Cruelty Squad

Cruelty Squad is a tactical first-person shooter developed by Finnish[1] studio Consumer Softproducts managed by artist Ville Kallio and released in early access on Steam on 4 January 2021 and fully released on 15 June 2021.[2] In the game, the player takes on the role of a biologically-augmented assassin employed by the titular wetwork security company. The player is tasked with performing black operations for its host conglomerate and must kill various targets in order to progress.[3] The game has been described by the developer as "an immersive power fantasy simulator with tactical stealth elements".[4] The game is notable for its surreal aesthetic, inspired by the likes of LSD: Dream Emulator and Super Mario 64,[5] complete with wobbly, low-poly 3D models, psychedelic color palette, low-quality distorted audio, grotesque depictions of augmentations, bizarre cacophonic music, and pixelated-looking, unfiltered textures.

Cruelty Squad
Developer(s)Consumer Softproducts
Publisher(s)Consumer Softproducts
EngineGodot
Platform(s)Windows
Release16 June 2021
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

The player chooses their weaponry and equipment before starting each of the 19 missions present in the game, and then must traverse open, sandbox-style levels in order to neutralize targets.[6][7] Health lost during combat can be regained by using certain equipment, consuming cooked giblets, or even consuming corpses should the player die enough times on a level ("Power In Misery", the easiest difficulty mode). While there is no penalty for killing civilians during a mission, silent and non-lethal solutions are also possible outside of the necessary killing of targets.[8][9] Outside of and during missions, the player can trade human organs and fish on a dynamic stock market for money, or explore their headquarters.[10]

Synopsis

Setting

Cruelty Squad is set in a dystopian corporatocracy where corporations possess overwhelming influence over police and government affairs; technological advances allow people to be resurrected after death, rendering much of humanity immortal and cheapening the perceived value of life. Indiscriminate killings are commonplace, and armed security is a fixture of virtually every populated area. Human organs are sold on the stock market, and invasive biological implants and augmented organs are used by security forces and assassins to aid in combat.

Corporate contract killings are handled in part by Cruelty Squad, a wetwork security company working under the umbrella of a large conglomerate.

Plot

After being discharged from the "SEC Death Unit", the unnamed protagonist receives a phone call from his enigmatic handler, who offers him employment within Cruelty Squad. He is tasked to kill a number of people who have drawn the ire of conglomerate "higher-ups"; these include anti-corporate politicians, cultists, corrupt police officers, delinquent employees, and rival CEOs.

Development

Cruelty Squad was produced within the Godot game engine. It was fully released on Steam on 16 June 2021.

Pre-Cruelty Squad work

Prior to the development of Cruelty Squad, lead developer and artist Ville Kallio created and exhibited multiple artistic works consisting of comics and video art, as well as installations and standalone artworks for galleries. Notable museums he has exhibited include the Futura in Prague,[11] and the SIC Gallery in Helsinki, Finland.[12] Many of these previous artworks contain allusions to video games, as well as many ideas that would later become parts of Cruelty Squad. Kallio has said that his gallery work "never really felt like more than just a weird hobby" and that it was like "a black hole with no future", stating that going into game development felt sensible since his previous work had been heavily inspired by video games.[13]

Other than gallery pieces, Kallio has produced many video projects before the release of Cruelty Squad, such as "Adversalife" and "Venmo Combat", which was also a component of a multimedia art exhibition hosted at the SIC Gallery in Helsinki, Finland.[12] Additionally, he worked on comics such as HYPER PRISON-INDUSTRIAL and CORRIDORSPACE.

Reception

Cruelty Squad received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[14]

James Brod of Third Coast Review described the game as "grislier than Hotline Miami" and recommended it to fans of "old school tactical shooters".[17] Jake Tucker of NME declared Cruelty Squad to be the "most compelling game of the year", awarding it five stars out of five.[18] Many outlets also commented on the harshness of the visuals, with Rock Paper Shotgun's Graham Smith dubbing them "sensorally aggressive".[19] James Davenport of PC Gamer called it "some prime existential PC gaming horror."

In June 2021, the protagonist of Cruelty Squad was added to the video game Brigador as a playable character, under the name "MT Foxtrot".[20]

References
  1. "Consumer Softproducts Oy (@CSoftproducts)". Twitter (Twitter profile with a location specified). n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2022-08-04. Helsinki, Finland.
  2. "Cruelty Squad on Steam". Steam (Steam store page). n.d. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2022-08-04. Release Date: 15 Jun, 2021 / Early Access Release Date: 4 Jan, 2021.
  3. Davenport, James (2021-07-02). "Cruelty Squad review". Review. PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  4. Bruce-Jones, Henry (2021-03-03). "Ville Kallio finds the violence in corporate infrastructure in Cruelty Squad". Fact Magazine. The Vinyl Factory. Archived from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  5. Kallio, Ville (2021-08-19). Good, Christopher (ed.). "Artist of the Week: Ville Kallio". LVL3 (Interview). Interviewed by Good, Christopher. Archived from the original on 2021-08-23. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  6. Davenport, James (2021-01-11). "Cruelty Squad is a depressing Rainbow Six fever dream". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  7. "Cruelty Squad review: this game is too cool for me, probably". Rock Paper Shotgun. 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  8. Andrew King (2021-02-16). "'Cruelty Squad' is the Shooter '90s Parents Were Worried About". Bloody Disgusting!. Archived from the original on 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  9. "Cruelty Squad: Skurriler Taktik-Shooter verlässt den Early Access". 4Players (in German). Archived from the original on 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  10. "Cruelty Squad Is The Video Game Equivalent Of A Contact High". Kotaku Australia. 2021-07-06. Archived from the original on 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  11. "Ville Kallio and Bora Akinciturk at Futura". artviewer.org. 2018-06-03. Archived from the original on 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  12. "Venmo Combat Ville Kallio At SIC Gallery, Helsinki, Finland". fluxo. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  13. Good, Christopher (2021-08-19). "ARTIST OF THE WEEK Ville Kallio". LVL3Official. Archived from the original on 2021-08-23. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  14. "Cruelty Squad for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  15. Handley, Zoey (19 June 2021). "Review: Cruelty Squad". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  16. Davenport, James (2 July 2021). "Cruelty Squad review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  17. Brod, James (2021-03-17). "Cruelty Squad Early Access Preview: Immersive Sin". Third Coast Review. Archived from the original on 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  18. Tucker, Jake (2021-07-05). "'Cruelty Squad' review - An anti-capitalist screed that's the most compelling game of the year". NME. Archived from the original on 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  19. "Cruelty Squad is "an immersive power fantasy simulator set in a sewage infused garbage world"". Rock Paper Shotgun. 2021-06-19. Archived from the original on 2021-07-10. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  20. "The Blood Anniversary Update Is Now Live", store.steampowered.com, June 7, 2021, archived from the original on August 17, 2021, retrieved June 10, 2022
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