Cruelty Squad: A Guided Tour

[@JimmyMcG33]

KZbin disabled the chapters thing for my channel, so here are the chapters: 00:00 Yogurt heck (intro) 00:19 An oasis of love and friendship (style) 05:56 Power in misery (gameplay) 21:51 The past is ever-present (story & progression) 40:53 Ultimate punishment (conclusion) 41:50 The air has powerful psychological effects (themes)

[@EggBastion]

YAY KZbin! But seriously, thanks tho.

[@poppachedda927]

This video activated my dopamine receptors

[@EpochSecutor]

I'm somewhat curious, is the video at 42:14 Koyaanisqatsi by any chance? It feels too similar to be a coincidence and I'm pretty sure I recognize some of those shots but it's been so long since I saw the movie.

[@nullifier_]

They are working fine for me though

[@cboria148]

how did you know about the Orb in Prosperity Path? That's an insanely deep cut I had to look up and no one even on the web seems to know about

[@ratheruncreativename3252]

What really struck me when playing was how it turned me into a soulless monster in no time flat. When I started, I was scared and confused, trying my best to avoid civilian casualties as I tried to reach the target. Then, once I realized you could mulch bodies and sell their organs, I went out of my way to kill as many people as possible. When the game is trying to get the message across that the value of human life is at an all-time low, it hits different the moment I realize I'm actively selling kidneys and livers for a couple of dollars, and using the funds to invest in the stock market.

[@megaoof7184]

Wake up early / 10 years plan / CEO mindset

[@KirstenMarie_MS3]

There's an interesting real world rabbit hole to dive down regarding the psychology of how this happens in real life. Starting with the Milgram and Stanford Prison experiments and continuing on from there. Going from the "just following orders" to being able to find justifications, to corruption that comes with power and influence. Once I started out down that road of research for a final psych project, I didn't sleep well for a month. Although, part of that was my being predisposed to anxiety (via a GAD/Panic Disorder diagnosis) and a habit of catastrophizing.

[@GarrettX001]

@@KirstenMarie_MS3 But isn't there a fundamental flaw in the Stanford experiment? That it was way too small, and in interviews the "guard" stated he was being a dick on purpose. Wasn't exactly nice to begin with. I agree otherwise. Milgram is miles ahead in proof of concept.

[@KirstenMarie_MS3]

@@GarrettX001 Oh yeah. That's why I used the qualifiers "starting with" and "on from there." Even the Milgram Experiment has been repeated and greatly improved upon over the years. And then there's the tangent of how people can end up desensitized via repeated exposure to real world violence. Not necessarily to the point of killing someone, themselves, but to the point of excusing escalating levels of harm. But the caveat is "real," as far as I'm aware. Media where people know it's all fiction doesn't translate over, unless you're dealing with existing predisposing factors. Granted, I only have undergraduate coursework in psych. There could be other research I haven't encountered that delves even further and changes conclusions. I am nowhere near an authority in this regard. My postgraduate work is all focused on human (especially cellular) Biology. So anyone with more experience is welcome to correct me. 🙂

[@meat2023]

Buddy, you been a soulless monster.

[@ninjacat230]

The game does actually have random spawns. On rare occasions, the game will take an enemy that normally only appears on higher difficulties and spawn it into the level anyway just to mess with you. If fact, if you are unlucky enough, you can encounter a Necromech (those giant enemies with the skull and dual LMGs you meet in the mall that are immune to most weapons) as early as level 2.

[@jdirksen]

Mall madness? I could have sworn those necromechs are there normally.

[@ninjacat230]

@@jdirksen no, Paradise. mall madness is level 5

[@Samarai-hf9si]

You can also have one of the darkworld enemies wielding the BN-99 appear on Pharmokinetics, which can be a pretty nasty surprise.

[@ninjacat230]

@@Samarai-hf9si those golems can show up in that level too

[@philipgodsworth4764]

I think that randomized enemy is in a preset location, I’ve encountered a random enemy type outside your apartment more than twice.

