Zen Studios is undoubtedly best known for its pinball games and 'platforms', honing online systems and gameplay over the years. It's a company with an eye for stylish representations of some of the most simple but addictive pastimes, and its latest effort is Infinite Minigolf. Thankfully the name isn't suggesting questionable randomised courses, but relates to the core hook of the experience - user created stages. Beyond that, it aims to provide a fun and quirky minigolf experience.
Most have played minigolf at some point in their lives, but for those that have not it's very simple; take out all of the complexity in golf shot-making, as all you do is putt. The key is in the courses, which even in real life are typically full of twists, turns and moving obstacles. It's as simple as it sounds, though of course bringing that into video games opens up the possibilities for bizarre happenings, which Zen Studios heartily embraces.
Infinite Minigolf gradually introduces various items, hazards and quirks through its fixed tournaments; you'll see drones pick up the ball, a reindeer kick it and more besides. There are three environments - Giant Home, Nightmare Mansion and Santa's Factory - and each has four tournaments of nine holes each. Beyond that you also gradually unlock higher difficulties for these events, which use the same broad course designs but add more challenges to dodge.
It's a decent amount of fixed content to work through, and it's designed to slowly introduce you to the various mechanics at play. You come across a variety of power-ups - such as a Rocket or Spring - and learn how they work, while also figuring out how the course layouts need to be navigated. Charming characters sometimes interact with the course, too, often directing your ball in a helpful way. Playing solo or with a buddy, these Zen Studios-designed courses do the job nicely and are certainly entertaining, albeit the difficulty balancing felt slightly off on one or two occasions in our playthrough.
It's worth working through these tournaments for a few reasons. Firstly for mastering the controls - in this case you set the power and release your shot by pulling back on the right stick. Though you can play around with sensitivity settings it's not quite as easy as it sounds. The power gauge can be particularly sensitive (regardless of settings), so you need to take care to get the shot you want. While more experienced gamers will be fine with this, we played with a gamer that likes the genre but doesn't play a huge number of games; they found it difficult to get the power they wanted on shots.
As we say, relatively experienced players will work on subtle adjustments with the right stick, but there's no nod to accessibility with an alternative control scheme (such as timed button presses). In addition we found it easier on the Pro Controller, as those analogue sticks are larger and have more 'travel' - the Joy-Con sticks are a little more awkward when trying to find that perfect spot for a weaker shot. It's worth emphasizing that the controls do work, and with patience to master them you can pull off any shot you want, but they are fiddly initially and could be frustrating for young or inexperienced players.
Secondly, playing through the fixed Tournaments helps you level up your avatar quickly, in the process unlocking new customisations and goodies to change their look. You're often rewarded with 'cards' that actually serve as a currency (of sorts), while you also try to earn coins through in-game missions / challenges that you can spend on packs of cards. It's slightly convoluted in practice, but if you focus on the basics you can still give your avatar some geeky specs and multi-coloured clothes without too much effort.
Beyond the fixed courses you can jump into Quick Play or browse through thousands of user created courses, which includes content from across multiple platforms; at the time of publication the game boasts of 8500+ courses. You can either pick an environment and have the game drop you in randomly, or search for yourself with some filters to help you choose the kind of course you want. You can also see what rating (if any) others have given courses - these take the forms of various emojis to give a sense of whether a course is fun, clever, or obnoxious. Once you clear a course you can give your own feedback, and your score (based on number of shots, how stylishly you cleared it etc) goes onto an online leaderboard. Hitting a specific score target gives you more rewards, too.
As with any game that opens up level creation to players the quality varies wildly. We've played some pretty good courses, but others are either very basic or downright inscrutable. That's the nature of the beast, but it does mean that there's plenty of content to explore either way.
Creating your own course is also a big option, of course, though you'll need to commit the time to figuring it out. The impressive dynamism of the stages in the game means, of course, that the tools to create new courses are varied and relatively complex. You need to figure out track types, then place items, and thankfully everyone has to clear their own course to verify it to be uploaded online. The Editor can look overwhelming at first, but it does at least provide the tools to make genuinely interesting courses. The challenge is getting past the "how the heck does this even work?" stage, as there's little to no useful instruction given.
