Very solid game. Gameplay is tight, fast, and deadly, there's a wide variety of weapons and biomods with some pretty novel effects.

Levels are open and allow for a very wide degree of experimentation and exploration, with plenty of secrets to find. While the levels lack the density of other imsims like Dishonoured, the levels have a certain flow and manage to be sprawling and complex without becoming overly labyrinthine.

The harshness of the colours and textures do seem jarring at first, and some levels are overly colourful and varied (such as Paradise), but for the most part they seem to mesh well with the rest of the game.

The dialogue and story is topical and satirical. Most video games that try and be funny fail miserably, but Cruelty Squad kind of hits the nail on the head for me. It's like if William Burroughs liked the internet as much as heroin.

The music is amazing and varied, one of my favourite soundtracks of all time. Some tracks are jarring and abrasive in the vein of Boredoms, Merzbow, or other power electronic/noise outfits, while some are garbled dirges with drifting harpsichord or piano melodies a la Oneohtrix Point Never. Some almost seem like parodies of video game music.

Altogether, a tonally consistent and highly competent immersive sim wrapped in a pessimistic techno-delirium bow. I look forwards to seeing what more gets added in the future, but the game as is already seems more or less complete.

Very solid game. Gameplay is tight, fast, and deadly, there's a wide variety of weapons and biomods with some pretty novel effects. Levels are open and allow for a very wide degree of experimentation and exploration, with plenty of secrets to find. While the levels lack the density of other imsims like Dishonoured, the levels have a certain flow and manage to be sprawling and complex without becoming overly labyrinthine. The harshness of the colours and textures do seem jarring at first, and some levels are overly colourful and varied (such as Paradise), but for the most part they seem to mesh well with the rest of the game. The dialogue and story is topical and satirical. Most video games that try and be funny fail miserably, but Cruelty Squad kind of hits the nail on the head for me. It's like if William Burroughs liked the internet as much as heroin. The music is amazing and varied, one of my favourite soundtracks of all time. Some tracks are jarring and abrasive in the vein of [i]Boredoms[/i], [i]Merzbow[/i], or other power electronic/noise outfits, while some are garbled dirges with drifting harpsichord or piano melodies a la [i]Oneohtrix Point Never[/i]. Some almost seem like parodies of video game music. Altogether, a tonally consistent and highly competent immersive sim wrapped in a pessimistic techno-delirium bow. I look forwards to seeing what more gets added in the future, but the game as is already seems more or less complete.