Everybody’s Golf – Review (PS4)

Everybody’s Golf really is just that… golf for everyone. It’s cartoonish design and controls of relative ease make it incredibly easy to understand why anyone from an incredibly young age to a much older point in life could, would, and should enjoy the title.

If you’re skeptical about the new title, a change from the Hot Shots titles in games gone by, because you don’t care for sports or golfing games, don’t be! Everybody’s Golf is unique because it’s much less a golfing game and way more of an RPG. Certainly the main focal point of the game is still golfing. If you absolutely despise the idea of golfing in a video game, there’s a pretty good chance you will also hate it in Everybody’s Golf.

To start, the character creator is very in-depth and allows you to quite a bit of nuance for your character. We haven’t seen any stat changes or increases based on the clothing your character wears, but that’s totally fine – it’s not the point. If you want a character that resembles your real-life self, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be able to make one. Unless you have a big, bushy beard that is…

The gameplay starts out with a simple course and a beginner’s tournament. You’ll get a little bit of training to start the game, but it’s amazing how intuitive your first round will be. It doesn’t take long to learn the game’s three button system that initiates your ball’s trajectory and, in return, your level of success. We found that it was actually hard to be bad at the game – at least at first.

Throughout the first few rounds you’ll rack up some experience points which will eventually unlock a character who comes to your island and challenges you to a showdown. Okay… perhaps it’s a little less dramatic than that, but you’re definitely in for a one-on-one match. You’ll repeat a similar process until you eventually unlock some additional courses.

This process feels grindy – and it is. But if you are into golf games, you certainly won’t mind. You’ll learn how to upgrade your clubs (it’s automatic if you achieve certain things) and the changing out of those clubs and golf balls is fairly simple to do. The difference in your abilities is slight, but noticeable.

The heart and longevity of Everybody’s Golf lies in the online play. In the open course mode you can run around any course of your choice and have a sort of interaction with other golfers. You can also choose to play holes and do so in whatever order you choose. It’s a blast, and is part of what really makes Everybody’s Golf different than it’s predecessors. There’s also Turf War mode in which the stakes are much higher and more competitive. You’re placed on a team and it’s essentially a race. It’s still a ton of fun and brings back the competitive nature that sports fans crave.

A big complaint we have is how simple the game is to master. If you have a little bit of decent timing and some practice, you’ll be able to hit your ball exactly where it needs to go in almost no time. Couple that with giant holes, tornado holes, and laughable opponents, and you’re going to be at the top of the food chain in no time. Still, Everybody’s Golf is supposed to be fun, and a blast it certainly is.

Recommendation:

If you’ve ever been a fan of the series, you’ll love Everybody’s Golf. In fact, if you like golfing games at all or are even ambivalent toward them, you should probably give it a shot. The only way we would recommend you not play it at all is if you downright hate golfing in a video game.