Cruelty Squad

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 27
  3. Negative: 2 out of 27

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Hecker
    Sep 6, 2021
    9
    in age where every video game is basically feels like the same thing with a different skin on its refreshing to play a game that is so un-apologetically different and weird
  2. hange122
    Nov 6, 2021
    9
    This game is so weird and confusing, but i enjoyed it a lot. The game is so creative.
  3. teratoma666
    Dec 23, 2021
    8
    Great immersion sim game - many viable ways to tackle a mission, abuse the systems or just experiment with them.

    The visual style and atmosphere are also great and intriguing, I was compelled to explore every single part of the map because I had no idea what to expect from a game like this.
  4. Bruurbscat
    Jul 31, 2021
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. One of the most complex, weird and incredibly investing immersive sims ever made, and one of the games that allows the most creativity and experimentation ever. Few games offer an experience that is as unique as this, while looking and sounding the way that it does. It may be difficult to get into, but it's worth understanding the very intentionally obtuse game that Cruelty Squad is to experience the game it can truly be.
    Cruelty Squad is a tactical shooter, when it comes to its combat. You can bunny-hop and move incredibly fast, but you die just as fast as you move. Movement for that reason feels quite fluid and natural, and once you get further implants that enhance this movement, it becomes even better and not just for normally moving around, but for general exploration as well. Guns tend to sound very impactful and despite the animations, has a generous amount of recoil that makes them feel a lot more satisfying to use. Their effects on enemies and the environment is always notable in some way, as well, breaking computers, walls, glass, and shredding paper on their way. Sometimes weapons will transforming them into an unrevivable mess of flesh and genes, other times gibbing them into a cloud of their blood and pulverized flesh and metal whose remains we can pick up and throw at a..."dog". Reloading weapons can be a strange task at first, but once you're used to how the reload mechanic functions, and probably have the right amount of sensitivity or pull the mouse down enough, it'll feel like second nature, as will be failure.
    The difficulty system in Cruelty Squad is a strange thing. It's changed by the amount you die, and the border around your screen will show you the difficulty mode you're playing in. To reset back to the hardest difficulty - The one the game starts in - You will need to find secret orbs. One of which is right beside a secret harder difficulty, and will require the changing of the game's resolution to the lowest to access. Don't ask me why that is. This can be a negative depending on how you look at it, but it's certainly something that adds to the uniqueness of the game, as different difficulties will offer different options and mechanics, although it's undeniable that the hardest difficulties always offer the most amount of available content as a reward for your skill and determination against the odds.
    Beelining towards and objective isn't really the best route you can take. Maybe go into that house with a pentagram on it? Maybe try to find a way into the sewers that keep making incomprehensible noises? Whatever you want, you'll need money, and you need to find weapons - Both of those things you will not be handed on a silver platter by simply attempting to accomplish the objective, but by exploring the levels, harvesting organs off your enemies, finding a fishing rod and just fishing on any pool of water you can find, and investing into the stock market.
    Most of these things are very rewarding, and replaying levels to find new ways of accomplishing an objective, or to find secrets that completely change your perspective on that level, or sometimes even the game as a whole, will always be a major positive that the game has. My only complaint is that getting the flashlight is has a method to obtain it that is too specific, unlike other similarly obtuse things in the game, which usually aren't for objects as specific.
    The game's writing is often overlooked too. It can be horrifying and nightmarish, but a lot of the time, it has quite nuanced satire and black comedy similar to the works of Paul Verhoeven, in both its combination of rather dark, yet silly comedy, and extreme violence. While little of the game's actual story makes any sense in our world, it's hard to deny that the setting of Cruelty Squad is interesting. Unlike other biopunk works, this world looks completely otherworldly. Everything even resembling our world is twisted in a way that makes it ever so slightly off. The only things we can call similar from looks alone are the organs, and even that tends to sometimes be unlike that of our world.
    This review is shallow compared to what it actually is like to play the game. It's not every day I use an additional external intestine in the same way special forces would use as a rappel, or how Batman would use his grappling hook. And it's not every day I stack body parts and random assorted street objects to climb a corporate tower. But it is every day in the world of Cruelty Squad, and every time, something different will happen, and the game never runs out of rugs to pull from under you.    … Expand
  5. OOOOOOOOOOOO
    Aug 7, 2021
    10
    A euphoric eye melting masterpiece, this game understands what people want and by god does it deliver.
  6. arostislavna
    Nov 14, 2021
    9
    A truly experimental oddity that happens to be a game. With some weird ways to unlock the final secret difficulty which I feel could have been handled better, and an odd money making metagame.

