Meaning of cute-'em-up | Babel Free

Definitions

A shoot 'em up game with a cute, cartoonish aesthetic.

slang

Examples

“It's a parody of Gradius (geddit?) and as such, is a fully-fledged “cute 'em up.” The hectic sideways-scrolling action is every bit as intense as its namesake, but instead of battling spaceships and futuristic hardware you have⟳ sunny levels filled with cartoon penguins, giant clowns, flying pigs and all manner of bizarre things.”

“Fantasy Zone was not a game meant to be taken as seriously as other shooters, and together with Konami's Twin Bee, it is credited by many for pioneering the cute shoot⟳-'em-up, or “cute-'em-up sub-genre of shooters” (Kalata, “Spotlight”).”

CEFR level