[@jessegoonerage3999]

"The flesh suit has no downsides" *immediately cuts to the HUD"

[@bloopahVIII]

no *immediate* downsides

[@Darkmage1293]

Im reminded of "as seen on tv" products. Supposedly useful but ultimately less than after a point. Yes, this will cook a potato in a microwave really fast, but it only cooks two at a time, dries it out, and makes it taste funny. Functional, but you'd be better off with a pot and boiling water. Or, yknow, actual armor.

[@vido2744]

no *apparent* downsides... the downsides arent apparent because you cant see shit with this implant on hahahah

[@jobelplayedminecraft3700]

no upsides too, armor doesnt work at all

[@rooknizan2923]

@@jobelplayedminecraft3700 patched

[@basilvitamin8878]

just obsessively watched every cruelty squad review i could find, and this one i resonate with the most

[@noone173]

same, i was looking to make something like this, but this video does it better than i ever could

[@thc_freebaser]

Omori profile picture so I know this will be good

[@thc_freebaser]

edit: was very good. best analysis yet.

[@kalibruhmoment3032]

YOU BETTER HAVE WATCHED CIVVIES REVIEW-

[@noone173]

@@kalibruhmoment3032 civvies review was nowhere near as in depth or well thought out as this one

[@Watchlist_king]

I literally shouted “NOOO!” When he fired a rocket at Snirby, only to find out he can’t be killed. What a relief.

[@-..-_-..-]

ive been in that room a million times and when he did that i suddenly realized i had never even tried

[@Watchlist_king]

@@-..-_-..- good. Attempting snirbycide is wrong.

[@landencarr5443]

@@-..-_-..- all hail snirby

[@JimmyMcG33]

Thanks everybody!

[@SolidGoldGuy]

Wake up early/10 year plan/CEO mindset/peel onion

[@MuchKoku]

"There is no route out of the maze. The maze shifts as you move through it, because it is alive." -Philip K. Dick

[@jaykelley103]

Based PKD poster

[@linkmariokirby7373]

The most disquieting part of Cruelty Squad is the one place that isn't a chaotic, horrible mess. Your own apartment. For whatever reason, your apartment is normal, if a bit bare. As you exit it, however, the world begins deteriorating more and more around you. This doesn't happen in other places of living. It's only yours that's normal. It's been confirmed by the devs that our protagonist isn't undergoing some strange hallucinatory bad trip. Everything is exactly as you see it. And that suggests that our outcast, loser protagonist is *more human than any other character.* That he is sane, normal, and possessing of his mental faculties. He may be a member of a kill team, but the only gear he had prior to the start of the game was a tranquilizing gun and a stealth pistol. He was not an unstoppable, hyper-augmented godslayer until we made him one.

[@noone173]

well a point thats often emphasized in the game is that none of that is at all significant in this world. these are things that everyone must use to make money in the gig economy hitman profession. people can use money to regenerate their bodies so nobody ever dies thus their own deaths no longer seem like a shocking end instead an inconvenience in an eternity of them. the only time anything significant happens is the final ending when all of reality ends. nothing about the final level is any different from what could be expected on an infinite time scale except the final ending

[@XD-sc4ix]

Also the house you can buy is just like the apartment a normal if a bit bare building to the bare ass buildings you can enter in said level

[@jeffboy4231]

i mean, we start out with the divine link, meaning our char never died before hand apperantly

[@timisontube]

Glad to hear it’s exactly how I personally enjoyed thinking of it: totally real, horrifically banal.

[@hurrell2]

I always took this as the world is dark and dystopian, but the reality shown to the player is massively distorted Can be pretty easy to dismiss the possibility that the character we are playing as has this massively reduced function to understand the world around themselves, especially under the duress of constant chemical use and conditioning. Kinda like all of us

[@ohiorizzler1776]

I kinda just realized that if the enemies could move and shoot, they'd be extremely dangerous, because with their erratic and quick movement, they'd fight in a manner close to a player.

