Golf Story ReviewOn September 28, 2017, the Nintendo Switch finally got a very interesting exclusive indie game called Golf Story. It was made by Sidebar Games, and it was heavily influenced by the old gameboy color and gameboy advance Mario Golf games. With those games being a big part of my early childhood, I just had to buy it and try it out for myself. Does it live up to those classics? I'll tell you my answer with this review.
Graphics - 7/10 The visual style for Golf Story is in a top-down perspective, similar to how the Mario Golf games I mentioned earlier are. There's a good amount of variety in terms of areas in the game as well, ranging from a traditional golf setting to a snowy area, as well as haunted and desert areas as well. The visuals won't blow you away, but it's got a good visual style for an indie game. I'm giving the graphics a 7.
Sound - 5/10 Golf Story's music doesn't stand out at all compared to other games on the switch. The music that plays in certain areas of the game fit the areas they play in, but overall the soundtrack is very mediocre. I've certainly heard worse though, so I'm giving the sound a 5.
Addictiveness - 5/10 I enjoyed my experience playing Golf Story for the most part. It reminded me a lot of what the old GBC/GBA Mario Golf games were like. As you progress through the game, you'll earn experience points and level the main character up, which allows you to upgrade one of his stats such as power or control. The RPG element is the main reason why the GBC/GBA Mario Golf games were loved by fans, and that aspect was handled perfectly in Golf Story.
There is one glaring issue that severely impacts the golfing aspect of the game however, and that is the putting mechanics! Unlike the Mario Golf games (the GBA one being released 13 years prior to Golf Story), there's no way to tell where the slopes are on the green. If you're wanting to try to make a long putt, then good luck because you're pretty much putting blind. In the Mario Golf games, there were arrows on the green to indicate how the ball would curve when you putt. Why Sidebar Games didn't implement a similar feature, I'll never know. Golf Story was still an enjoyable experience, but botching the putting mechanics in a golf game is unacceptable. For these reasons, I'm giving the addictiveness a 5.
Story - 9/10 The one area where Golf Story drastically improved over the gameboy Mario Golf games was... well, it's story! The game starts off with a young boy (the protagonist) learning about the game of golf from his dad and enjoying every minute of it. Twenty years later, the protagonist finally decides to get back into golf and attempt to turn pro. The odds are completely stacked against him throughout his journey. Along the way, you meet some very memorable side characters such as his eventual coach, and plenty of rivals who are either pros or are trying to become pro themselves. Without getting into too many spoilers, this is game easily has one of the most memorable, entertaining, and hilarious story modes I've seen in a sports game. Golf Story certainly lives up to it's name in that regard. The story is good enough for me to give it a 9.
Depth - 3/10 Golf Story provides some content that isn't found in other golf games. One of which is Disc Golf, which is similar to traditional golf, except you throw discs towards a disc golf basket instead of swinging at a golf ball using a golf club and trying to get it in a hole. There's also a game mode where you have to drop golf balls in holes using a drone. Unfortunately, both of those only make brief appearances in story mode... I wish that both of those would've gotten their own separate game mode.
Also unlike the Mario Golf games which feature 18 hole courses, Golf Story only features 9 hole courses, and there's 8 different courses in the game. Story mode can be completed in about 15 hours, so there really isn't much content for a game that's $15. I'm giving the depth a 3.
Difficulty - 3/10 For the most part, Golf Story doesn't provide much of a challenge. The AI in match play for the most part is laughably easy to beat until you get to the close to the end of the story. The side quests aren't difficult either. The only reason I'm not giving the difficulty a 1 is due to the god awful putting mechanics. I'm instead giving it a 3.
Overall Score: 7/10 It's hard for me to say for sure whether Golf Story is a truly worthy spiritual successor to the GBC and GBA Mario Golf games or not. It certainly has a much more entertaining story and a memorable cast of characters, as well as bringing back the RPG aspects that made those games so memorable compared to their console counterparts. Unfortunately, the golfing itself left a lot to be desired. Awful putting mechanics are unacceptable in any golfing game, especially when the games that Golf Story were heavily based on did a far better job in that aspect. Overall though, this game still has enough charm for me to give the overall score a 7 out of 10. I wouldn't recommend buying the game at $14.99 though. I'd wait for a sale if you're interested.
Graphics
7 Sound
5 Addictive
5 Depth
3 Story
9 Difficulty
3