In fact, that brings us to the game's main drawback, such as it is - the user interface (UI) is average at best. We often don't directly notice the UI in a game because it's intuitive, either through its design or helpful prompts. Infinite Minigolf seems to revel in making its UI rather fiddly and at times confusing, especially if you haven't been playing Zen's pinball games for years. Icons and button prompts don't always make clear what they do, and it took a few failed attempts for us to clock how special items worked, for example. The game doesn't do a great job of communicating features or controls, opting instead to drop you in the deep end. To be fair it can all be figured out after a bit of experimentation, but the needless convolution of menus, the achievements system and so on is a bit of a pity.
Once you've figured it out, though, there is a fun experience on offer. Multiplayer is naturally accommodated with local and online options, and you can customise rules and even setup private online matches that use a pretty decent Invite system. When playing locally you can use two pads or, if you're short, pass one back and forth (you need two analogue sticks to play). Some of the attention to detail that clutters the UI pays off in terms of a solid feature-set.
Presentation is a high point too, and this is an area in which Zen Studios has often fared well. The different 'lands' all look charming, and the graphical quality is rather impressive whether playing on the TV or on the portable. All told it's a colourful and good looking game, with chunky and appealing character and stage design. The music and sound effects can be rather forgettable, but they're certainly not bad.
Conclusion
Infinite Minigolf is another solid arrival on the Switch eShop, and most importantly adds to the steadily growing variety of genres and themes on the store. It does a very nice job of delivering over-the-top, entertaining minigolf, with plenty of official and user-created content to keep players busy. The downsides are slightly baffling systems and a crowded user interface, and the fact that some less experienced gamers may find the required precision for shots a little too demanding. Overall, however, this one is definitely under par - in a good way.
Comments 28
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on Virtual Console please
I'd pick up a lot more games (like this one) if download play were still a thing.
@Moon Yeah, I have two good friends who have a Switch, but it's impossible to get everyone buying all of the same games.
So it's not a bogey.
Very tempted with this one. Although it maybe best to stick to the Xbox One version if you don't have the Pro Controller. The fact you can download courses from any console you made is really cool.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE
It soars like an Eagle!
Seems 90% of the press and hype around this game is for the course creation part - something which doesn't interest me in the slightest.
Destructoid summary confirms my fears
"Infinite Minigolf shows a lot of promise, but in its current state it's bland. Apart from the course creator, there's just nothing here that stands out from other minigolf titles."
I actually enjoyed a couple of the 3DS mini golf titles so am a fan of the genre.
It's amazing to me that for the 3rd generation in a row, Nintendo has managed to create a default control input (wiimote/gamepad/joycons) that is inferior to it's optional "Pro" counterpart.
Looks great. A definite for me when I locate a Switch. I was hopelessly addicted to their pinball tables on WiiU. The physics on those tables seemed mostly spot on, which bodes well for this game. I don't think it's as simple as it seems to make a ball roll accurately.
I really love minigolf games for their simplicity and accessibility - as I have a few friends who aren't gamers but are willing to mess around with something as long as it isn't too fiddly or frustrating. Not too sure if I'll be picking this up considering I'm not hearing wonderful things about the control scheme on this one.
I was excited about this game but was left extremely disappointed. Two issues: The physics engine for the ball is ridiculous and the lack of precision in the UI & Controls make the game unplayable. The course designs are creative and fun and I love the idea of this game. It just doesn't deliver on the promise. I would love to see the issues fixed but until then, I would avoid.
I have had this game from day one and it can be fun but samey. I never managed to connect to the online features. An error code is returned and when you ask for a server check, everything is fine but still can't get on the server. Please fix.
@gatorboi352 That's a matter of perspective. I find holding two joy con with no grip to be the most comfortable way to play since the Gamecube controller.
This was just ok to me, not a huge fan of the style of courses or controls, plus they don't tell you how to play, unless I missed it there's no tutorial or explanation of what to do or gameplay modes.
@Indielink it's definitely a matter of perspective. One is shared among many (Pro controller being the preferred/desirable option) and one shared by the minority (joycons are superior).
@gatorboi352 Doesn't necessarily mean the minority is wrong.
@Indielink you're correct. Although, the minority is the minority for a reason. Just like how the minority really liked the GamePad.