[@drillbit8280]

Luckily the creator (Ville Kallio) is a competent game designer

[@neo-filthyfrank1347]

@@drillbit8280 "durr don't make things hard omg unrealistic is good because it makes my ADHD feel nice"

[@john.d.rockefeller2538]

@@neo-filthyfrank1347 what?

[@neo-filthyfrank1347]

@@john.d.rockefeller2538 drillbit is posting cringe

[@zeallust8542]

@@neo-filthyfrank1347 No. I think you are

[@chaosvolt]

Hot take: Cruelty Squad's main premise, despite being used for drama and underscoring how rotten its world has become, adds an element that is actually far more idealistic than the real-world problems it riffs on. In the game's setting, callousness has come from conquering death, and there's little indication that anyone is free of the nightmare it leads to. There may be inequality and poverty, and the one possible boon to all mankind has long since been perverted into something that ensures everyone is trapped in a literally Hellish cycle, but I've found only one NPC in the entire game who ever alludes to the idea that ANYONE can truly stay dead, or at least death having some consequence on another person's life (an NPC in Apartment Atrocity who mentions his fortunes dwindling after the death of his wife, which clashes with the established setting enough that one may be inclined to guess that his wife simply abandoned him and tricked him into thinking she's actually gone). The key point that makes this naive, even though it's twisted into something nightmarish, is this: *In our world, billionaires do not NEED recombination technology to devalue human life to the point of being worthless.*

[@flynntaggart8549]

i thought only the rich could afford not dying though. there are lots of npc's in the game that don't come back if you kill them after reloading a level, like the named ones in cruelty squad hq and the guy that gives you the fishing rod for example

[@williampan29]

I mean, ever since the invention of fast food, we kind of already see how human can absurdly put millions of chickens on high efficient meat grinders. Putting humans on it instead is merely a logical conclusion.

[@SurrogateActivities]

@@williampan29 vegan spotted

[@YeprilesteR]

@@SurrogateActivities And? Maybe, but it is a cool comparison to Cruelty Squad's world. Every human turned into a meaty machine, only to gain meaningless profit out of it, that is one important part of the game's world.

[@SurrogateActivities]

@@YeprilesteR "and?" and its cringe

[@soulrenvods]

The LIFE ending's "Good Luck", utterly seriously and with what seems to be genuine wishing luck and a bit of pity, is perhaps the most sobering thing in the entire game. It snapped me right out of the "CEO mindset" and feelings the game evoked, straight to "oh. Oh fuck." Like getting so high on money and drugs and life that you jump, and then hitting pavement.

[@Tribophopic]

You’re missing the real message of the game. It’s a fishing game masquerading as an immersive sim. The real ending is you giving your money away buying a house with all the money you’d never live long enough to spend. You have to divest yourself of your financial holdings in order to beat trauma loop.

[@strikermodel]

"the true ending might be a reference to shrek" I swear if that's true, it's the ultimate joke

[@callumbreton8930]

When did he say that in the video?

[@Drax69420]

@@callumbreton8930 He starts saying that at 47:03

[@dannylamb456]

SOME

[@jamesverner9132]

Shrek is life

[@Timcameronmusic]

Hey now!@@dannylamb456

[@insertmemorableusernameher6795]

This is unironically one of the best pieces of cyberpunk media ive ever seen, it acknowledges how fucking stupid and insane some cyberpunk ideas are and makes them funny while also making them work

[@XD-sc4ix]

Cruelty squad is more like biopunk than cyberpunk infact only like two augmentations in the entire game can be described as cybernetics meanwhile everything else is either organic augmentations , biomechanical organs or outright esoteric artifacts even half of the armors in-game are just that

[@kevinwillems8720]

​@@XD-sc4ixbiopunk is just cyberpunk with an emphasis on body horror.

[@Terminally_Radical]

46:32 "We aren't that far from the world that it imagines" "the balance of being rotated by 38 degrees" all that separates our world from cruelty squad is a difference as subtle as 38 degrees of rotation

[@lochjago13]

Better start getting into that CEO mindset.

[@Terminally_Radical]

@@lochjago13 I'm already heavy into potato farming logistics

[@TheVudubob]

@@Terminally_Radical I think I read somewhere that 38 degrees is the required angle for an avalanche effect, which makes me think that with just a few minor tweaks our world could be swept up in an unstoppable wave of change that would result in a nightmarish world like the on depicted in this game. Pretty freaky stuff lol

[@Terminally_Radical]

@@TheVudubob baller ass reply. You make sense when you talk

[@Ivanmolari]

lol

[@lfirstnamel1984]

The perpetual discomfort point is a really good way to describe the feel of the game. Even when you are playing through a level you have done before, there is a random chance of an armored enemy from a higher difficulty spawning and ruining everything. You legitimately never feel at ease.

[@555Soupy555]

worse still, when an enemy you were expecting is suddenly missing (usually two feet to the left readying a shot!!)

[@ajragle]

I like to over simplify it as "The Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff of immersive sims."

[@stinkystink9830]

:^y

[@GreenEyedDazzler]

Holy shit amazing reference

[@JackMack]

absolutely correct, really cutting to the heart of the game

[@TehCakeIzALie1]

it keeps hapening

[@mekaniklboltmb4880]

"Bro im gonna get so many STOOKS"

[@smilemore7431]

I listened to the video while washing dishes and had to rewatch it. There’s like 5 whole minutes where the audio is just the screechiest track from the game and I was at work and couldn’t touch my phone so I just had to stand there while this video molested my inner ear and my face looked like I sucked a rotten lemon. Great vid 10/10

[@magnificenttrashcan2415]

This brought me immense joy, sorry for your suffering.

[@argonhammer9352]

Which song was it?

[@alexbenavidez4500]

The first time I watched this video, I was petsitting my friends dog and we were cuddled up on the couch as I was watching this, and that exact segment you're talking about upset her so much with the sound, she got off me and lay on the floor This is my second time watching this video and I can't stop thinking about that. I felt so bad at the time, like nooo come back im sorry 🥺 I skipped through the section so she'd come up and lie on me again, which she did

[@alexbenavidez4500]

@@argonhammer9352 I'm guessing the one at 37:24

[@argonhammer9352]

@@alexbenavidez4500 that song is a bop

[@ZannyAisling]

*god* watching this makes me hate the bits of information i picked up from exposure online rather than through gameplay, such as the guy who gives the “death” hint or most of the secret levels. its the kinda game i REALLY wish i could play again for the first time

[@deadshr00m54]

I feel like I lost something by resetting my progress over and over till I could complete pharmakokinetics with divine light so I could have a rocket launcher for mall madness

[@kevinwillems8720]

Honestly wish I could play again with no ability to look things up.

[@DankSauce-lh8zk]

Theres another rocket launcher on the second level, good luck finding it!

[@w0t_m818]

I feel like most reviews of this game totally miss the "Peter Thiel Libertarian nightmare future" subtext of Cruelty Squad, or barely mention it at all even though it's such a core part of the design, amazing review!

[@rancid7182]

The subtext is part of the story, and can be interpreted in thousands of different ways. Like I don't think this is a criticism of libertarians, more parody.

[@w0t_m818]

@@rancid7182 I wouldn't say that it's parody, it's satire, because it seems to be pretty clearly making fun of libertarians/ancaps, the game is straight up saying "if you're a libertarian, this is the horrible future you're fighting for".

[@rancid7182]

@@w0t_m818 Now thinking deeper on my playthrough, you're definitely right. I was stuck on the larger theme, which is an exaggeration/parody of modern life, and the liberal economics is definitely part of that. I just find the libertarian/ancap part weird, they are contradictory ideologies.

[@w0t_m818]

@@rancid7182 they're contradictory if you're talking about left-wing libertarianism (which I understand is what the term exclusively referred to originally) but they're not contradictory if you're talking about the libertarianism of the Tea Party, which is the kind of libertarianism the game is critiquing/satirizing. In this sense there are some minor differences between the two (right libertarians and ancaps), but functionally, and in terms of what the world they would build would look like, they're similar enough to critique as a whole.

[@rancid7182]

@@w0t_m818 Ok all good then, I was talking of the original term, enjoyed the discussion. (The constant assassination attempts and street violence would hurt economic prosperity, but fun gameplay is top priority IG)

[@SundaySchool_]

So much video game analysis content on KZbin consists of generic jumbles of tired review jargon and references to gamer in-jokes. I really appreciate the lens through which you view games and your willingness to interpret them. Really refreshing stuff.

[@ye6984]

I love the style of this game in a way I can't really explain. I'd like to imagine a character from the game's universe being utterly confused if they saw a game more reminiscent of our universe, something pleasing to our eyes but harsh and grating to theirs.

[@MrJollyjumper99]

Can't believe this doesn't have hundreds of thousands of views. Seriously great content.

[@kingkhan2894]

It's honestly disappointing more people who like this review haven't watched their other videos. They're all just as good.

[@warpotato8700]

My favorite detail is that the transaction rifle, a weapon “fueled on the beating heart of the financial system” is a SKS, a rifle made in the USSR (i.e communists)

[@SleepyMatt-zzz]

Aye, that's a really good point!

[@geovin221]

By far the best CS review I've seen. Thank you for not pulling any punches, and thank you for being inculcated in the culture that you mentioned enough to be aware of the sorts of things this game does

[@toaster9922]

3:50 “FUNKOPOPS WILL OUTLIVE EVERYONE ON EARTH”

[@komram4396]

They outlive Lizzy so it getting so...

[@ZiranmenBerlin]

Finally someone that doesn't stop to the superficiality of the game.

[@PHOENIXGUNDAM]

The funny thing about the economic structure of the universe of this game is that even if you (the protagonist) brings back death to humanity and gives life value again, your still just a commodity. Nothing has really changed, while the "hero" has ended the corrupt system of the control of death by the elite everyone in the universe is still judged and valued not by corrupt corporate leaders but higher beings who only see souls as things that can give them something not individuals that have self worth. Even the 2nd ending is just the main character talking to a God being that is encouraging them to continue using others for their own benefit simply due to having more "energy value" then most other humans or general living beings in the universe and to continue living that "CEO mindset" that other characters have been encouraging each other to do for a fair portion of the game. So after mountainous layers of speech like text explaining and declaring the decay of humanity by getting rid of death the protagonist is still doing the same thing in this "golden age" he brings about now just on a seemingly spiritual level. So what is the lesson? That there really is no way out of the system? Humans are doomed to be seen by literally everything in the universe as a living stock to be bought, sold and used regardless of who or what is in control?

[@JimmyMcG33]

That's an interesting point. I'm not super familiar with Bataille and I don't necessarily agree with what I read in the Accursed Share (i.e. I don't know how to discuss your comment within the game's framework), but I took the 'Golden Age' as the protagonist clearing the field of everything, himself included, and reinjecting the world with the possibility of "true humanism," (a just world, communism, whatever) by starting again from scratch, if that makes sense. The gods of CS are like the demiurge--they are pseudo-gods that would be wiped out as well, at least in my interpretation. The religion of the house level feels to me like it is based on a delusion, the homeowners (metaphor for bourgeoisie I assume) are not a part of value production, which is the material basis of a capitalist system, so they can only interpret market forces as spiritual forces. Bataille's philosophy kind of dovetails with the triagon myth, but general economy is more a mystical way of saying that we all must exist in relation to one another and our environment. Sorry to put words in your mouth, but I think your distaste with the ending stems from the fact that the blank slate seems like a cop-out. It could be true, as you say, that the same forces develop and subjugate us all over again, even if the demiurges were destroyed. I think that's absolutely valid criticism. Cruelty Squad's world is meant to be a likely possible future, and the the lesson insofar as there is one is that if we get past the point of no return only an actual God could save us. That's what I took from it anyway. The final ending is hard to read because the mass of text might make it seem preachy whereas I think it is meant to be impressionistic, Bataille quote and all.

[@Tribophopic]

Focus on fishing.

[@alfalldoot6715]

No you don't "grant death" in the third ending, you can completely destroy the world entirely because of how rotten to the core it is.

[@johnvermintide]

God i love how theres an actual analytical explanation abt this like it makes this game an art

[@Catman2030]

It's really quite remarkable how the story resolves itself using the dour, depressing concepts that are built up throughout, in a way that is unusually optimistic given everything you've encountered on the way up. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget Cruelty Squad. Also I really want to say your use of Koyaanisqatsi's soundtrack, both for emotional impact, and for thematic relevancy, is fucking stellar.

[@bingoccolon]

this black frame is like a liminal space is probably one of my favourite jokes ever

[@prettyoddartofvolatile]

Went back here after Pyro's review His is more in-depth, but yours is more cathartic and and thematic *It's almost like sinking into a puddle of depression seamlessly.*

[@icecold1805]

From watching other videos, I think you are the only one educated and cultured enough to actually grasp the theme and topic in the way intended.

[@ancientcrypt]

and now pyrocynical is probably going to copy this entire guy's thesis

[@DemonDog17]

@@ancientcrypt lmao how wrong you were

[@dreinstar2352]

@@DemonDog17pyro didn’t copy it cause if he did he would have to actually say something meaningful

[@KnjazNazrath]

Bataille. Of course. If you can make sense of Bataille then Cruelty Squad is a cakewalk.

[@ScopeOperaSam]

The biggest thing that messed me up when first playing this game, was how the sound of gore and gibs bouncing around is just pitch-varied versions of Goldeneye's suppressed weapon sounds like the PP7. So blowing up corpses at first made me think i was being constantly shot at, feeding into that unrelenting feeling of panic and causing me to just hold the trigger until the only things left moving in the map were the vertices of my own N64 mass of flesh.

[@zaneplayx3176]

Holy damn. At 14:27, he just LOOKED at the target, killing him instantly. Incredible CEO mindset.

[@The15231]

There are weird mushrooms growing on my lawn. I really don't need this shit in my life right now.

[@toaster9922]

Imagine meeting the avatar of life who proceeds to tell you to get a CEO mindset

[@hippo_o_matic7985]

This channel is so high quality why is it not popular

[@necromech_]

5:05 sadly the rest of the flesh automatons on this planet don't want to use their higher brain power

[@logandarbz1257]

I love how your chapter names sound like the tracklist to the next Caretaker album

[@lovelyspeakingdude]

Bought the game because of first non-spoiler section of video. Now it's finished and I came back to see the rest. Amazing stuff, thank you. It's refreshing to hear magician speak about games.

[@awakege6337]

A good video to confirm if the meds are working.

[@ThefamousMrcroissant]

Wonderful analysis. I can't imagine how proud I would feel seeing this as the developer. Very professionally structured, well spoken and insightful.

[@themachineeatsitself]

This is probably one of the best, most through videos on Cruelty Squad i've seen thus far. Very nice.

[@Crowborn]

That final analysis was an incredible work. You are a genius for pairing Bataille's ideas with an edit of Pruit Igoe! Also the true ending is a reference to S[REDACTED]

[@wolfiecascade9589]

this is just a death grips song materialized into video game form, I love it

[@kevinwillems8720]

Have you heard the Death Grips mashups?

[@webkinskid]

This is the best video about Cruelty Squad on the internet. Thank you for making this.

[@majorghoul9017]

It's kinda cool how every sound in the game sounds like it's underwater

[@The15231]

This is the best review for the game I've seen. Like the game being weird is obviously a huge part of it, but I like how you're really matter of fact about it, and do your best to address the game as a whole. I think your restraint to the thematic analysis was probably the right choice, like the things you point out are already pretty valuable, and it keeps things concise.

[@splitlipceo6864]

Without your videos I wouldn't have embraced the CEO grindset, thank you

[@hedgehogkween]

This game looks like the kind of dark and weird that would usually turn me off to playing a game, but would definitely make me want to watch a youtube video about it. I think your voice helped, it's very soothing. Good job!

[@esseubot]

An AMAZING video, this channel deserves so much more love!

[@garlicbaby]

one of the best cruelty squad reviews/video essays ive seen, great stuff

[@djbananapeel3127]

this review is one for the history books, i fw it

[@tristanwh9466]

Incredible video, this is the first review I've seen that actually delves deeper into the game than surface level aesthetic responses and instead discusses the real beauty of the game

[@SwitchTF2]

By far the most sound analysis, especially regarding the endings. I appreciate that you also concede the possibility of a Shrek joke, lol.

The use of Koyaanisqatsi's soundtrack near the end, so good

[@_Cypher__]

Dude, I'm loving these guided tour videos they are very entertaining and interesting.

[@madshelberg7326]

Beautiful video. I wanted to explore the rest of Cruelty Squad after beating the last "regular level" but I was kind of discouraged since I lost my save and had to start all over. Seeing you cover the rest of the content in such an entertaining and informative way, has definitely inspired me to pick up the game in the near-future and give it a more thorough go.

[@Williwalker42]

I come back often to this video. It might actually be my favourite review of the game. Your channel is amazing and I love every video you post. Carry on the good work! Greetings from Germany xD

[@Soaps7]

10/10 analysis it fucked my brain up and I can’t appreciate anything anymore

[@immortalolive3576]

This is the perfect video for someone who was looking into this game. A similar video regarding the game DUSK would be awesome :D

[@aevitasunum9088]

This video seems to highlight a method of progress, told to you through the story and game of cruelty squad. It's conclusion in it's most blunt form is this. Excess wealth serves no purpose, to let it sit is to stagnate and go into an era of never changing. A life of the same, no progress or change. Repetition. Cruelty squad's suggestion to fix such a cruel fate is to simply give it away as does the sun with it's light, in which process other things may take the excess and use it to grow themselves in a spiral of expansion, growth and change. Cruelty squad to me seems to be about learning charity and not to become attached to something without purpose. Wealth is one such thing, it serves no purpose once obtained in excess and only grows and festers not unlike a tumor. Although I'm not saying having wealth is bad, cruelty squad specifically notes that wealth is required for growth and sustenance. You need it to expand who you are until you reach your limit as an individual. In the end it is just telling you that the excess of wealth, doomed to forever fester if it never finds a use may be better served in charity so others can grow and that the world may change because of it.

[@pepeboi1066]

The best review of Cruelty Squad. Very intricate and informative.

[@pizzacheeseman2854]

Also this is the best explanation of the plot I’ve found so fsr

[@nyquilfilthy7557]

By far the best video on cruelty squad. Big props! Definitely a game deserving of more thorough analysis

[@JimmyMcG33]

Thank you! I was hesitant to do a whole lore thing when the game was new but it's such a fun game to talk about.

[@yurimaoism]

I don’t really think of this as a game I think of it as it’s own creature

[@hungryhedgehog4201]

Tbf other games have audiovisual ammo indicators too. It's often a hollow rattling or clinking noise when your mag is about to be empty, not sure what that is symbolising but then again we also dont get the ability to feel the weight of a gun. Another common indicator is to have the last few rounds be tracer only a thing actually done for lmgs irl, granted this only really works for games that dont have constant tracers anyway.

[@TheVudubob]

In real life many guns actually do the opposite like getting higher pitch, without the weight and mass of the ammo in the magazine the firing noise resonates through the magazine differently...kinda like that trick where you blow across the top of a bottle and the amount of liquid in it determines the pitch of the sound it produces

[@Mikaroony]

I know I'm echoing what everyone else has said - but I really appreciate that you did more than talk about the absurdity of the game's visuals and actually analyzed everything. Showing this game to my friends I couldn't properly articulate why it was special, and the discussion without fail would just come down to how revolting they found the art style. Your analysis of the game is wonderful here

[@0000_v2]

"I'm big fan of the grappendix" I wouldn't have guessed, I mean you just used it for almost every clip we saw until this sentence lmao

[@frds_skce]

Oh shit, you're actually an 1.28k subs youtuber. I honestly never expected that. Judging by your analysis, i could see how you dive deeper into Cruelty Squad's lore more than other FPS content creator. Keep it going, mate. I'm a new subscriber of yours

[@nothonest604]

By far the best review out of any single one. i watch this just to hear how you talk about it. good job.

