Consumer Softproducts’ follow-up to 2021’s shared fever dream, Cruelty Squad, is now listed on Steam. Psycho Patrol R is now available for wishlisting, though there is no announced release window.
I had noticed Consumer Softproducts tinkering around with a mech game since the release of Cruelty Squad, but with such things, sometimes an end result is never seen. However, it’s looking more likely with the official name and fancy store page.
Psycho Patrol R has you play as a federal police officer of the eponymous Psycho Patrol. You’re tasked with piloting a V-Stalker to solve “mental crime, among other things.” It bills itself as a “combination of high-intensity tactical FPS combat” and takes place in an open, non-linear world. You’re also able to customize the equipment on your stompy V-Stalker, which I think is an unwritten law in the world of mech games. It also appears that you will be spending some time outside of your robot womb and can engage in thrilling conversations about cryptocurrency with executives.
Right now, it looks like Psycho Patrol R will tone down the garish and nauseatingly surreal colors of Cruelty Squad, but the game’s graphics still scream jank-pop. I think I might have been disappointed if it didn’t.
I reviewed Cruelty Squad back in 2021. I called out its deliberately stilted gameplay, referring to it as “a purposeful desecration of the holy grounds of game design.” That was one of the first times I was quoted on Wikipedia, but the phrase was eventually expunged from the article to make room for more favorable acclamations. I meant it as a compliment. Cruelty Squad has been living in my brain ever since and is probably the source of trauma that has driven me into the arms of similar jank-pop titles.
Psycho Patrol R is currently set for release on PC, though no release window has been stated.
