Cricket Through the Ages Review: A Brief History of Wacky Sports

Cricket Through the Ages is the latest wacky offering from South African indie studio Free Lives, the clever minds behind Broforce and Genital Jousting. Just as the name suggests, it aims to take players on a journey through the history of cricket – but anyone expecting an accurate history lesson should leave now! This is cricket…but not as you know it.

Instead, Free Lives delivers an absurdist tall tale that uses the sport as a loose framework for all kinds of ridiculous scenarios across different eras. According to the game’s deadpan narrator, cricket has been around since cavemen times and eventually led to innovations like soccer, the space program, and quantum computing. The way they tell it, cricket is responsible for pretty much all human progress! Of course, none of this is meant to be factual, but that’s part of the charm.

At its core, Cricket Through the Ages is really just an excuse to batter your friends (or A.I. opponents) with everything from boulders to grenades to laser swords, all while trying not to fall on your face too often. If you’re looking for a serious cricket simulator, this ain’t it chief. But if you want a fun way to kill 15 minutes with some buddies, laughing at the chaos unfolding on screen, Cricket Through the Ages might just tickle your funny bone.

Wacky One-Button Action Across History

Cricket Through the Ages keeps things incredibly simple when it comes to controls – maybe even too simple. Basically everything is handled with a single button, whether you’re holding a sword, bowling ball, badminton racket or even just your flailing limbs. Tap the button to start spinning your arm in circles like a windmill, building up momentum. Release to let fly whatever you’re holding and try to bop your opponent. You can also tap lightly to wobble your little legs forward or backward across each era’s arena.

That level of accessibility is both a blessing and a curse. On the plus side, anyone can easily dive right into the chaos, whether they have years of gaming chops or can barely tell a PS5 from an Xbox. Special moves? Combo chains? Ha, no such complexity here! But on the downside, you don’t have a ton of control over your ragdoll warrior as the physics rages on. Prepare for plenty of face plants, whiffs and other embarrassments as you get the hang of things across the different game modes.

As the eons pass from the Stone Age to space battles, you’ll alternate between attacking and defending, trying to be the first to 10 points. The weapons and gear vary wildly, keeping things fresh – one minute you’ve got a bow and arrow, the next a laser sword or hand grenade. Modes like Ash’s World Cup and the Olympics twist and evolve the formula in amusing ways.

And best of all, this party game supports local multiplayer, so you can go head-to-head or co-op with friends for bonus hilarity. Just be warned that the farther you progress, the wonkier the physics seems to get. Let’s just say certain modes like the Olympic climbing event get…frustrating.

So if you’ve got 15 minutes to kill and are in the mood for some goofy couch competition, Cricket Through the Ages should deliver a quick burst of chaotic entertainment. But beyond that initial novelty, its one-button guts start to feel shallow and limiting. This cricket match is fun while it lasts, but probably won’t go down in the history books.

Battling Through the Crazy Ages

The main story mode in Cricket Through the Ages will take you on a journey from the Stone Age to the distant sci-fi future, unlocking new eras and variants as you go. After the tutorial gauntlet against dinosaurs and cavemen, you’ll move on to medieval warfare, then attempt to actually play something resembling normal cricket in the 1866 era. But don’t go dusting off your white uniforms just yet – “normal” is relative here. Even the standard cricket has special chaos rules enabling drunken play!

As you reach the 20th century eras, warfare breaks out across the cricket pitch and things escalate from grenades to laser swords. Finally, you’ll battle on spaceships and far-future alien planets before competing for quantum domination. The presentation and narration give each era unique flavor, with laughs around every corner. I lost it when the World War era forced me into a sudden death tiebreaker…as a crab person against a centaur! You just never know what absurd twist is coming next.

Of all the eras, Ash’s World Cup (set in 1902) stands out by actually adhering to cricket principles fairly closely. As bowler or batter you’ll still be trying to lob balls past each other, not just weapons. Though whacking your friend’s pitcher senseless with a bat is also encouraged for bonus points! For pure chaotic fun, I have to shout out Ultra Cricket in the distant future era. Trying to score 42 quantum runs against an opponent with jousting sticks and laser blades is a special kind of madness.

The only real letdown comes in the final Olympic era. Modes like equestrian jumping and high diving seem like they should be fun in theory. But when you’re battling wonky physics on top of the baseline one-button controls, the frustration outweighs the enjoyment here. I found myself breathe a sigh of relief once I finally got through to the credits.

So while Cricket Through the Ages might wear out its welcome in the late eras, the beginning journey is still one wild ride packed with humor. Just be prepared for things to escalate from enjoyable to eyebrow-raising levels of absurdity by the finale!

