I love Sticky Cows!

Every once in awhile we all need a game that is just absolutely silly--the kind of game that's mostly about laughing and doesn't take itself too seriously.  The kind of game that includes fart jokes, cows that stick to rolling objects, and classic stories and artwork being turned into hilarious Monty Python-esque cutscenes.  Well folks, I present to you Rock of Ages and it's newer, cooler brother Rock of Ages 2.

I guess that if you had to classify the Rock of Ages games you could pick from a variety of labels--tower defense, comedy, sports (yup...if you consider skee ball a sport), racing, strategy...these are just a few listed on the Steam store page.  The general gist of the games is that you play as a famous boulder wielder (Sisyphus in the first game and Atlas in the second) and using your mighty boulder you must defeat other historical figures in a race around an obstacle course.  At the bottom of the course is your fort (and the fort of your opponent).  To win you must destroy the door to your opponents fort and squish them with your boulder.  Usually this takes about 3-4 rounds of rolling.  Between each turn, while your boulder is being re-chiseled at the top of the course, you can place obstacles on your opponent's side.  These obstacles range from stone walls that can block (but be destroyed) part of the course, windmills that can blow a boulder off course, catapults that can damage a boulder, and, my personal favorite, sticky cows!  They are cows that stick to boulders which serves to slow them down.  The challenge is to figure out the best place to place your obstacles so that the course is harder for your opponent.  You also have to be pretty good at steering your boulder around the course--if you fall off of the course your boulder must be place back on the course, which costs you time.

Each level has a specific theme and/or enemy who you have to defeat.  The cutscenes between levels are absolutely ridiculous...sort of a weird mash-up of Monty Python and an art history class.  In the first game there are tons of nerdy references that will make you crack up.  The first game follows a chronological path through history while the second game lets you choose your enemy from a larger map.  There are "bosses" sprinkled around the map which are basically battles where you figure out how to use your boulder to attack and destroy it.

Besides just the story mode there is also a skee ball mode, which plays exactly like regular skee ball--you navigate a course and try to land your boulder in the highest valued hole--and there are also a few multiplayer modes--you can play the classic Rock of Ages mode where you place obstacles and try to be the first to squish your enemy or there's obstacle course mode where you race someone down a course filled with pre-set obstacles in a best of five match.

These two goofy games are guaranteed to have you laughing.  Or questioning your sense of humor.

Pros:

--History/Art History nerds will enjoy all the various historical characters sprinkled throughout the game.  It's fun to play against and squish all those people you spent ages learning about in school.

--Stupid funny.  The jokes aren't exactly high-brow--there's lots of fart noises, girlish screaming, and just general silliness.  Monty Python level silliness...but what nerd doesn't like Monty Python?

--Each course presents a new challenge.  Some have lots of curves, while others might have gaps that require precisely timed jumps.

--Unlockable boulders.  As you progress and defeat enemies you unlock new boulders that have varying abilities (and are also funny).  Each unlocked boulder allows you to choose one that caters to your playstyle--maybe you need a strong boulder to destroy lots of obstacles or a super fast boulder to avoid them--you can choose!

--Multiplayer.  There's even competitive leaderboards if that's what you're into.

--Some strategizing required.  It's not extremely tough to figure out and you can mostly win without too much planning, but there are a few levels that require some forethought.

Cons:

--Both games are fairly short (if you just play story mode).  I finished story mode in the first game in 3 hours.  The second game clocked in at about 7.  Get them on sale.

--Not a huge replayability factor.  They seem like the kind of game that you play through once and then pick up later on a whim.

--Humorless people will probably think they're incredibly stupid.

Here are the trailers just so you can get an idea of what the gameplay is really like:

That's the first game--which was released in 2011, so it's a bit on the older side.

And here's the second one, which was released in 2017, so it's sparkly and new!