Parry Slap

The Parry Slap is a game mechanic that requires the player(s) to press the jump button again while jumping, any pink object can be parried and usually, it will build up the super meter, although Cuphead and Mugman might not be able to build up the Super Meter by using their parry on certain objects, such as Baroness von Bon Bon's Patsy Menthols. It is also very useful to escape situations like the Big Wave attack from Sally Stageplay or the card attack from King Dice. The parry animation consists of Cuphead or Mugman turning the end of their straw into a hand which slaps the parryable object and becoming pink for a few frames. There are three upgrades that can be bought at Porkrind's Emporium that are related to parrying (P. Sugar, Whetstone and Heart Ring).

When Ms. Chalice is being played as, there is a slight difference to how parrying is performed. Instead of having to jump on top of a pink object, she needs to dash into a pink object. Successfully performing this will cause her to bounce upward. Ms. Chalice can also perform an additional double jump or dash after parrying, making the move very useful in reaching certain areas or platforms. However, much like Cuphead or Mugman's jump parrying, there is a risk of being thrown upward into a hazard, meaning that the player must place more effort into timing parries.

Charms

When Whetstone is equipped, parrying doubles as a weapon. During the animation of parrying, instead of a hand appearing on the top of the straw, an axe appears instead. The axe deals 16 damage, but it is much slower and cannot be used rapidly, as it requires the player to land before they can use it again.

When Parry Sugar aka P. Sugar is equipped, the player will parry automatically once after jumping. In aerial levels Parry Sugar will increase the time of parrying giving you a larger window to parry. When the Heart Ring is equipped, it will give the player an extra HP on their first, third, and sixth parry for a total of three HP regenerated. However, the parry does not generate cards for Super Meter.

In the The King's Leap stage, Cuphead and his friends lose access to their weapons and charms (except the Astral Cookie), but Parry Slaps can be used instead, with their function effectively taking the lost weaponry's place in facing off the Champions that appear as bosses.

Grading

After defeating a boss or a Run 'n Gun level, the player receives a grade on how well they did. The amount of times the player parried something is one of the requirements. If going for a high grade, the player must parry at least three things in order to receive a good grade. However, not everything that can be parried will count toward the score. Things that must be parried in order to make progress usually do not count.

Things that are more challenging to parry, such as enemies or the pink projectiles they fire, will count toward the score. Note that when going for a pacifist run in the Run 'n Gun levels, parrying an enemy does not count toward killing something.