Cruelty Squad for Windows

An utterly surreal take on first-person shooters

Cruelty Squad is a first-person shooter with a weird twist. Mixing conventional shooter mechanics with bizarre gameplay additions, weird settings, and an engrossing storyline, it will suit players who enjoy games that are out of the ordinary.

While the game could be described as an attempt to combine the gameplay of classic shooters like Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six with the sci-fi dystopia of Cyberpunk 2077, it turns out to be far weirder than this summary would imply. Cruelty Squad is a game that goes all-out in making the player uncomfortable.

A crazy-colored FPS aesthetic

A long way from the real-world military settings or futuristic sci-fi backdrops associated with the first-person shooter genre, Cruelty Squad strives to be as weird as possible. With an aesthetic based on old-school 90s shooters mixed with crazy color schemes and bizarre enemy designs, there is nothing that looks quite like this game.

Hidden depths

The gameplay is designed to be as weird as the aesthetic, and new players are apt to find Cruelty Squad a confusing experience. This is part of the point, however: the plot involves the central character's mental health problems. What looks like a crude imitation turns out to have hidden depths.

Weapons and augments

The game uses a sophisticated weapons system that allows the user to carry two guns and four augments on each mission. New upgrades can be found and stored permanently in your inventory, but you will need to choose carefully prior to starting each mission. This adds a strong element of strategy.

What’s new?

Small, barely noticeable mystery changes provide a sense of continuity while further improving the gameplay. New additions include Ballsfish and dialogue in Miner’s Miracle, which have been anticipated for quite some time. Finally, a series of fixes ensure that the overall performance of the game is at the top level.

Odd but innovative

Cruelty Squad will likely turn off some players, who will object to its old-fashioned graphics and sometimes confusing gameplay. Those looking for something more novel than a typical FPS, however, should appreciate it. If nothing else, this is an innovative treatment of FPS conventions.