Pleonasm is a fun word that I just discovered recently. It means making a redundant statement through unnecessary descriptions, such as “wet water” or “worthless NFT.” In this case, the word came up when using the phrase “silly Devolver title,” which I suppose is accurate. From My Friend Pedro to Wizard With A Gun, even the most serious of their games has a air of ridiculousness inherent, even if it’s more subtle (I struggle to find the hilarity in The Talos Principle). Nevertheless, while “silly” is certainly a well trodden ground for Devolver Digital, I think none stands out more than Cricket Through The Ages.

Trying to nail down exactly what Cricket Through the Ages is as a game is a difficult endeavor. It’s certainly story-driven, but the story is complete drivel and utterly unfactual. Positing that cricket has been the central force throughout mankind’s evolution, the game tracks the early days of cricket when it was just “violence,” up through the creation of the actual rules, how cricket then led to the invention of soccer and badminton, the World War that was actually based on cricket maneuvers, and, lastly, cricket propelling the space program and our continuation of cricket among the stars and with quantum computers. I don’t feel the need to elaborate on any of that because it’s so much to take in if you didn’t genuinely know it was all in jest.

To move forward in the game, each epoch of cricket play must be completed by the player, who is limited to one or two buttons in order to do anything. For the most part, you rely on the shoulder button as an all-in-one activator. Hold it to wind up (either with pitching or hitting) and then release to throw the ball or rock or shuriken or grenade (all legitimate objects in the game). There are moments where actual cricket scoring will come into play and you have to think about the wicket and the pitch and all that jazz, but other times you’re attempting to slam a bowling ball with a croquet mallet and you end up beheading your opponent and knocking an innocent duck out of the air.

Cricket Through the Ages makes no apologies about how utterly absurd it becomes. At no point do you ever find yourself in danger of actually playing cricket, and I openly question how well the developers researched the sport before making this title. The entire experience relies heavily on QWOP rules: physics is paltry at best and all the command is given into the belief that you can get better at the game and denying the truth that you can’t. There is definitely some form of control that comes into play, but it only works from space to space. For example, trying to control a space shuttle as it launches into the heavens is very different from throwing a grenade at advancing Russian forces, and both happen in the space of about ten minutes of gameplay. 

During the actual “cricket” elements (and the World War element), players will be asked to work their way through a tournament of sorts which is the only really competitive aspect of the single player game. You can choose which team you represent in each of these circuits, though I’ll admit it was odd offering Germany as a choice during the World War area. Regardless, championship ends with an encounter with the Queen of England, whether you’re getting knighted or simply surrendering, because we still won’t change history in that regard.

Straight up, from beginning to end, Cricket Through the Ages only asked that I push a single button and keep moving forward. So much of this game just felt like sheer luck: the weight of the ball and the bat changed drastically from whether I was wielding a cricket bat, a baseball bat, a ball-and-chain flail, a simple badminton shuttlecock or a live grenade.

Holding and releasing wasn’t completely arbitrary but it certainly felt that way at times, especially as the cricket game would suddenly pivot with other elements coming into play. Maybe it was rainy outside, or the players were giant, or, more than once, both teams were drunk. Nothing was consistent and I had to quickly and wildly adjust every time the next round started. It was like classic WarioWare but based entirely around a sport I’ve never played.

Throughout, the dulcet tones of the narrator keep players engaged in all of the wacky moments of pivotal cricket history. While this really could have been something where ballistic physics and silliness carry the whole premise, working together a narrative that is at once convincing and utter nonsense kept me fully on board with the tale being woven together. I firmly believe that, in the distant future, Ultra Cricket will be the sport of everyone, asking 42 points to be scored and for physical combat to resolve who gets to be at bat for each and every inning. The conviction behind the tale makes it worthwhile to behold, and it made sure my daughter and I were locked in from start to finish.

There isn’t really an ending to Cricket Through the Ages. Even after unlocking all the available chapters, you can continue to enjoy it in multiple aspects. The Games of Olympus challenge players to try their hand at Olympic-adjacent events with the same degree of control that they’ve had the entirety of the game. The aforementioned Ultra Cricket is skill-based fun because the CPU seems equally as confused about what’s happening. And yes, multiplayer means that anyone and everyone can join in on whatever trainwreck of a sport this may be. I could even play it on the Switch Lite because relying on just shoulder buttons means not needing a lot of dexterity sharing the console between two people. Plus, with the condition being “hold and release this button,” everyone could participate without needing a whole tutorial.

Now, the chief complaint might be that Cricket Through the Ages is short and dumb. My entire recommendation hinges on the fact that it is short and dumb. You don’t need more than a few minutes to play a round, and you can run the “story” from start to finish in the time it takes to finish the average romantic comedy. There doesn’t need to be a greater message or even a stronger framework to make something that’s good, clean fun. Sure, people blowing up and getting decapitated in the realm of a game might be more violent than you’d expect, but it’s so ridiculous there’s never a moment of morbidity. If you accidentally throw your bowling ball straight up, hit yourself in the head, and then knock over your opponent’s wicket when your body spasmodically throws away your sword, that’s just a win in my book.

There’s nothing wrong with having a fun time for the sake of itself, and Cricket Through the Ages is classic and proud in this position. Go ahead and learn things wrong. Build quantum computers with a hammer. Drink beer better than your fellow football hooligan. Knock down a wicket with a bow and arrow. Deliver a killer bowl as a T-Rex. It’s all possible here, and it’s as fun to watch as it is to play. Don’t ask for a deeper meaning or an unlockable secret ending: just go play cricket, or whatever the hell this is.

Graphics: 6.0 Roughly hewn pixels do the job of creating a silly and floppy world, and there’s certainly plenty of variety in textures and characters. However, smaller sprites can lead to genuine frustration in trying to play, and the visual aspect is really vestigial to the game overall.	Gameplay: 7.0 One would think a single button experience could become boring, but there’s plenty of supposed strategy in gameplay and execution. The concept doesn’t always work: certain Olympus events function terribly (wrestling), but that’s part of the overall charm.
Sound: 9.0 The wet thuds of the cricket bat on human heads is satisfying, and I never didn’t chuckle at the dismayed quack of a duck brought low. The narration is absolutely bang on and makes the entire voyage a delight to hear and to have conveyed.	Fun Factor: 10 It’s such good, simple fun to be in possession of the bat and to go to town, but it’s also hilarious to be the bowler and attempt to do grevious harm as well as knock over the wicket. The controls make any wins exceptionally exciting and losses a mere shrug: you can’t help but smile throughout the journey.
Final Verdict: 8.0

Cricket Through the Ages is available now on Steam, Apple Arcade and Nintendo Switch.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of Cricket Through the Ages was provided by the publisher.