Before I get into my point, let me just say that Cruelty Squad is amazing but not for everyone. It is disturbing on many levels. But I won’t be getting too much into that. There are going to be some screenshots throughout. A video would be better but my capture software doesn’t agree with me right now. For now, I will discuss why Cruelty Squad is more than just Deus Ex on acid.
For me, the main draw of Cruelty Squad was the art style. An art style that is otherworldly and dreamlike. It feels off. And that was before I saw it in motion. The ‘human’ characters that I stood in front of shifted before me. Not just a sideways wobble or something like that. Their whole body pulsed with an organic yet artificial feel to it. Some have called it ugly. I disagree. It takes getting used to I will admit. But this game has great reflections. This is not some solo dev who is a better programmer than artist type deal (speaking of myself there) but rather a developer who has crafted a world that in every aspect of its visual existence challenges the player to perceive it.
The world is unsettling. The bio-augments are horrifying yet enjoyable. That juxtaposition of enjoyment and queasiness is the core of the game. The first time I played it I had been sick to my stomach. This was not the fault of the game but rather my lactose intolerance. However, I easily believed it was the game but was glad to realize I was wrong.
Now, I admit my title may be a little much. The art isn’t that much of a challenge or even that off-putting. It is really enjoyable once you accept it for its merits. But that isn’t my focus for the title, I just felt I needed to get that out of the way.
The controls of Cruelty Squad are far more interesting.
To begin explaining: the game is a tactical shooter/immersive sim. There is a certain standard for shooters and immersive sims for controls. WASD for movement is nigh universal on PC save for some arrow key holdouts. That is still in Cruelty Squad, thankfully. Q and E are used to lean left and right respectively. This is rather standard for tactical shooters and immersive sims. But E is traditionally the interact key. In Deus Ex, the right mouse button is used for interact. But in Cruelty Squad R is used to interact. I have had it ingrained in me that R is reload since I started gaming on keyboard. For me, it was a slight struggle to not hit E to interact at first. But I grew used to that.
X is crouch here, I’m used to either C or CTRL but prefer LALT. But x is also used for crouch so that is a me problem. C is to switch weapons, although number keys can also be used. I prefer mouse wheel normally but again it is a me problem. F is kick which works well for me.
I’m going to pause for a moment to appreciate the kick. It is so powerful that it is just incredible. I also like kicking the ground and jumping immediately after to get a boost.
Back to controls. SHIFT is zoom, which feels wrong to me as I’m so used to that being the right mouse button. But the right mouse button does something far more important here. It initiates reloading. But to reload you have to hold the right mouse button and drag your mouse back. This adds a whole new motion to the game.
I love motion controls in games that replicate the action you are taking. It is part of why I love VR so much. This reload control does exactly that. At first it recreates the sense of fumbling with a gun to reload it which makes VR shooters stressful. It makes you take a moment off of aiming at your target. You are no longer a trained assassin with the steadiest arms ever. You are a fumbling klutz trying to be that assassin. But as you get used to it, reloading becomes more natural.
That is until you need to do it quickly while being shot at by multiple enemies. This is a large part of Cruelty Squad to me. The player actually has to learn a new movement in order to become good at the game. The controls are an added level of difficulty, but not an artificial one. It enhances the experience.
The reticule also deserves some attention. It is genuinely a glowing green orb that attaches itself to whatever your gun is pointing at. This is not true for all guns but it is cool. It is so different from anything I’m used to that it adds something to the overall experience.
If you are okay with a disturbing game, I highly recommend Cruelty Squad even though it is in early access. It is a fine example of games as art, without the conventional beauty that implies. It exemplifies the interactive nature of games, and the experiential nature. You need to reload under stress. You need to time your shot under stress.
I have barely touched upon the multitude of systems and design decisions that make up Cruelty Squad so take a look at it elsewhere.
Check out PC Gamer’s video on the game here.
For a good video on immersive sims check out this one by GMTK.
Buy it (or just read the developer’s description and trailer) on Steam here.
Matthew Bazinet 