[@itryen7632]

This game is an egglike boomer shooter. Something i never thought i'd say.

[@papapanara1774]

Your guided review videos are so well made I watched your rain world one many times now

[@zacharyburns5017]

this video really puts my thoughts of this insane experience into words better than I could ever express. I don't know what it is about this game, but there's just something about it that just keeps drawing me in.

[@TheRealMiga]

29:05 I will never get used to that sound, even after hearing it a hundred times.

[@stingray5555]

This is the most fully fleshed out review I have seen

[@hrnekbezucha]

"If you have the CEO Mindset, you may be a millionaire early in the game. But I had to start grinding fishing to power up the transaction rifle."

[@boredkid1235]

This game reminds me a lot of Space Funeral. I love it.

[@cattusfattus6369]

Really nice chilled out commentary. Best vid on cruelty squad I've seen yet.

[@gallofilm]

absolutely beautiful. thank you so much for giving this game the true praise and recognition that it deserves, ever since i discovered this game i had been looking for another ceo that really saw and understood all the complexities that i did. bravo jimce.

[@StrangerAPOC]

Alight, I'm high as fuck, at first this was so bizarre, but now after watching to the end it starts makin sense

[@ReddCrystal]

One of if not THE best review/deconstruction of Cruelty Squad. Despite the beautifully strange and disgusting presentation, it's a piece of art that's still a fun game. The vibe, the kind of dialect its character uses, the community it could foster. I've played two indie games since 2021 began. Cruelty squad and ULTRAKILL. 2021 Indie games are 2 for 2 on me.

[@turtle7633]

still the best video on cruelty squad on youtube

[@pronoia6533]

This is just like Gorbino's Quest. This is the Gorbino's Quest of game reviews.

[@NOVAGUTZ_08]

what an amazing video to watch before i fall asleep. surely i will be well rested and not have any strange dreams

[@NOVAGUTZ_08]

the benadryl man has been chasing me for weeks

[@highlyregretted]

This is the greatest video about Cruelty squad I've ever seen

[@Benis6687]

One of the best videos I’ve seen in a while. Very epic.

[@R3m1ly]

good review, would like to add tho that random enemy spawns *are* a thing, the best example being in trauma loop right at the start where an armored enemy may or may not spawn. not a massive inconvenience, but it is there

[@gavnarthegreat1039]

This game is more like taking 1000mg of benadryl then anything acid does lol. Gonna have to pick it up, good video.

[@zeta09ehy]

loved the little music montages

[@beenis08]

This is not only the best review of this game, but also an astounding achievement on what comprehensive analysis really can be.

[@sagecolvard9644]

"Funkopops will outlive everyone on earth" is one of those existentially horrifying phrases that I suppose I already knew, but just hadn't though about.

[@stephenanthony5923]

This is the best analysis of Cruelty Squad on KZbin so far, but it will remain a fantastic video essay forever.

[@turtle7633]

This is a very thoughtful overview of cruelty squad. Please make more videos you’re great.

[@zurrag9798]

I love finding new long form essayists. Keep it up man, this was great.

[@Eranduck]

I haven’t enjoyed an FPS this much in a really long time. Great, thorough, thoughtful review of what has to be my favorite game of 2021

[@annaphorra]

just found this, definitely my favorite video on cruelty squad.

[@herbertpocket8855]

The dev finally made armor work properly lol. Now it actually does something

[@savasolarov8424]

I studied bachelor philosophy in uni. Didn't graduate, gave up exactly around the end. 11 years have passed. This video analysis is one of those things that makes me wanna go back, inspiring me to graduate. Thanks for the upload OP. The underlying ideas in the last video section is just next level.