Let me start this review by saying that Cruelty Squad is undeniably a good game. Its weapon play is fun, gameplay loop simple and MOVEMENT IS GODLIKE. And yet you see this review as negative. Why?
Well, Cruelty Squad has a very distinct visual style that induces headaches, super poor AI, presents the level in incomprehensible style, is littered with annoying bugs and has mechanics that are straight up annoying.
While I did find myself enjoying some of the aspects of the game, Cruelty Squad’s flaws were annoying enough to justify a negative review. Because while the title itself might be fun, you have to get through a lot of ♥♥♥♥ along the way. For me, this is not too good of a deal and when Steam asks “would you recommend this game” I had to pause for a second and finally decide – No. No I wouldn’t.


I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Cruelty Squad has caused me multiple migraines. I only have 7 hours in it. Sadly, those seven hours had to be spaced out, so that I could rest after no more than 45 minutes of play. This is how fast I started feeling pain and let me tell you - it is not good for such a GAME to cause literal nausea. But how does it cause pain? Well, visual design of course.
Judging by the fact that you’re reading this review, you’ve probably had a moment to take a look at this game’s visuals on Steam Store page by now. It’s… interesting. I gotta give it that. It’s an art statement. It is something that hasn’t been done at least for a while. The last time I remember a game looking this way was when MLG parodies were still in play. That was more than 10 years ago, mind you. For Cruelty Squad this meant a whole lot of wiggle room. Empty playing field. Consumer Softproducts decided on a unique artstyle and vibrant colors to depict their product. Was it a good decision? Sure, absolutely. The sheer amount of renown it has gotten the game was absolutely worth it. Does it look good? No. God, no.
The UI is disgusting to look at, everything is counter-intuitive, all the indicators and important information are either barely visible or completely inaccessible. I didn’t even understand about some parts of it until a friend of mine told me about those. Like the fact that you can tell what’s your difficulty level by taking a peek at the borders of your screen. Does it look meaty? Robotic? Or maybe it’s just a black web? What does it mean? Well, you don’t know until you unlock them and even then, it is not really clearly shown to you what has exactly transpired. After putting in some hours into the game you start getting used to it, that’s true, but it never stops being hideous.

Oh, speaking of UI. Did you know that there’s a bug where after turning this game on and switching the display format, the cursor’s position is not aligned with its graphical representation? Or that it disappears completely? And that this bug reoccurs every other time you start the game despite not changing the display format anymore? Now you know. It is very annoying and sadly forces you to restart the game. Health blob covers sixth of the screen despite being a useless goo particle with the only important information on it being less than 10% of its size. It doesn’t make any sense. But it’s not the only thing that doesn’t. Picking up ammo from dead enemies leaves a long message in the top left corner that is simply 6-7 times bigger than your HP. UI design is a flop. I just can’t emphasize it enough. But it is done on purpose. You are supposed to suffer. It could be forgiven though, if the list of “annoying” things ended there. Frankly, it doesn’t.

Let’s move to gameplay, which undoubtfully is the best part of Cruelty Squad, but you’re still knee-deep in crap. We’re gonna start with the game’s AI. Or maybe… the lack of it. There is no other way to put it, the AI in this game is the absolutely dumbest thing I have seen in a while. The federal agents, or your enemies if you will, most of the time just casually spin in place or patrol a very small area. Nothing too shabby, sounds cool. You know where to expect them in each playthrough. But then… you come into play and they start getting… lost. They are supposed to react to sound so that you don’t just go guns blazing into every possible room, shooting them in the back. They are supposed to identify the threat (you) and its location and instantly turn its way and either start shooting or move towards it. They… sometimes do that. Sure. Most of the time, once you shoot someone from far away and they start shooting back, their mates are just hanging around as if nothing was happening. Oh, better yet. If you were JUST outside of their hearing range, you can disintegrate their friends, dismember them in front of them and simply bunny hop away while making as much noise as possible with constant grunting on each jump. They will never turn in your direction.
AI also doesn’t do well with enclosed corridors or doors, where it loves to get stuck or enter the room you’re clearly camping with your 12 gauge. I had a moment where 12 enemies walked into the door one by one just to get absolutely destroyed without ever realizing where they are getting shot from. Kind of a letdown.

Other aspect that annoyed the hell out of me were the pills.
In Cruelty Squad you can consume a lot of things to regain health, but you can also find some… drugs. Which, for instance, flip the gravitation upside-down. Only for you. In closed spaces? May sometimes be fun. But on early levels you just fly into the space, as Earth is now flipped and you go straight into the stratosphere. There is no coming back. You have to commit suicide or restart the level to escape the never-ending fall. Funny joke by the developers, but gameplay-wise… rather meh.


A’ight, I’ve complained for a while, let’s focus on something nice, shall we?

Cruelty Squad has probably the best movement I’ve seen in a video game since Quake 3. It is phenomenal. The feeling of moving around in this game is simply amazing. You can purchase some enhancements that make it even better. You enjoy bunny-hopping? Here, there are some speedy legs that will make you move 4 times faster. You like getting air superiority? Here’s an “Entry Device” that blasts you upwards when you jump. Oh, you’re more of a grappling hook guy? Don’t worry. Here’s one made out of intestines. You don’t have to thank us.
Long story short, there are many, many fun ways to move around in Cruelty Squad and I have to give the title highest of praises for it. I’ve genuinely enjoyed that a whole lot. Skillful usage of movement takes center stage. It really elevates how good can someone be. In a game where the main goal is to complete the level as fast as possible, the movement alone separates the good from the great.

I gotta say that I also enjoyed the gunplay in Cruelty Squad. Be it pistols, SMGs, sniper rifles, carbines or even a rocket launcher - almost anything in this game that can fire is just pleasurable to wield. Recoil can be massive but is also very easy to control. There’s not much to explain here, so let me just say that you are able to “aim down sights” or… rather just aim, but hipfiring is not too punishing and truth be told, just feels way better in most scenarios.


As you can see, Cruelty Squad has the basics for a legendary shooter. At least for me. I recognize greatness when I experience it. Too bad that this greatness is hidden underneath the “art” coat which is way more likely to make me vomit than to make me stand in awe.
I’d love to like this Consumer Softproducts title but I just cannot. Sadly, this also means that I won’t exactly recommend it to anyone. It is an experience for sure, just not worth the pain accompanying it.