    Play it if you want your eyes to bleed in all it's glory.
  7. DanielPeled
    Nov 29, 2022
    10
    The game is unique in a sea of boomer shooters. More similar to Deus Ex than those types of games, but also significantly better.
  8. knur
    Oct 23, 2022
    9
    This feels like replaying a scene from a bizarre nightmare you had while tripping. Worth the full price.
  9. Eliperre
    Feb 8, 2022
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Amazing game ,eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee e e e e e eeee e e e e e e e ee… Expand
  10. saxman
    Feb 4, 2023
    10
    games are true art when everything works together to deliver one cohesive whole. this is that game.
  11. gorgenitales777
    Mar 27, 2022
    10
    I liked so much this game, one of my favorite games of 2021, i find it so funny and entertaining.
  12. sconeeee
    Sep 11, 2022
    10
    One of the most innovative and unsettling works of art in the modern age. The game plays like how you'd expect a game you've already played, yet the visuals and design are brilliant. Any one individual will have a completely different experience and it encourages you to explore and find out how you can push the game to its limits while it constantly tests yours as a player. While theOne of the most innovative and unsettling works of art in the modern age. The game plays like how you'd expect a game you've already played, yet the visuals and design are brilliant. Any one individual will have a completely different experience and it encourages you to explore and find out how you can push the game to its limits while it constantly tests yours as a player. While the visuals are not for everyone-that is quite simply the whole point, the narrative of the game takes place in a cyberpunk garbage world and it hinges on the flaws of modern society as a gross representation of a post capitalist society. Despite the clear messages, the game never quite takes itself so seriously to the point of pretentiousness and skillfully weaves in humor when you least expect it. There is simply nothing else like this game and even beyond the political scope of itself it never detracts from the core experience at all. The gameplay is easy to learn hard to master and the options given to the player are unlike anything I've experienced prior. It is an absolute must play if you like games period so long as you can keep an open mind to the experience, the game is not designed for neurotic individuals which it often mocks. Admittedly, the visuals at first were hard to adjust to, but as you continue playing you become desensitized to them just like the horrific acts that ensue in the game, which add this meta layer of commentary that no other game has really been able to capture. In summary, this game is a peek in to a bleak future where the world is filled to the brim with garbage yet no one seems to notice. Truly a masterpiece.… Expand
  13. Padeirozeh
    Jul 26, 2023
    10
    Ganhei esse jogo de presente de um amigo, e é aquele tipo de jogo que eu jamais jogaria se não fosse um presente. Ja que olhando a sua pagina na loja não deixa a gente muito motivado a comprar ele, mas em poucas horas eu percebi que estava completamente imerso no universo sujo e violento do jogo, jogabilidade excelente e muito variada, com inúmeras armas, implantes e equipamentos paraGanhei esse jogo de presente de um amigo, e é aquele tipo de jogo que eu jamais jogaria se não fosse um presente. Ja que olhando a sua pagina na loja não deixa a gente muito motivado a comprar ele, mas em poucas horas eu percebi que estava completamente imerso no universo sujo e violento do jogo, jogabilidade excelente e muito variada, com inúmeras armas, implantes e equipamentos para usar( da até pra usar o intestino como uma garra ''ala'' Just Cause), que acaba dando valor ao fator replay,eu fiz e refiz as fazes de inúmeras formas diferentes, combinei varias armas e implantes e me diverti muito testando novas formas de passar as fazes.
    Tudo no jogo é completamente sujo, desde os menus até os cenários, e não que seja mal feito, ele é tudo propositalmente feio e levanta vários questionamentos sobre a degradação humana...sim o jogo é realmente mais profundo do que parece.    … Expand
  14. Hilvet
    Aug 19, 2023
    10
    One of very few works of art that I would consider perfect. Cannot recommend it enough.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Hooked Gamers
    Dec 20, 2021
    97
    Make no mistake, this game is the definition of niche appeal. Its visuals are ugly in a way that is not just visually repellent but deeply unsettling. Its world and lore are in turn, confusing, disturbing, and sickening. Playing its soundtrack above a certain decibel level probably constitutes a war crime. Yet the game demands attention all the same. It's brilliant, disturbing, and endlessly fascinating. I'm painfully aware that not everyone will love Cruelty Squad as much as I do, but those that love it will love it with abandon. For me, it's a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
    Read full review
  2. PC Gamer
    Jul 5, 2021
    93
    Cruelty Squad celebrates feeling bad in surprising ways, all of them fun.
    Read full review
  3. NME
    Jul 5, 2021
    100
    A furious shout at the hypercapitalism currently infesting our society has created one of the year’s most compelling video games. Cruelty Squad completely reinvents the FPS playbook, introducing plenty of new ideas under a neon-flecked haze of dystopian aesthetics.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »