The Bizarre Beauty of Cruelty Squad

[@LeonMassey]

So it literally just went on sale store.steampowered.com/app/1388770/Cruelty_Squad/

[@dogfrogbird8710]

Good

[@Ribbons0121R121]

1 month ago

[@denisvodovozov1099]

My eyes literally hurt. 10/10 video. 10/10 game.

[@ZeallustImmortal]

This year its had a ton of sales too.

[@ultrarising2983]

The best line I have heard about this game: "the developer put 100% effort in making this game as best as they could and then put 200% effort into making it look like they didn't" (Edit: holy shit I'm top comment)

[@hisradiancelordnasty]

yeah that’s fucking gnarly. i love games like that

[@LunarySSF2]

"visuals looking like the feeling of stepping on a Lego"

[@SekruTheGreat]

And to the surprise of literally no-one this game is made by a Finnish person...

[@rayline1583]

That...actually checks out more than I want to admit. (My second guess was East European...)

[@therandomdickhead5744]

Makes sense

[@roboticjanitor3332]

"Finland, one of the countrys of all time" -Martincitopants.

[@drfudgecookie5800]

A very handsome one at that. Check his Twitter to see what I mean.

[@moistjohn]

:-DDDDDD

[@JetStream0509]

Cruelty Squad seems like it was made by someone who knows enough about User Experience and good visuals in order to flip that on it's head and create something that looks and feels awful in a way that someone who doesn't know how to do good UX cant replicate. Basically, you gotta know the rules to break them, and by god did the cruelty squad devs know the rules.

[@salty_3k506]

yeah, it's hard to make things disgustingly wrong. usually, when something is bad, it's just bland and bad but cruelty squad wants to be offputting which is a style choice, not a lack of skill.

[@majorghoul9017]

My favourite part of Cruelty Squad's graphics is how the glass is always either pink or green so you can always see it

[@DoodleWill]

Cruelty Squad best fighting game. You, fighting the UI.

[@tek212111]

Cruelty Squad is like someone turned "the worst website ever" into an immersive sim.

[@tavrincallas3218]

I love what SuperBunnyhop said in his review of this game: the visuals of Cruelty Squad were made by somebody who knew what they were doing and deliberately decided to break every rule when it comes to visual representation

[@majorghoul9017]

Reminds me of a similar quote I recall from a steam review: "The developer put a ton of effort into this game, then put in even more effort to make it look like they didn't"

[@tavrincallas3218]

@@majorghoul9017 incredibly accurate!

[@ZeallustImmortal]

1:30 Okay but can we talk about this perfectly executed double assassination? Like you just added this and most watchers dont realize just how smooth that was

[@Zippsterman]

When the weird manager guy tells you he's dosed you with an unknown drug cocktail, the rest of the visuals make a lot more sense

[@GumshoeClassic]

If there's one thing Cruelty Squad has taught me it's that I'm a pussy when it comes to colours. The gameplay brought me in, the headaches sadly got me out of it.

[@LeonMassey]

I had stress dreams after it, and I'm 9000% sure it's not related but everything was cruelty squad colors

[@prod.kidmizu]

This game is literally cursed but I love it

[@RedFoxLevel101]

And here I thought I was the only person obsessed with ultrakill pilotredsun and Fighting games. Who would've thought.

[@ieatatsonic]

Knew you'd be here

[@lullaboid]

there are dozens of us! dozens!

[@Artersa]

Pilot red sun ftw

[@ShivaM-dc4xe]

I think I have found my brother

[@Architector_4]

if your local mp3 collection doesn't include pilotredsky's music what are you even doing

[@Goomenstein]

As an artist I appreciate the comment at 0:30 a ton. A lot of people who don't do creative work seem to find it difficult to grasp that being creative does not require any stimulants.

[@quantumblauthor7300]

And that the artist probably had to buckle down and spend tons of agonizingly sober hours working to create the "druggy" finished product

[@freshlymemed5680]

Great to see more of these kinds of vids. Never saw you as "That fighting game youtuber" and more as "Holy shit its Leon Massive". Hope you do more of these kinds of vids.

[@dougneon9550]

Leon MASSIVE (Doesn't help that he's a Brit)

[@Ottrond]

yes

[@CharlesLeSorcier]

There is an opening in chess called the Bongcloud that has been a meme in the chess community for a long time. The move is so elegantly and precisely self destructive that an inexperienced player would never think to do it. It's a "bad" move that requires an *understanding* of chess for you to even consider using it. Much like how cruelty squad's aesthetic is "ugly" art made by someone with an *understanding* of what makes art pleasing to look at. There are plenty of amateurish games and asset flips that also look ugly. These games aren't bad because they are ugly, they are bad because they are *incidentally* ugly. What makes Cruelty Squad good is that it is *elegantly* ugly.

[@mr.bluesky4130]

The way I describe Cruelty Squad as someone who didn’t make it past level 3, it is too powerful in its aesthetic. It has too much power. It is a monolith of absurdity.

[@GameOSaurusChaosC]

Honestly, Cruelty Squad inspired me to start making more art in a similar kind of style because I never thought there was much of an audience for it before it came out.

[@300IQPrower]

“This is what i imagine you’re like” That is the highest compliment i’ve ever received, bar none.

[@yourmanjimbo]

I’ve played enough of Cruelty Squad that all of this looks completely normal. Not even joking

[@trisser39]

ceo mindset

[@wuhoh5277]

I legitimately can't play this game It opens up this nostalgic loneliness and terror of a world where nothing is right and i'm all alone amongst the choatic horror The feeling is so familiar but I have no idea why...it's honestly kinda creepy it feels like my mind is keeping something from me

[@troublewakingup]

Go to a therapist

[@xyz39808]

go watch early 90s cg animations like The Gate series of VHS tapes

[@RillianGrant]

Yes, you're inside a simulation. That's suppressed memories of the outside world.

[@wuhoh5277]

@@RillianGrant then can I stay in the simulation?

[@RillianGrant]

@@wuhoh5277 As long as you mindlessly "consoom" and toe the line. If you don't go looking for it then you won't find it.

[@DiamorphineDeath]

If one considers Deleuze’s concept of the Rhizome, and how one can reorientate say...aspects of design and utilize them in creative ways as a respect for the thing itself utilized; instead of thinking of it as a “shittier version of what technology is now.” If one takes away the linear conception of forward progress in games, then the use of these random gradients, and textures, and colors becomes something entirely different as it’s not representational to something else. It is not a game using limitations to try and mimic a modern beautiful game, but instead exploring originality in its use of these mechanisms for their own sake, not in an ironic or sort of failed imitation of something else. That’s why it feels so good in the game, it follows its own internal logic that could not have been developed using other means in the same way. And attempting to imagine another game doing this is just creating a simulation of a twice removed secondary product in the same way trying to imagine Cruelty Squad as being related to a AAA game

[@WolfXGamerful]

It really takes _some_ understanding to be able to break every rule in the book at once.

[@prod.kidmizu]

When I first heard of this game I thought it was some old game from the early 2000s that I never heard of. Only to look it up and see its a fairly new game. That's what makes it even more interesting. Ville Kallio could've easily made a pixel art looking indie game, or something more safe and relatable. But he made this beautiful mess.

[@boateye]

I love both your FG and Non-FG content. Excited to watch this!

[@AstridRuna]

Agreed.

[@riz3778]

"i wonder when leon is gonna upload new vid" *leon uploads* "welp, there's my answer"

[@freshlymemed5680]

I checked his Twitch page to see if he streamed recently (he hasnt) then I go back to youtube to find this.

[@phosufofulickylicky]

>Friday >skipped school >new Leon Massive vid >instantly the best day I've experienced in a while Jokes aside, I love your vids man. Your analyses are always great and very entertaining to watch because of your sense of humor. Honestly I wish you do a metal gear solid 3 review someday just to hear what you have to say about it.

[@rr-fh4kn]

Leon, you are a welcome addition to my small but dearly held collection of video game essay/analysis channels, most of which are names I'm convinced you know of. Shammy, Joseph Anderson, Mandalore, NeverKnowsBest, Civvie11, many others, and now you, all bring light to games that are enjoyable in their own right, but gain so much depth when you add yourself to them. Your voice is unique and well expressed in your delivery. I can't wait to see more regardless of what the topic is. The Jump Arcs video was a great first step. On this trajectory, you're merely in the startup frames of a superjump.

[@onyxrin1946]

I gotta say that you've got some good taste there might as well contribute some of my favourite channels for this sorta stuff Jimmy McGee, Whitelight, Adam Millard Jacob Geller & Leadhead And i am more than happy to add Leon to this slowly expanding collection

[@Jordan_F]

Based civvie11 fan? Honestly thanks for this list of new channels to add to my game apologists, liam triforces, running shines, and geek critiques.

[@thesynthpub6511]

Cruelty squad is literally a Nietzschien game design-wise.

[@Richy0326]

The entire game feels like trying to figure out how to do something you don't know how to do while you're dreaming.

[@matthewbazinet]

When I played this I had to write an essay on it. Love your perspective on it. Your thoughts on the border explained something I didn't quite understand. I got very lost at points and now I understand why.

[@EEEdoman]

Cruelty Squad was already my favorite game this year but I didn't expect it to also lead to me finding a great channel. Great vid!

[@LegalPhantom]

Ahhhhhh, yes. Alexa, play “TOXIC CRISIS”

[@timmitytom]

That intro, describing the familiar attraction to all kinds of bizarre and abstract media, that's what made me sub. And also the sick ass Unity house.

[@abrittishpanfish6269]

to quote Neocranium watching It Follows, "This guy knows what to do, but he then decides when NOT to do it"

[@Grundleburger]

I love your look at the game from an aesthetic standpoint, there is also obviously a lot of thematic stuff going on in regards to consumerism and violence and the role they play in an economic system.

[@ricardosilveira3958]

I have watched a bunch of Cruelty Squad reviews. I have played the game. I tune into new ones just to see the unique way a new player gets their brain melted.

[@roccosmos1913]

everytime i look at any footage of this, i wanna die

[@stupidgoop]

Thank you for upgrading me from colorblind to regular blind, love your vids

[@connormcneilly8829]

Really happy you made a video about cruelty squad. More people need to play this game.

[@Shethwind]

I watched this in 3 chunks because it was making me physically ill. Part of why i play so many fighting games is the fixed perspective that isnt as susceptible to simulation sickness, but this is quite the speed record. A lot of smart work to unpack for sure, thanks for sharing.

[@bsantini3616]

I have never played this game and barely seen it so all I can really say to nearly 12 minutes of staring at it while a video plays is that I never thought my eyes would want to crawl out of my skull.

[@mishatarkus]

Nice to branch out from FG content, got to keep yourself fresh. Would love more videos like this. Had the chance to play Deathloop yet? Feels like discourse around that entire game has been sorta poisoned recently.

[@mishatarkus]

@Sleeping God Critics showered it with 10s either because Bethesda money or as repentance for giving Prey, a well regarded game, a pretty terrible time. In response, every youtuber rightfully went 'what the fuck, the game has flaws', which it does, but it ended up becoming a 'bad game reviewers gave 10s because muh SJWs love black protags and they got paid off' rather than any indepth discussion of its merits.

[@mobclutch349]

dear diary, today Massey made a video on a game I'm not dogshit at. I enjoyed it. I will now huff several sockfulls of paint and enter a fugue state while listening to the song from the office level.

[@casualbiscuit]

I just listened to Leon Massey talk about Cruelty Squad for 11 minutes, and I still don’t know what this game is

[@sukamii]

Cruelty Squad is my 2021 GOTY practically uncontested. One of those games that just scratches every single itch I have when it comes to games.

[@Crop_Hubert]

Looking at this game makes me want to vomit Can't wait to play it

[@avion3033]

I think you worded this video beautifully super great content!

[@savage7882]

The suburb area in cruelty squad is a very good simulator for what it feels like to live in Milton Keynes

[@superfurfannyaa1864]

LEON THANK YOU THIS IS MY FAVORITE GAME

[@lemelon7424]

Color of the LIFE is exactly what you need to know, I have yet to bother looking at the number, often times i heal depending on the color and since it is big enough, you can just take a glance and know your status. The fact that hp number is small makes it difficuly for color blind individuals, that is for sure, but other than that, the big goo makes things easier imo.

[@notsandwich2322]

Whenever I see gameplay of this piece of whatever cruelty squad is, I get the distinct feeling of how I felt when I first saw space funeral. It was clearly wrong. Evoking familiar shapes and structures but all wrong and different for the sake of making you uncomfortable. And that's what cruelty squad is, its uncomfortable.

[@gengarisnotinsmash...]

9:42 DoA players in a nutshell.

[@C_cotobuki]

Even though I love Leon Massey videos and Cruelty Squad, this video didn't show in my subscriptions. The algorithm is a cruel mistress.

[@Killtime1013]

"All you need to know is JIGGLE GOOD." Hell yeah it is.

[@ewanphilip5604]

This was such a strange video to watch. I find your manner of speaking very calming but the visuals gave me my anxiety back

[@stinkystink9830]

the clashing textures make it easier to play when you're on acid so good on em for that one

[@tysonxavierz]

Great video as always! It was really a engaging watch.

[@MrCaptnWafflez]

Obligatory interaction to fuel the algorithm gods

[@Living_Target]

This is just Perfect Dark with a Hotline Miami filter on top.

[@LobotomyPatient]

I love your video essays man, keep it up

[@echo5172]

*Time to set the mood* "Alexa, play Bog Business"

[@MoluskToeCheese]

Love this game And I also love seeing what other types of game FG players are into

[@ironichoneybadger5066]

The developer was a digital artist that had a very similar style to the final game before the game even was conceptualized I really like this art it’s very fine

[@iaman-thony]

The style struck me as a part of the excess message. It's not just woah drugs d00d

[@Scourgething]

Calling garish coloration a clown blender is certainly something i haven't heard before.

[@nentendoboy12]

Bizarre that despite the visuals doing their best to be vague and hard to process visually, several of the weapons are still recognizable. I spotted an Uzi that someone put a lot of work into bastardizing with accessories, and then an USAS-12 that weirdly enough they just left plain.

[@TalkingRaven_]

To add to the praises that this game gets. It's just genuinely a good fkin game with solid mechanics and level design. Even if someone remade the game to have conventional visuals, it would still work well (though the visuals certainly is one of the biggest reasons that it garnered a lot of attention).

[@neolindell3604]

just noticed that he sounds a shit ton like pyrocynical

[@TravTravRA]

god i wish you never pointed that out, now i hear it

[@Jackvonblood]

I wish I didn't read this because I'm probably going to hear that forever, now.

[@deadsonic8907]

Cruelty Squad The creation of Street Fighter's Twelve

[@net6403]

*slams fists on table* WHERE IS THE *BALLS FISH VILLE* *P L E A S E*

[@bluemarb1e787]

Melty came out and u said “lol cruelty time”

[@RunningOnAutopilot]

Imagine playing this with a 360 degree mod

[@M4TTYN]

ooh that funny vidja man posted on the 1st of spooky month Pog luv ya Leon funny vidja person.

[@Halucygeno]

Playing this game felt like an interactive, feature-length PilotRedSun video...

[@spottedjedi6710]

i like how he classifies jack's music as strange lol

[@ZeroGum]

Reminds me of Post Void a lot, although this might be a little easier on the eyes and a little more thought out.

[@LeonMassey]

Post void physically hurts me to play, it's very good but OWWWWW

[@teratoma.]

0:05 i laughed for a min straight at this and idk why

[@ethanlundberg3901]

babe wake up new leon massey video

[@hiigobybisquick5351]

dude why isn't video being recommended? I'm subbed and this hasn't shown up. KZbin pulled a f*cky

[@mineovernutter]

game looks like the feeling of standing up too fast

[@hgoggs]

Another important thing to mention is that throughout the entire game the mc is literally on drugs, the handler warns the player that they may feel off due to the “combat cocktail” and the visual style of the game helps convey this

[@catpurrito5586]

nah its canon that the world just look like this cause the future has become so insane

[@joseluisredondotello5289]

So i take it as you are learning to code to start a project? Cooooool, good luck with that and i hope you can show it sometime. (From a wannabe graphic programmer, getting there XD)

[@ApacheSmash]

Absolute banger video Leon m8

[@lloytron9105]

Anyone what game is that hes showing in the background at 0:07 ?

[@superfurfannyaa1864]

YOOO THATS LIKE GORBINOS QUEST

[@dababy7400]

It’s like the bowling ally carpet

[@marafolse8347]

It’s weird to see these kind of visuals in a widely praised and successful game for 20 dollars when in 2013 I was playing games with the same look and feel by Lilith and Thecatamites for free

[@DoomRater]

And this is why you have a spot in the waiting room on my modded Minecraft server (well your mannequin, nice Faust avatar by the way)

[@ryugalul3414]

4:28 holy shit i didn't even notice there was some kind of frame around the screen, i was too focused on the game itself wtf

[@tardwranglerwithouttheb]

This is like if merzbow music was a game.

[@delightfulcake2850]

game looks like an acid trip

[@TyroOfMerp]

I am simple man, I see Leon, I click

[@chrisTHEcunning]

0:06 you think I'm jimsterling

[@Kirex17]

This is just like gorbino's quest!

[@htwo1]

Something something Developers something something Drugs something something Train Tracks

[@meepmeep9943]

Damn right shame this only has like 11k views compared to the fighting game content

[@RycoreXIII]

3:32 oh good lord anything but Edwardo PunkDuck.

[@twenty_twenty_four]

Really good art analysys

[@krintastic]

Some areas give me the same vibe as the demonic mansion in Thief Gold