TVontheRadio
Cruelty Squad 2021
Log Status
Completed
Playing
Backlog
Wishlist
Rating
Time Played
5h 40m
Days in Journal
1 day
Last played
November 26, 2021
Platforms Played
Cruelty Squad is the ugliest game I've actually seen all the way through. That ugliness was both propellant for me to have wanted to see the game through, and repellant enough to keep me from wanting to explore and find its secrets. The UI reflects the maximalist approach of 90s adventure games, which sacrifices functionality for pure form, reinforcing tone through the icons to the typography. It is terrible and "charming".
The soundtrack may just as be intentionally abrasive, but its mix of low-key, unsettling buzzes, sharp, ear-drilling, industrial "beats" and sparse, spacy, atonal synths with some surprising off-kilter cartoony jingles are 100% my shit.
A lot of games have bleak stories set in dystopian worlds, but so many of them still try to show some measure of "beauty" to offset the ugliness, whether it's through lavish production value or a style that most people find cool. When it comes to explicit storytelling, there are pockets of hope in sidequests or character realizations to offset the despair. Cruelty Squad is uncompromising on both fronts.
It's hideous, there are no real characters to latch onto, and there is no way out for anyone. No, the narrative and themes aren't subtle. Capitalism commodifies bodies and promotes ruthless individualism, the police only serve the ruling class and brutalize everyone else, we are wage slaves, the true cyberpunk starts here, kill your landlord.
There have been plenty of games that set out to disturb; Paratopic, Post Void, Anatomy, The Space Between, and Little Red Lie come to mind. Cruelty Squad stands out for its intentionally uncool and unflinching awfulness.
It's worth a shot if you've ever had the thought that too many games are too slick and stylish, including celebrated indie titles. You'll either end up appreciating more of the artistry that goes into creating a pleasing sensory experience for most games, or you'll decry the relative safety of such goals even louder and hail Cruelty Squad as the one genuine model for aesthetic counterculture in the medium.
The soundtrack may just as be intentionally abrasive, but its mix of low-key, unsettling buzzes, sharp, ear-drilling, industrial "beats" and sparse, spacy, atonal synths with some surprising off-kilter cartoony jingles are 100% my shit.
A lot of games have bleak stories set in dystopian worlds, but so many of them still try to show some measure of "beauty" to offset the ugliness, whether it's through lavish production value or a style that most people find cool. When it comes to explicit storytelling, there are pockets of hope in sidequests or character realizations to offset the despair. Cruelty Squad is uncompromising on both fronts.
It's hideous, there are no real characters to latch onto, and there is no way out for anyone. No, the narrative and themes aren't subtle. Capitalism commodifies bodies and promotes ruthless individualism, the police only serve the ruling class and brutalize everyone else, we are wage slaves, the true cyberpunk starts here, kill your landlord.
There have been plenty of games that set out to disturb; Paratopic, Post Void, Anatomy, The Space Between, and Little Red Lie come to mind. Cruelty Squad stands out for its intentionally uncool and unflinching awfulness.
It's worth a shot if you've ever had the thought that too many games are too slick and stylish, including celebrated indie titles. You'll either end up appreciating more of the artistry that goes into creating a pleasing sensory experience for most games, or you'll decry the relative safety of such goals even louder and hail Cruelty Squad as the one genuine model for aesthetic counterculture in the medium.