What The Golf? – Making The Switch

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Fast Facts

A Good Walk Spoiled?

You may be wondering why we are reviewing What The Golf? again when it was reviewed already over a year ago by our good selves. Well, it has had no less than one thousand new levels added in a recent update adding even more madness into this eclectic, uncanny package. I will cover the game a little because this is perhaps the first time you have heard of the game.

What The Golf? is an arcade title based around one of the world’s oldest sports. You guessed it, golf! Don’t get this confused with PGA Tour or Golf Club though as this crazy little beast is a different thing entirely. In fact, quite a lot of the time you forget you are even playing a golf game. Between all the laughing, shouting and downright confusion there might be the odd bit of golf here and there. Leave your checked trousers at the door however, there’s no officials or snooty golf rules insight.

Sometimes Simple, Always Surreal

Your goal is simple, well, most of the time it is anyway. Your goal is to get your ball to hit the golf flag. However, as you progress further and further down this twisted golf-based rabbit hole you may feel like you have stepped into someone’s golfing nightmare. It all starts off nice enough with a few basic golf holes but before you know it, you are hitting office chairs, cars or even whacking your way through easter eggs of other video game titles. You even end up lobbing your club at toasters like you have lost the plot. This game should not be called What The Golf? It should be called WTF!

I love the video game references and easter eggs that litter this ingenious game. From Mario based levels where the music is someone humming the Mario theme but using the words What The Golf? instead, to Flappy Bird levels and many, many more. There’s Angry Birds, Donut County and they are the only ones I can remember. Each level brings new giddiness as this title mashes golf with our favourite games, in an ever-increasing, wacky way. I laughed a lot more than I should have, I pointed out levels to my kids to see if they could spot what IP it was ripping off and we all loved it for its quirkiness.

Speed Golf!

What makes this game so moreish, is how brisk and diverse it is. You can play a handful of levels at a time, see so many new elements and it manages to stay fresh for as long as you care to dedicate time to it. It is so much fun, so amusing and delightfully simple. Someone has very successfully created a witty, rewarding, arcade golf game that is both inventive and amazing, which is by no means an easy feat.

As well as rolling your way through a golf based test facility and completing each stage you also have a harder version of each hole and special editions of these holes that lead you to collectables. These collectables are based on each set of stages you roll through. You don’t need to complete each of these extra levels but I always liked to, even if it was just to see what level base collectable it unlocked. It’s a small thing but it does encourage you to play the extra holes.

What The Golf? performed admirably on the Nintendo Switch most of the time. I did notice the odd frame drop in high octane situations but it was rare and did not hamper the gameplay in any way. It’s a moot point really as you are having so much fun you would not even notice it. On the whole, What the Golf? performed well on our little portable console hybrid and I have no issues in this department.

A Great Golf Game Gets Better

This update includes a further one thousand holes, I know, One thousand. That’s mental. From what I can tell, which is very little, the extra holes further hammer home how wacky and self-referencing this game is. More video game parodies, more new ways to hit poles with weird objects and more content to get your gnashers into. More stuff is never a bad thing and I don’t think there has ever been a better time to get your golf on! This game is superb and this extra set of levels, which is an extensive amount of content, only makes it better. What The Golf? is a must-buy for arcade fans, video game lovers and sports fans alike. It’s so unique and extremely well made.

Rapid Reviews Rating

4.5 out of 5

4.5

If you want to buy What The Golf? from the Nintendo eShop, you can here.