Endless Golf Review - Screenshot 1 of 4

The title Endless Golf pretty much explains the entire game. If you've ever found that eighteen holes just wasn't enough for you, then the constant rolling green hills of Endless Golf will call to you, promising a game that will never, ever end. By generating a new hole every time you sink a ball, the game's 2D golfing action will keep you hitting the ball for as long as you could hope to play - it's far too simplistic for anyone to even consider playing it endlessly, though.

Endless Golf is very streamlined. When you start it up it drops you into a randomly-generated 2D landscape, complete with hole and flag. To hit the ball all you have to do is place your stylus on the screen and then drag it in whichever direction you want the ball to go; the distance you drag the stylus before releasing it is how hard you hit, and is indicated by an arrow that gets larger the further you move your stylus. It's gameplay you can figure out in seconds, making the game extremely approachable no matter the player's skill level.

Endless Golf Review - Screenshot 2 of 4

The courses that it creates are challenging enough to keep things interesting for a short time. The entire hole is always on one screen, so it's easy to see every hill and valley in your path; it does a good job of shaking these up, tasking the player with looking at how these dips and rises will affect how the ball travels over them. The game generates these courses instantly, too, so if you only have a few minutes to play it's easy to drop in and hit a brand new green.

While Endless Golf promises an endless variety of courses, its random-generation means it will likely frustrate its audience. For someone looking to be challenged using the game's simple controls, there's no difficulty curve. The game doesn't factor your play time or experience into play, so you could find yourself shooting across a flat line for your five-hundredth hole. Likewise, someone who just wants a lighthearted golf game may find themselves looking down a gauntlet of hills and valleys. The latter is far less of a problem than the former, but for anyone looking for a steady challenge they won't find it in Endless Golf.

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At least there is an endless variety to the game, right? Even with its haphazard difficulty curve, you will still never run out of courses. Unfortunately, there are only so many hills and valleys that it can stick together, limiting the creativity on offer. It's visually uninteresting as well, with its endless emerald hills and sapphire skies getting old quickly; it would have been nice to see a sand or water trap to break up the action, providing something new to see or another layer of challenge. As is, expect to see the same handful of hills and valleys for as long as you play.

The physics and friction also seem rather excessive. There were many times for us when the ball almost rolled into the hole, but lost momentum rather quickly when moving forward or rolling down a hill. This can be challenging to compensate for, as the ball flies quite quickly when in the open air. Still, golf is about learning how the ball will move in the air and on the ground, so it's not surprising that you would have to learn about this relationship in the game as well. It's the one aspect that provides most of its challenge, so if it does take a little time to get the feel for it; this at least adds some complexity to the game.

Endless Golf Review - Screenshot 4 of 4

In our time with Endless Golf we also encountered a small glitch; it's one that was difficult to replicate, but after hitting the ball off the course at one point the game locked up. It only happened once, but is a minor issue to be aware of.

Conclusion

Endless Golf is very easy to pick up and play, providing some fun short-term gaming for someone who just wants to smack a ball around a course for a few minutes. It loads new courses quickly, making it perfect for those moments you only have a little while to play, but its lack of variety and haphazard difficulty curve hinder it during longer sessions. It's fine as a short diversion, but becomes wearying and repetitive when looking for more entertainment.