It's a strange phenomenon, but golf has always translated rather well to the noble medium of video games. Possibly because it is, in itself, a noble sport; swing a stick at things, go for a nice walk on some cool grass. Nothing to lose but your balls. It's a pursuit in which you aren't really encouraged to expect the unexpected – physics are your only real enemy. Besides your actual enemies, of course.
What the Golf?, though, is not really golf. It's barely golf. Or, alternatively, it is the most golf ever to be golfed. After hours spent in its bizarre thrall, we're still not really sure what to make of it. Where do you even start? It's one of those comedy games, the sort that often aren't particularly funny and don't include much gameplay to make up for it. But What the Golf? is above par (sorry), thanks to a real surplus of enjoyable content.
There's very little to the game in terms of mechanics. You hold A and move the left stick to set the power and angle of your pitch, then release to strike the ball. Get the ball to the flag, win the hole. At least, that's how it is at first – for literally one level. Immediately following this, What the Golf? starts to get silly. It would be churlish to give away too many of its gags, but rest assured you'll be knocking more than just golf balls around.
Every one of the many, many "holes" has some sort of new gimmick or new take on an existing gimmick. This is the major strength of What the Golf? – variety, and plenty of it. There's not a huge amount in the way of challenge on a basic playthrough – even the trickier holes can generally be conquered quickly – but it's compelling on a very primal level. You'll want to see what new twist they can possibly think of next. To the developer's credit, they keep you guessing all the way through.
The structure of the game takes the form of an overhead map which you navigate using the same standard control scheme as the rest of the game; a sort of "Golf lab" in which many, many different holes can be accessed. As you progress you'll open up more and more different sectors of the lab, each one populated with a number of holes to play. Gradually, you'll also unlock warp points that make getting around a lot easier. It's a nice, immersive system and adds to the coherence of the whole enterprise; while there are plenty of different, wild takes on golf here, everything is ultimately filtered through that same set of mechanics. It's pleasingly consistent.
It would be an impressive clutch of levels even without the extras that What the Golf? is packing; every single hole has a variation, usually offering some sort of restriction such as a par score to beat (generally you're allowed as many attempts as you want), though some are effectively completely separate holes to clear. Beating this challenge stage will grant a third and final take on the hole you're playing – usually another completely different idea – and beating this grants you a crown and a fully-cleared hole. What this boils down to is a suite of many, many ideas that all work together neatly and build on the concepts that they introduce. It's effective, addicting stuff.
Graphically, it's a fittingly minimalist experience, with its fairly flat low-poly-ish look calling to mind similar comical indie titles such as Donut County and Untitled Goose Game. In fact, it's so similar-looking that it's arguably a little bit derivative in its style, though it certainly works – especially at its smooth 60 frames per second. It's a little bit of a shame that the visuals don't really change along with the gameplay, but it's function over form, here; the aforementioned consistency that keeps things from being overwhelming is on display in What the Golf?'s visuals as well as its controls. There's not a lot of music here, but when it does kick in it's in a sort of acapella style, which is just a little bit too twee for our tastes.
Besides the extensive campaign, there's a wonderful new Party Mode which brings the same level of creativity to split-screen multiplayer for two players – it's brilliant fun, but a shame that more golfers couldn't be accommodated. What kind of party only has two attendees? Don't answer that, we need to keep it family-friendly around here.
Conclusion
What the Golf? is a sterling effort for Switch that has clearly had enormous amounts of love poured into it. Its aesthetic is a little bit indie-by-numbers but there's so much to see and do here that'll have you (and a friend) laughing out loud. It may not be the most difficult game in the world, but it's damn good fun, even if you don't like golf. Especially if you don't like golf, in fact.
Comments 22
Of course this is great. It may be on par with some of the top golf video games ever. I would love to join the club now, but I have enough of a backlog as it is.
Definitely on my watch list.
I have this awesome game on my phone already. Would love a physical version. Anyone know if it will be released that way?
Have it on Apple Arcade. Definitely something unique.
Might need to grab it before the launch sale ends.
Long time fan of Garbos & Co.'s work here.
This game they've worked on for so long that I had no doubt they knew they were on to a winner! ^^
Sounds cool, but I still have Golf Story languishing in backlog hell for all my quirky golf needs. I'll have to pass on this for now.
Wow I might have to pick this up, I love golf games.
@JasmineDragon Me too! Despite buying Golf Story day one, I have absolutely no idea when I’ll ever get around to it. Regardless, I’m still grabbing What the Golf? on Thursday. I adored it on Apple Arcade, and now I just have to have it on my Switch, too!
Whether or not you happen to like golf, my advice is the same; What the Golf? is utterly essential.
@JasmineDragon They're extremely different games. I played a long demo of What The Golf at an event last year and loved it, but there weren't really any scoring objectives, just "finish the hole". Golf Story I also loved very very much, but the focus there is really on golfing well. What The Golf really just has a huge range of funny things to show you.
I'm sold!!! Downloading now. Can't wait till Thursday so i can play it.
@The_Pixel_King get around to it!! Golf Story is funny and charming and totally worth it. You’re welcome for the nudge. Also love What the Golf? too!
Now might be a great time for a release date for Sports Story. I don’t care if it’s half done - the lack of sports in our lives makes it the perfect time. Release it. Arnie voice Release it naaauwww!
@The_Pixel_King @Bret I get that and appreciate the recommendation, and I'll put this on my list. Just not to buy immediately. I'm super backlogged and still feel bad about ignoring Golf Story for so long.
Not enough hours in the day to play all the games I want!
Looks like some amazing fun. You tubers are gonna eat this game alive.
@BenAV that made me pull the trigger...this review and then Forbes basically said to shut up and hand over your $15. It's a steal at $20. I usually wait for deeper discounts, but I also reward developers on occasion to support the system.
@IronMan30 it’s only golf for the first few levels.
@JayJ careful it’s not a golf game. My GOTY easily but by no means a golf game.
All you people who have Golf Story in your backlogs should be utterly ashamed and JUST GO PLAY IT NOW. It's a brilliant RPG-lite. PLEASE GO PLAY IT.
How long would those who have this game say it is, or how many different holes are there?
Cool. Now, where's my Mario Golf, Nintendo?
Might download someday.
Just started this, and it is crazy and fun, has some Portal inspired levels, and just did a FPG (First Person Golf) where you are the ball and have to move the switch to aim.
Just Brilliant
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