Video games and cricket have a bumpy history. Something about the mechanics and techniques required in cricket make it difficult to translate into a game. Throw into the mix the fact that it’s not universally popular like Football is, and you realise that the development budgets will always be far lower. Big Ant turned all of this on its head with it’s release of Cricket 19 - a game they continued to update and add to until earlier this year still. Cricket 22 is their latest release, hoping to expand on the positives of Cricket 19, and fix some of the issues.



READ MORE: Nexus Game of the Year Awards 2021

After spending a lot of hours with Cricket 22, I can easily say that it’s the most complete cricket game to date. That might not be saying much considering previous games leave a lot to be desired. There’s also a lot that can still be improved.

Playing on the PS5, I really wanted to believe Big Ant when they said it was the best looking cricket game ever. Admittedly, it looks better than older games, but the differences in visuals and aesthetics is honestly negligible when compared to Cricket 19. If the games makes use of the power behind the PS5 then it is so subtle it isn’t even noticeable. Even visual options are missing, with the only one available being increases or decreases to “gamma”. You won’t find a “performance” or “quality” mode here.



Stadiums look a little less bland, players maybe look a little less copy/paste and even the kit, balls and bats look a bit too cartoon-like. The lack of licensing for some of the players and teams doesn’t help, but even for the official teams it could be a lot better than it is. Is it better than Cricket 19? Yes, probably, but not by much.

Cricket 22 does have more licences than ever before. A number of teams and tournaments across the globe are included (particularly as part of the Big Bash in Australia) and the newly introduced "The Hundred". As a cricketing purist, I don’t care too much for the fast and frenetic competitions, but it’s good to see them as part of the game. Even more impressive is the Ashes licence that is included for the men and women side of the tournament. It’s a pity that the rest of the game is not as well presented. It’s also a great pity that the IPL is not licensed, nor are a number of other national teams.



As a South African, not having SA licensed teams is always a bit disappointing, but as with Cricket 19, community creations are available to download so you can get your favourite excluded players and teams. Unfortunately there seems to be a bit of an issue with downloading some of these and my console continuously crashes when searching the community for players and team (an issue which is not specific to me, but is specific to the PS5 apparently). The developers have already released a number of patches so this should be fixed soon, but it was a bit disappointing not to have the option at launch. The whole community download centre could also be a bit more user friendly - but we take what we get.

The biggest improvement in Cricket 22 comes with the career mode. I recall playing Donald Bradman Cricket years ago and being so impressed with the fact that there was even a career mode at all, even if it was quite hollow. Cricket 19 improved somewhat in terms of the career mode, but it still felt a bit empty at its core. Cricket 22 has taken it a few notches up with interviews, career decisions, training sessions and more during the course of your career. It’s finally more than just creating a player and playing matches. The skill upgrade is more intuitive and streamlined too, and a lot less overwhelming in terms of choices. It’s still nothing like the career modes in all the major sport games, but it’s a big step for cricket games. There’s nothing better than taking your rookie player through their club career and eventually making it to the national team and playing in big competitions. Getting that first 50, or your first wicket always feels great as you build your career.



In terms of gameplay, there doesn’t seem to be much change here. There is a new control scheme for newcomers where you can select a type of shot by using the standard buttons on the control, but for veterans of the game this feels largely unnatural and I soon resorted to the right stick control to hit the ball. Picking a shot type, timing your shots and your footwork selection when batting are key and can take some time to get used to the mechanics. Essentially, there’s very little difference in terms of batting compared to Cricket 19.

Bowling is largely the same too, although the presentation is a little bit different and in general makes it much easier to manage. You no longer pick a spot on a radar, but rather have a bar that goes up and down where you need to time it in the correct spot to get the best release. Added to the bowling armoury is the ability to use “aftertouch”. This allows you to add a bit of swing or movement off the pitch at the last minute should you need to. It can be a bit finicky to get the hang of, but does add an enjoyable element to what can sometimes feel a bit laboured when bowling.



Fielding also sees some updates when throwing at the wickets, you can now pick a side and also whether to go for the stumps or rather take a safer approach. There is a small risk/reward element here whereby if you go for the stumps and time it wrong, there is a chance of overthrows, however if you hit the wicket then it’s worth the risk. Going for the safer throw option reduces likelihood of conceding more runs, but obviously also reduces the likelihood of picking up a run-out.

Other than those small changes, everything else appears to be the same as Cricket 19 and that filters through to the sound effects and commentary which are as bland and awful as ever before. The game has been patched a few times already, but at one point there was no sound at all coming from the match, and the commentators occasionally forgot what they were watching (or so it seems). The sound has been fixed, but it’s still not great at all and it’s probably worth putting on some music while you play.



Cricket 22 is definitely an improvement over Cricket 19, it has to be considering the improved power of the PS5 and of course the SSD which makes loading games non-existent. The updated career mode, the licence for the Ashes, The Hundred and Big Bash, as well as the inclusion of the women’s game make it an overall impressive package, but it’s still plagued by the same issues that Cricket games seem to have experienced since forever. The technical bits still don’t translate well, and if I am being totally honest, I am disappointed by the bland visual and audio presentation in the game. I’ll still be playing it a tonne - I mean, I need to get those career records and win the Proteas a world cup seeing as it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon in the real world!