narrowly escapes the crumbling bakery, Miss Chalice is bummed over losing her chance to truly live again, but decides having Cuphead and Mugman as her friends is more worth it than living again at the cost of someone else, resolving to keep finding another way to be revived.
As for Chef Saltbaker, he is arrested for his crimes and sentenced to help out around the island. While he is dismayed over his sentence, he slowly grows to enjoy working for others and once his term is up, he rebuilds his bakery and makes amends with everyone.
