#continuity across all cuphead media is as loose as their rubberhose limbs

[saltdomain]

cuphead novel observations

Ms. Chalice shares the same backstory as her game counterpart, complete with her as-of-yet unexplained revival. This implies that the novels take place post-DLC.

However, the cuptrio doesn't meet Glumstone until "Cuphead in A Mountain of Trouble". Since he's one of the Wondertart ingredient guardians, this implies that the cups were never sent out to fight them.

There is no indication that Saltbaker is, or has ever been, up to anything nefarious. As far as "Cuphead in Carnival Chaos" goes, he is who he appears to be: a goober friendly and brilliant, if perfectionistic.

Assuming that Chalice's revival wasn't a deus ex machina, what does this mean for the novels' continuity relative to the game? Either:

The novels take place in separate continuities. "Carnival Chaos" takes place after the base game & DLC, while "A Mountain of Trouble" is in its own timeline. Several of the carnival workers happen to be the casino minibosses, which could be explained by them leaving the casino after the cups defeat the Devil. The book was published before the DLC's release (2020 versus 2022); in order to avoid spoiling Saltbaker's role, none of its events are directly addressed even though they did happen in this timeline.

The novels take place in the same continuity, but one where events diverged slightly. Saltbaker obtained the Wondertart ingredients himself or sent the cups to fetch them from different sources. Then they fought him just like in the game.

One or both novels belong to a timeline where the events of the DLC never took place! Saltbaker found an ethical way to revive Chalice, no Wondertart required. The idea that he could have sidestepped the whole DLC from the start is so funny to me, bro really went and made everything 5000% more complicated for no reason.