Of all the recently released throwback shooters, none are as surreal or bizarre as Cruelty Squad. Other throwback games like Dusk and Prodeus may be loving homages to Quake and DOOM, but neither of these games allows players to purchase an intestine grappling hook or have a shootout at the Cancer City Megamall.
Cruelty Squad lets you fish in a sewer, play the stock market and more, all in one of the most nausea-inducing visual styles of recent note. This is a love it or hate it game, and those that are on board with its strangeness are in for a wild ride filled to the brim with style, solid gameplay and true originality.
Cruelty Squad places players into the near future as a mercenary working in the exciting world of corporate liquidations. Players are a bizarre-looking humanoid red lump of a man who must take on missions for the titular Cruelty Squad, wiping out designated assassination targets for powerful corporations and performing various forms of wetwork. Each level begins with players being given a briefing by a baseball cap-wearing fellow red meat-like man, with a briefing screen that looks like something straight out of a '90s fan website. Immediately, the game makes a name for itself with its bizarre setup and visuals.
Cruelty Squad's style is a combination of throwback early 3D visuals that are at the heart of throwback shooters and an explosion of colors, effects, and strange art design. Levels are packed full of colorful and clashing textures everywhere and designed to feel as confusing as they look. The result is some truly bizarre effects that resemble trying to run a new video game on a very old PC or loading up a weird mod that doesn't quite run correctly. Your senses are assaulted by neon signs, screen borders, weird color combinations and undulating heads-up-display menus.
When it comes to the gameplay, the bizarre visual style connects to its deliberately obscure gameplay in a way that few other shooters do. Much like the throwback shooters it is based on, Cruelty Squad does not hold the player's hand or give many clues; it simply presents its areas and levels and allows for experimentation and exploration, along with a healthy dose of difficult combat. At the beginning of each level, players are giving the location of the target, which is highlighted by a red reticle that is visible through the walls. They then must hunt down and eliminate this target to proceed, but how they do so is up to them. Players begin with a silenced pistol but can acquire over 20 different weapons throughout the campaign. Standard machine guns and sniper rifles are available alongside exotic affairs like a gun that turns enemies inside out with one shot.
Cruelty Squad is an immersive simulation as well, sharing aspects of games like Deus Ex and BioShock. Players can interact with various objects in the environment, including slot machines, trash cans and even vending machines, adding a layer of immersion on top of the main shooting found in the game's 13 different levels. While not as deep of an immersive sim as the aforementioned games, the tight shooting mechanics and bizarre level design deftly bring players into its colorful and weird world of violence.
There may not be any stealth mechanics or conversation options, but Cruelty Squad pushes its immersion by littering the unique levels with equally unique and strange things to do. However, it does have a heap of equipment that players can find and use to improve the player's character in unique ways. Players can find standard affairs like grenades and a medkit but can also equip a double jump that leaves a toxic waste puddle in its wake or even an intestine-based grappling hook that allows players to shoot around the map blasting foes. As the difficulty increases level to level, the equipment helps give players an edge.
Ultimately Cruelty Squad is a completely unique throwback shooter with a surreal visual aesthetic built over a surprisingly deep and solid gameplay experience. For those ready for something truly different, Cruelty Squad is available now on Steam.