I did a head-first dive into Everybody’s Golf when it emerged on the PlayStation 4. The amount of time and effort I put into that game was ridiculous. It rivaled my hours with The Binding of Isaac, hitting the 300-hour mark purely out of stupid fun. And, no, that didn’t count the review hours, which would have put it in the 400 range.
Now that I have no time to spare, developer Hyde has released a new version of the game to the world, with the Hot Shots moniker included, called Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots. The game still maintains that wild and free spirit of the previous, but shrinks the world to a size that makes it a ‘come and go’ experience. While that isn’t bad at all, it still doesn’t live up to the standard of the first, but it gives it a good college try.
So, pick up some golf balls, make sure you roll up those socks, and let’s get swinging with this review of Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots.
The same, but different
While the above paragraphs speak in generalities, let’s get specific about what works with Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots and what doesn’t. And spoiler alert, there is more that works than not. But the game still has its flaws. Here we go.
Here we go
If you’re looking for that over-dramatic anime charm that was carried with Hot Shots Golf and Everybody’s Golf, then you’re in luck with Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots. It still maintains that goofy innocence and outrageous charm. It carries a personality that brings fun and excitement to the video game world of golf, which is generally known for being a dry sport. While the Golden Tees and PGA Tour games capture that air of seriousness and tradition carried with the snobby game of golf, Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots goes the opposite direction. The characters in EGHS are portrayed with over-the-top looks, silly, repeating quotes, sometimes a whack-a-doodle robot assistant, and a tiny sprinkle of what I can only assume is magic. Literal magic. In other words, this isn’t your father’s golf game. Arnold Palmer would be shocked at such tomfoolery.
Strangely, this type of golf and character portrayal is what makes Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots a unique adventure. The characters are the game’s persona, as it doesn’t take itself seriously and looks to bring some fun to the gamer. Even when you get angry at the game, the characters constantly remind you that this is just stupid fun with little to nothing at stake, and that means that frustration can’t stay long. And it typically doesn’t.
Beyond characters, the game also sports simple gameplay, though the backend is complicated with a mix-and-match method of leveling.
Starting with its simplicity, the game has a simple way of hitting the ball. To make contact with the ball, there is a meter at the bottom of the screen that requires you to hit X to start it, hit X again when the desired power is at its zenith for your shot distance, and hit X again to stop the meter at a smaller bar for accuracy. That is literally the core mechanic of the game, and it’s not hard to get used to as you progress through it.
Now, the gameplay does get a bit more complicated when you must putt on the green, which involves estimating hills and ball speed, all while dealing with tightly knit courses that are surrounded by hazards. When these types of gameplay obstacles and courses begin to rear their heads, the game also throws an additional curveball at you with sporadic wind direction. When everything is kicking on all cylinders, the gameplay becomes somewhat of a juggling act.
Looking at this from 50 feet up, as complicated as putting and navigating courses can be, the game still doesn’t ask too much from the gamer. In a way, the gameplay doesn’t want to give you too much to think about when it comes to swinging with power, accuracy, and adjusting your shot to meet environmental conditions. It does a superb job of getting you into the gameplay quickly without frustrating you too much along the way with unnecessary mechanics. Getting into how the game works and how you can read hazards and wind is a breeze (pun intended). The only real obstacle to this game is what chances you want to take when trying to get through a course.
There were more than a handful of times when I took some risks to get ahead of the competition. This might mean hitting a ball over buildings, large mountains, or even splitting trees to take a shortcut to the green. The game allows the player non-linear flexibility with courses in its desire not to become a traditional golf game, and whatever frustration and failure come from that is squarely put on the player’s decision-making.
When the game isn’t giving you complete freedom to make your mistakes on the course, it is pushing you along and motivating you through its progression system. As you progress through the game and you begin to have some success, the game rewards you with coins, new equipment, and food. Each reward offers a particular advantage on the golf course.
The coins are there to help you purchase items in the golf shop, which include special golf balls, clubs, outfits, stickers, and whatnot. Most of what you run into at the shop is only unlocked or only appears as you complete goals in the game and win championships. It’s a slow unlocking progression element of the gameplay, but it works, as the game doesn’t require you to purchase these items to progress in the game. In other words, you won’t miss them too much if you don’t have them.
