sunny_skies
Cruelty Squad 2021
Log Status
Completed
Playing
Backlog
Wishlist
Rating
Time Played
--
Days in Journal
1 day
Last played
October 26, 2023
Platforms Played
Did another full playthrough and fell in love with it all over again. Fucking phenomenal.
Cruelty Squad is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever played. I’ve played a number of immersive sims over the last few years, but none of them have struck a chord with me as much as Cruelty Squad.
While I certainly appreciate this game on an artistic level with it’s garish, ugly visuals and dialogue that manages to be both fucking hilarious and genuinely brilliant, it’s in the actual game and level design itself that Cruelty Squad impresses me the most.
Every single map in this game is so densely packed with new shit to find, from alternate pathways and shortcuts to bizarre hidden areas housing brand new upgrades, items and even entirely new secret levels that are entirely separate from the one you found them in.
Some maps are large and open, others tight and claustrophobic. The amount of variety on offer is insane, the headquarters of a pharmaceutical company, a large shopping mall with a number of different angles to attack your target from and even your own apartment as it’s being raided by hordes of cops you get to shoot your way through because you were late on rent! Fun!
The upgrades (or augmentations) you get can be game changing too, at some point I found myself at the bottom of a cruise ship with 2 of my 3 targets on the top deck. While I could have slowly but surely worked my way through multiple floors of enemies to the top, an augmentation I had just bought allowed me to use my intestines as a grappling hook and fling myself up there in no time at all and take them out with ease. A later upgrade allowed me to wear a suit of protective armor that negated any and all fall damage too, making the grappling hook even more viable and useful than it was before.
And I think the wonderful thing is that that’s not a valid strategy every time! Another map saw me travelling deep into a mine filled to the brim with enemies I couldn’t just vault over, so I had to rethink my strategy and ended up with an entirely different loadout consisting of a gland that would slowly regenerate ammo and some delightfully fleshy thrusters built into my back that allowed me to quickly dash forward.
I could keep singing this game's praises forever. It’s fucking amazing and gives me a sense of freedom so many other games wish they could achieve. Go play Cruelty Squad if you haven’t already. You need to.
While I certainly appreciate this game on an artistic level with it’s garish, ugly visuals and dialogue that manages to be both fucking hilarious and genuinely brilliant, it’s in the actual game and level design itself that Cruelty Squad impresses me the most.
Every single map in this game is so densely packed with new shit to find, from alternate pathways and shortcuts to bizarre hidden areas housing brand new upgrades, items and even entirely new secret levels that are entirely separate from the one you found them in.
Some maps are large and open, others tight and claustrophobic. The amount of variety on offer is insane, the headquarters of a pharmaceutical company, a large shopping mall with a number of different angles to attack your target from and even your own apartment as it’s being raided by hordes of cops you get to shoot your way through because you were late on rent! Fun!
The upgrades (or augmentations) you get can be game changing too, at some point I found myself at the bottom of a cruise ship with 2 of my 3 targets on the top deck. While I could have slowly but surely worked my way through multiple floors of enemies to the top, an augmentation I had just bought allowed me to use my intestines as a grappling hook and fling myself up there in no time at all and take them out with ease. A later upgrade allowed me to wear a suit of protective armor that negated any and all fall damage too, making the grappling hook even more viable and useful than it was before.
And I think the wonderful thing is that that’s not a valid strategy every time! Another map saw me travelling deep into a mine filled to the brim with enemies I couldn’t just vault over, so I had to rethink my strategy and ended up with an entirely different loadout consisting of a gland that would slowly regenerate ammo and some delightfully fleshy thrusters built into my back that allowed me to quickly dash forward.
I could keep singing this game's praises forever. It’s fucking amazing and gives me a sense of freedom so many other games wish they could achieve. Go play Cruelty Squad if you haven’t already. You need to.