You Don’t Need to Care About Golf to Fall in Love With Golf Story
Golf can be a pretty divisive sport, but we don't think Golf Story for the Nintendo Switch will be.
(via Sidebar Games)
Even if golf makes you fall asleep from boredom, the way Golf Story uses it as a storytelling device is charming and tons of fun. It's an RPG, but instead of fighting baddies, building up a farm or cultivating relationships, you're just trying to become a great golfer.
From the game's opening moments, you'll get a great feel for its humorous tone. You begin as a little boy getting golf lessons from your dad. As dad teaches you the basics, a number of geese congregate around the green to watch. Eventually, they get a little rowdier, following each other in a line around your character. Your goal is to hit your ball in the hole, even with the distracting geese in your way. It's far from the last time pesky animals will mess with your golf game.
(via Sidebar Games)
Twenty years later, your character drops everything to become a professional golfer. You return to your dad's old stomping grounds, Wellworn Grove, and set out to prove yourself. The course is unkempt and full of rowdy kids and the local coach is totally unwilling to help you improve your swing. Little by little, you'll have show everyone that you can golf, earning respect, and maybe even a championship down the line.
Unlike any golf game we've seen before, Golf Story doesn't consist of round after round of golf. Like we mentioned, it's an RPG, so it's really about talking to people, completing their requests and leveling up your character to become the ultimate golfer. Anyone with a speech bubble has a quest for you, so it's worth talking to all of them.
(via Sidebar Games)
Maybe you'll be asked to feed turtles by hitting food to them with your club, or to thaw out frozen golfers with a hit from a special heated ball. With a special shovel wedge, you can also dig up buried treasure, or you can fight a wizard by beaning him with golf balls. Nothing is as it seems in Golf Story, and you should come to expect the unexpected.
(via Sidebar Games)
It's worth doing as many of these quests as you can, not only because they'll force you to fine tune your golf skills, but because they'll reward you with cash, as well as experience. Experience allows you to level up, giving you points for boosting your stats. You can always make your swing more powerful, but it comes at the cost of your accuracy. It's up to you to keep your abilities in balance.
(via Sidebar Games)
Money is also useful, as it can be used to buy different clubs with improved abilities, as well as items that are necessary for advancing the game. Depending on your play style, you may favor certain clubs over the others, but it's always best to try every to see which clubs work best for you.
(via Sidebar Games)
There are also eight unique areas within Golf Story that are far from average. Yes, there are traditional levels—the gimmick of one is that its stuffy old patrons are extremely traditional and stick to antiquated golf rules—but others are anything but. There's a tar-filled prehistoric course littered with dinosaur bones and cavemen inhabitants. In a Halloween-themed course, you'll collect eyeballs for skeleton minions and hit them into their skulls with your club, as well as follow the orders of haunted tombstones. When you finally get to the last area, operatic musical cues and magical creatures hint that it's not quite like the others.
(via Sidebar Games)
Most of the game utilizes the mechanics of golf to further the story, but there are times you'll get breaks from balls and clubs as well. Throughout the game you'll also master disc golf (if you call them frisbees the in-game characters get mad), as well as mow lawns, drive RC cars and fly golf ball-dropping drones.
(via Sidebar Games)
Each of these worlds has its own unique hazards to ignore. Moles might steal your ball and throw it into the nearest patch of sand, while cheeky beak birds will ensure your ball falls into tough terrain. Alligators will leap out of the water to snap at your ball, but underwater turtles will actually give you ball an extra bounce and give it the chance of landing back on solid ground.
(via Sidebar Games)
If you're ever wondering what to do next, the notes section in the pause menu always includes your list of objectives. Still, there's no reason to rush through things, and it's actually a good idea to take up every little opportunity to impress someone and beat a small quest.
(via Sidebar Games)
While constant nine-hole rounds of golf are the norm in most golf games, this one breaks up the monotony with quirky characters and smaller missions. While most do involve golf, it's about the story as much as it is the sport. You'll see everything from a golfing ghost who never got to finish his round of golf to a rap battle between a group of elderly golfers and young hooligans.
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When the big rounds finally do happen, they feel big and important, and there are personal stakes. Few things are more satisfying than nailing a mega birdie (two under par) or a coveted hole-in-one while you're taking on a powerful opponent.
(via Sidebar Games)
One of our favorite moments in the game was a round of golf against a guy named Lucky, who was in fact extremely lucky. Balls that should have easily bounced out of bounds managed to ricochet off trees and stones at just the right second to be saved, and every bird that grabbed his ball placed it in the perfect spot to set up the next hit.
(via Sidebar Games)
There's also a golf video game within the game called Galf, an 8-bit golfing simulator within the game. It's super charming, but not a great gaming experience. We couldn't figure out how to stop playing Galf and wound up resetting our Switch to get back to the game.
(via Sidebar Games)
Golf Story really gets itself, and it never strays away from its cheeky tone and unique story. The cast of characters is wacky and colorful, but as long as you keep with the game and learn a thing or two from all the challenges along the way, you'll have no trouble keeping up with the competition.
(via Sidebar Games)
Depending on how thorough you are (and how long you get stuck on tougher parts) it might take you 15 to 20 hours to beat the game. That's quite a lot of game given that it's only $14.99 in Nintendo's eShop. Whether you love, hate or couldn't care less about golf, we think it's worth trying at least once.
If you're looking to add more totally addicting games to your Switch library, click HERE to find out what we thought of SteamWorld Dig 2.