@gatorboi352 Isn't that the point of a "Pro" input to be better than the default for an additional fee? Not unlike the X1 Elite controller? I'm surprised Sony never got into the upgraded controller business. I'd buy one. I deplore the Dual Shock.
Still on Switch I find myself using Pro/Joycons (in various modes) about equally. Each is better at different things.
Edit: And my HRAP is just hours away.....that'll steal thunder from BOTH when it comes to retro games, shmups, and fighters!
@gatorboi352
The pro controller is more like a traditionel controller, but you can't share it for local co-op and you can't use them to take the Switch along. I wouldn't necersairly say the one is better than the other. Actually, for the first time Nintendo made the default controller input the same as the secondary controllers (or the other way around). As example, the pro controller on the Wii U was inferior to the Gamepad cause it lacked motion and a screen.
@NEStalgia
I concur. The dual shock controllers are absolute garbage. Their battery sucks, their grip sucks and the overall design is poor. I still enjoy PS4 games but the controllers are by far my least favorite of any console I've ever played. I felt the same for the PS3.
I found the camera extremely frustrating. I may be missing something but I couldn't zoom far enough out to actually see the entire hole. It made aiming long shots pretty much blind.
@NEStalgia i dunno.... the X1 Elite is in a different class of controller I feel. Especially from a pricing stand point.
To me, the Pro is in line with the base PS and XB controller. And barely even that since it doesn't even have a headphone jack on it.
@iMarkU I'd argue those two things hardly made it inferior
But i get your point.
Either way, I played BotW just fine on my Wii U for 150 hours with the Pro controller alone (minus the few forced motion based shrines) and didn't miss the GamePad one bit.
@Agent721 Absolutely agreed! Some people love them, but I'm not one of them. The best thing I can say about the DS4 is that it's not as hideously awful as the DS3 which is arguably the single worst controller I've ever held this side of a Mad Katz
@gatorboi352 Yeah, the Elite is a nicer controller and a much higher price than any other. But the idea of an upsell controller is similar. The pro may be in line with the base X1 controller, I'd say it's light years above the PS4 controller (did I mention how much I hate that thing and its 3.5 hour battery?), and while I like the X1 controllers in general, they don't actually come with a battery....nor motion controls of any kind, and worse vibration, so it's not really fair to say the Pro isn't better (ergonomics preferences aside.) I do wish it had the headphone jack though. I used to use that feature a lot on WiiU and PS4. That's a definite loss.
@gatorboi352
Thats why I said the one is not better than the other . I do wish Nintendo made the joy cons (in the grip) more comfortable to hold, especially for long sessions. The pro controller had a better feel and buttons, but still I find know people prefering the joy cons over the pro controller.
About Botw, I did the same on the Wii U (the gamepad is kinda awkward to hold for long sessions), but I hated that it missed motion. It would have made it 100% easier for devs to support the pro controller. 10/10 for Nintendo for finally fixing this poo.
(Also there was not really anything to miss on the gamepad in BOTW, cause they removed all the features...)
@gatorboi352 At least on the Wii, the superior control scheme varies from game to game. Among games that featured both control schemes, if the game was better with more buttons available or had shoehorned or imprecise motion controls, the Pro Controller is better. If the game is better with motion controls (such as "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed," "DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 2 & 3," several sports games, and any FPS on the system), then the Wiimote + Nunchuck control scheme is better. If none of these situations apply, then the two control schemes are essentially equal.
Anyway, this game sounds pretty good. Add to Wishlist...
@BulbasaurusRex I once thought the Wiimote + nunchuck combo was superior, until I put the Wii down for a few years and revisited. I find it all a chore now. Dual analog/twin sticks just work.
@gatorboi352 Pfft, dual analog absolutely sucks in comparison! I never liked it to begin with, and the Wiimote + Nunchuck is in a completely different league of quality for FPS games. Even the GamePad motion controls for Splatoon don't compare to the ease, simplicity, and intuitiveness they provide. The only things that are on a similar level for FPS games are the Joycons (once we get a good FPS on the Switch), Playstation Move, and mouse + keyboard.
@gatorboi352 I dunno, I kinda like the joy cons. I use the pro most of the time, but that's just because I'm used to it. It's not like the gamepad where it's huge and clunky, a few joy cons in a grip are still perfectly nice to use, at least as fine as a Dualshock 4.
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