Golf Story (25/15$)
(25/15$)*
Do you have a soft spot in your heart for nostalgic gameboy games? Are seeking something fleshed out, complex, and easy to pick up? Or do you like good games in general? If so, you should buy Golf Story 25/15$. Golf Story is a sports game that truly makes a game out of the sport. Everything you encounter is golf oriented, but not just playing golf on a course. It plays out like a classic game boy RPG but instantly establishes itself as unique by giving the player a golf ball to throw and to hit anytime they wish. The first few hours of my play through were spent simply hurling golf balls at the supporting characters, hearing their reactions, and watching them wince. Followed by performing trick shots, trying to sink the ball into trash cans or other holes. The best part is the secrets that can be found by hitting your golf ball at things. Golf Story encourages exploration better than most AAA RPGS. It is so delightful to have a game where walking around is fun.
Now the core mechanics are simple to pick up but take a while to truly master. The quests of the game will have the player doing golfing related challenges but offer an incredible amount to what you do with your golfing skills. Sometimes it will be hitting crabs on the beach, which helps the player practice aiming and sand traps. Other times it will be flying a drone or sinking puts, but 90% of the time you are golfing. It’s through introduction of things like the digging wedge, that allows the player to dig up items in the overworld, or the frisbee that lets the player strike up a game of disc golf that flesh out the game and show the level of care that went into making it. The player gets these items by playing through the cliche story that serves as a perfect backdrop for the cast of campy characters. It plays out more like a sports anime than a sports drama and that is so refreshing compared to other AAA sports games.
The problem is that Golf can be a very frustrating game and it is easy to get stuck on a challenge. No one likes repeating a challenge they can’t get 20 times. The obvious answer is to get good, but some of the challenges feel a bit more like luck than like skill. There will be moments when you skip through the dialog as well. Like an anime most dialog is jokes in between the action. You’ll skip through it because you just want to play more golf.
Luckily the game also features a delightful two player mode that lets players face off against each other, so you can always have a standard match if you have a friend. In fact, most of my time spent with this game has been spent playing matches against my friends. The golf gameplay is so simple and charming that it is hard not to get caught up in the match. It’s a feeling that is worth its weight in gold. So for Golf Story to have 20 hours of story, 2 player co-op, and only a 15$ price tag? It makes it an incredible value and must have it for the switch. One of the few games that can feel good to play with one joy con in tablet mode (25/15$).
