Cuphead appears as a short anthropomorphic porcelain cup whose art style bears resemblance to rubber-hose cartoons of the 1930s. He has a cup as a head that is filled with a white liquid and a white straw with red stripes inside. He wears a black long-sleeve shirt, red shorts, brown shoes, and yellow gloves. eccentric, roughhousing character who shoots first and asks questions later. His hot-headed and brash personality often gets him into trouble, He's also very short-tempered and doesn't take lightly to insults or belittlement. He may seem somewhat dim-witted at first, but he has hidden depths of intelligence.

Shovel Knight appears as humanoid with a round body and a short stature wearing a blue knight armor with shoulder pads, a plate armor, and a horned helmet all designed with golden accents. Shovel Knight is a selfless and heroic character, following his code of justice, or "Shovelry." His brass and chivalrous demeanor lends well to tactful and witty banter. While he is often forgiving, trying to not stir up conflict, he is just as willing to stand his ground when facing an adversary and does not yield to threats of violence. A seasoned warrior and adventurer, Shovel Knight uses both his tools and his quick thinking to solve puzzles, battle all kinds of foes, and unearth as much treasure as he can find.

Madeline is a short, young Canadian woman with pale skin, brown eyes, pink cheeks, and long thick red hair with a curl. She wears a blue snow jacket, dark grey pants, black and dark grey walking boots, and a brown climbing backpack equipped with a red sleeping mat. Madeline is strong-willed and determined yet heavily conflicted. She struggles with depression and anxiety, which drove her to climb Celeste Mountain to prove she could overcome a great challenge. Ultimately, Madeline wants to get out of her own head and take control of her life, going to dangerous extremes to do so. She is incredibly courageous to the point others have considered her reckless. She is friendly and tries to help anyone she comes across, as seen with the Knight. She also acts as a voice of reason, preferring to talk to and understand people instead of fighting them. when Badeline drops a mountain on them, she still expresses empathy for them.

The Knight has a pure white skull-like head with two eye sockets, with horns on top which resembles that of a stag beetle. It wears a blue-ish grey cloak, which covers a short, stubby black body made of an exoskeleton containing Void. It wields a nail that has been weathered, forming cracks across the entire surface. Vessels were solely created to have “No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering.” In other words, Vessels are meant to be entirely devoid of thought and emotion. The Knight, however, is shown to have many ways to express itself. It can save people in need of help, gift flowers to people even when it's not instructed to, bow as a sign of respect (when Madeline saves it), and was even able to go above its initial purpose and obtain the potential to destroy the Radiance instead of containing it.

Niko appears as a child with cat like features like cat eyes, ears and whiskers. They have indigo hair, a brown hat and brown robe with long sleeves, and an indigo scarf. Niko is a very innocent and kind child. They are curious and are willing to help others. This includes taking the roll as the messiah of the world/the world machine (the setting of OneShot's gameplay) to bring the Sun back to its place with the guidance of the player. Though they sometimes gain self doubts of their role, and get homesick, but usually try to complete their given mission. Despite their cat features, they claim they are NOT a cat and gets agitated when called one.

The Drifter is a blue feline humanoid that dons a bluish-grey helmet with red triangle emblems on the front grey plate. The helmet has two horns on either side. He wears an orange cloak with a red cape on top. The cape covers part of his face and has a lime colored "leaf" at the front end. He wears a black long-sleeved shirt and pants. He wears grey gauntlets on his forearms and grey boots. The Drifter has a very reserved personality, usually being focused on his goal. However, he does express honor to others and fear towards his visions. The Drifter is quick to rush to others' aid, saving Niko from a drone and stopping Madeline from falling off a piece of debris, both of which he did without hesitation. He shows great loyalty to his allies, being willing to fight alongside the Beheaded after being saved by him and showing regret when he is forced to leave him behind with the Rogues. He is infected with the disease caused by the Immortal Cell, which makes him cough out blood and have visions of Judgement and the Jackal.

headless corpse with blueish skin that sports a bluish-grey pauldron and breastplate; a red scarf, waistcloth, and abdomen bandages; beige pants and forearm bandages. Black smoke billows out from the headless body's collar where a glowing star serves as an eye. The Beheaded is very self-centered and snarky. He usually doesn't care for others and, at least, only tolerates people who aren't his enemies. The Beheaded is noted to have a lack of empathy, given how he kicks corpses around.