Visuals and Audio That Match the Mayhem

You wouldn’t expect cutting edge, AAA-level graphics from a goofy indie game like Cricket Through the Ages, and you won’t find them. Instead, the visuals opt for a simple, almost primitive pixel art style with bright colors and basic character models. The ragdoll physics provides plenty of entertainment watching your warrior flop haplessly around the screen even if the backgrounds themselves are fairly static. It’s a perfect match for the fast-paced nonsense. I wouldn’t call it a visual triumph, but the graphics deliver exactly what they need to.

The same goes for audio elements like music and sound. The soundtrack stays firmly in the background, happy to let the narrator and in-game sound effects take center stage. Speaking of the narrator, his deadpan delivery absolutely makes the experience. With utmost seriousness, he guides us through the complete historical fabrication that is Cricket Through the Ages lore. Hearing him straight-facedly explain how quantum cricket led to the invention of teleporters or how England conquered Europe through cricket maneuvers heightens the absurdity factor infinitely. I was chuckling nonstop thanks to his contributions.

Of course, with weapons and bodies flying every which way, the smacks, splats and explosions also deliver delightful chaos to your eardrums. I’ll never forget the dismayed quacks of a duck accidentally wiped out mid-flight by a stray grenade. It’s the little details like that which make Cricket Through the Ages just as much silly fun to watch and listen to as it is to actually play.

Could the presentation have been punchier with a livelier soundtrack or more detailed graphics? Sure. But Cricket Through the Ages nails the fundamentals with panache. Like the rest of this unapologetically zany package, the audiovisual garnish matches the vibe perfectly even if it isn’t Michelin star worthy.

Enjoyable Chaotic Bursts, But Lacks Staying Power

Cricket Through the Ages makes no bones about the fact that it is designed for quick hits of multiplayer mayhem rather than solo marathon sessions. Matches are fast and frenetic by nature – most can be settled in under 5 minutes even against the AI.

This makes it easy to cram a few rounds during a short break without having to invest a ton of consecutive hours. I had fun reviving this one every so often when friends came over, just for some fast and mindless entertainment. The zany premise and ease of access facilitates that.

However, once you’ve cycled through all the eras and unlocked everything there is to offer, Cricket Through the Ages struggles to sustain itself over longer stretches. There simply isn’t enough depth or variety to the formula to prevent repetitiveness from settling in. The physics and controls start to feel more frustrating than fun after extended playtimes. I’d bet most players will exhaust the joke after 8-10 hours at the absolute max.

That’s perfectly fine though – Cricket Through the Ages doesn’t pretend to offer an endless smorgasbord or esports-level competitiveness. It’s designed to be a short and sweet party game romp, best enjoyed in half-hour bursts with buddies on the couch rather than solo marathons. Within that scope and context, it delivers exactly the dose of chaotic, goofy fun it aims for. Just don’t expect to sustain a long-term lifestyle playing quantum cricket against dinosaurs. Aficionados of rapid-fire local multiplayer will get the most kicks here.

Absurd Fun That Outstays Its Welcome

If we judge Cricket Through the Ages purely on how well it achieves its core goal – delivering absurd chaos and laughter – then it undoubtedly knocks it out of the park. The silly premise, escalating eras, quirky narration and wonky physics combine into a perfect storm of weirdness that will have you chuckling at its sheer ridiculousness. As a party game intended for occasional bursts of fun rather than marathon single player sessions, it’s a recipe for success.

However, that simplicity comes with a cost. By boiling its control scheme down to just one main input button, Cricket Through the Ages severely limits the player’s influence over matches. Expect to spend as much time face-planting helplessly as you do actually executing sweet plays. Add in the temperamental physics engine and late game modes that seem to completely break, and enjoyment often makes way for pure frustration.

So while I had an absolute blast playing through the first few eras with friends, laughing at the over-the-top lunacy unfolding on screen, the limited controls and physics issues wore down my goodwill over time. Cricket Through the Ages is undoubtedly at its best as a social experience rather than a solo activity. Those looking for deeper gameplay complexity or longevity may come away disappointed once the shallowness becomes apparent underneath the humor.

But maybe that shallowness is partially the point – this game was never meant to be picked apart under a critical microscope or binged for 40 hours straight. It sets out to provide quick hits of couch competition and achieves that in spades through sheer force of personality. Just don’t expect much more depth than its absurd premise suggests. If you enjoy flailing around hilariously for a few matches at a time, Cricket Through the Ages will scratch that itch nicely. I’d call that a qualified success even if it could have used a bit more craft to elevate the concept.

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