Should you succeed in the game and get further into the golf life, gaining new equipment can change the outcome of tournaments and solo outings. Much like Everybody’s Golf, you can purchase specialized clubs, golf balls, and stickers to make your journey through the goofy golfing ranks an easy one. You might come across clubs that hit balls further, or you might acquire a golf ball that focuses on spinning when it lands, or you might add a particular sticker to your caddy, who then can sprinkle an advantage on you during a match. A huge plus of the game is how much equipment it makes available to you, and how much you can mix and match to create strategies for victory. Adding more equipment that piles on strategic ways to approach the competition just stands to make the gameplay deeper.
On the food side of the gameplay equation, it’s a bit of a backseat compared to other items. The food aspect of the equipment gives you temporary buffs for rounds. This could be hitting the ball with more accuracy or maybe smacking it with more power. While I enjoyed gaining and purchasing food at the beginning of the game, it faded into the background of useful items, especially when compared to golf balls and clubs. I can understand why it was included, and I certainly get the intentions of the buffs, but fans of the game will probably cast these things to the wayside, especially when success starts happening rapidly with other avenues of gameplay.
More under the hood, but a little bit of misfires
While the above explains the gameplay in a nutshell, Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots still offers up more content to keep things interesting. The number of modes in the game is impressive, as the title certainly needed to make up for the scaling back from the original, which felt more open-world.
Anyway, the modes are as follows:
Single-Player
- Challenge Mode: This was my go-to during my review period, as it was similar to the game structure of Everybody’s Golf. You play in a series of tournaments, which lead you through the leveling ranks (Amateur, Beginner, Semi-Pro, etc.), and are a constant round-robin of challenge. This mode gives you a hodgepodge of different ways to play, which keeps it interesting, even when you’re playing the same course. For example, you might play a hole with the infamous tornado greens, where you are guaranteed a good putt should you get close to the hole. The game does a good job of keeping this mode fresh with these different tournament designs and their quirks, even when the physical courses are repetitive.
- World Tour: I don’t know what to make of this mode, as it’s kind of a repeat of how each tournament set ends in the Challenge Mode. Basically, you go 1-on-1 against a good player, something that is featured in CM, and whoever wins progresses to the next round. The key difference between these competitors is that the main character that you’re playing has a storyline that is followed in this mode. Is it interesting? Sure. Is it mind-blowing and dramatically different than the previous mode? Not really. Once you complete a character’s quest, it’s such an anti-climactic feeling, as you’re just given a virtual high-five, then move on to the next character. It’s neat to see a narrative mix, but nothing tremendously too far off from CM competition.
- Stroke Play: Your goal is to achieve the best score. It’s noteworthy and is a good way to play the game with friends. Its shining moment is the number of courses included and unlockable. It does expand the gameplay, but it will feel repetitive after a while.
- Match Play: This is the opposite of stroke play, as you count each hole as a single point, and the player with the most points wins at the end of the golf outing. It seems just to be a piece of the overall pie that is repeated for friendly shenanigans.
- Wacky Golf: It’s exactly what you might think. It works with friends but not much else. It’s creative as hell, as it does take a Mario Party-esque attitude and route.
- Solo Round: If you want to be the only one on the course and want to practice, then this is your jam. It’s a little empty, but it doesn’t have anything at stake.
Online
- With online play, the game has a group match and a world tournament mode. The latter isn’t active quite yet, and the former is just giving the ability to create or join a room. Nothing huge to report about yet.
- The multiplayer mode, which is a mode of its own but not big enough to individualize, is just a rehash of single-player experiences. Quite honestly, I was expecting a complete online mode inside of multiplayer, but it is more of the same that has been talked about.
Beyond these modes, the game’s structure is a bit restricted, as you can’t truly do anything beyond what you’re given. In the previous game, you could wander off into a nice golfing world and talk with people, maybe even fish, but this one just gives you what it has and moves on. That’s not bad, but it’s a step down.
Now, that said, the modes add more flavor to the experience, as they throw in a good variety of individualized experiences. I just wish there was a bit more to the online mode, and an available world tournament to play (not opening until 9/30). What you get seems like a lot, but there is a lot of mode repetition throughout the game.
On that sweet note, let’s wrap up this review.
Conclusion
Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, from developer Hyde, brings together a strong essence that makes the series so much fun. A good set of modes, overdramatic characters, and easy-to-use mechanics make this experience entertaining and accessible, even for the non-golf fan. While it’s not perfect, it’s a solid release in the series.
