‘Cursed To Golf’ (PS5) Review: A Blessing To Play

Games ‘Cursed To Golf’ (PS5) Review: A Blessing To Play Matt Gardner Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. A British writer covering indie and retro gaming, esports, and more. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Aug 21, 2022, 08:03am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin ‘Cursed to Golf’ may be the best value for money you’ll get from a game in 2022. Chuhai Labs / Thunderful Games Within five minutes of playing Cursed to Golf , you just know it’s something special. After half an hour, you begin to realize it’s one of the best indie games of the year.

In the hours that follow, you may even think it’s the greatest golf game ever made–the type that makes you wish the real-life sport worked in precisely the same way. Following in the footsteps of the marvelous What the Golf? , Cursed to Golf is proudly “ruining” the sport as we know it –but in reality, it’s doing quite the opposite. This quirky indie adventure from Chuhai Labs and Thunderful Games has found yet another niche between its competition, whether that’s your classic, big-budget, realistic PGA Tour 2K21 , the charming RPG take of Golf Story , or the anarchy of Golf with Your Friends .

On paper, it shouldn’t work. Combining 2D platformers, roguelike elements, and Scotland’s greatest contribution to sport, Cursed to Golf may be one of the weirdest gaming propositions of 2022. And yet, despite its chaotic look, it’s a simple idea done brilliantly, beautifully and, despite some stiff competition from small studios during 2022, it may well be a frontrunner for indie game of the year.

The game starts by combining a super-light tutorial with an introduction to our character: a golfer who’s about to triumph in the Eternal Golf Championship. As you learn its basic controls and your simple selection of three clubs–a driver, iron, and wedge–clouds roll over the once-pleasant 18th hole, inevitably culminating in your grisly fate: being struck by lightning just as you’re about to sink the final, tournament-winning putt. MORE FOR YOU ‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 Finally Has An Actual 2021 Release Date Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Not A Sure Thing, Says Director ‘Genshin Impact’ Still Refuses To Increase Anniversary Rewards, Despite Fan Outcry Soon, you find yourself in Golf Purgatory, in the company of a humongous, kilt-wearing golfer known as the Scotsman, who gregariously introduces you to your challenge: to complete four zones, each one culminating in a boss battle, to escape limbo and return to the real world.

The only problem is that once you run down your Par Count–a limited shot clock you can top up by breaking statues–you’re back to the very start. Cursed To Golf ’s real strength lies in its pacing, which perfectly encapsulates its roguelike roots. Like stablemates HyperParasite and Hades before it, it offers a new and ultimately accessible take on its genre, introducing a whole new audience to enjoyable punishment.

The Scotsman, the first character you meet in Golf Purgatory, also serves as a hard-hitting boss. Chuhai Labs / Thunderful Games After learning its baseline mechanics, you’re given a selection of Ace Cards to give you different abilities with each shot, which can stop your ball, change its direction, and even turn it into a drill. You’re also able to add spin to your shots, use different Elemental Balls to overcome hazards, and stock up on abilities to use on those playthroughs when you think you just might escape purgatory once and for all.

Fundamentally, and like any good roguelike, Cursed to Golf is blameless for the mistakes you make. Courses are increasingly harsh but always fair, the controls are tight enough to learn their timing quirks, and strategies are always open to change, depending on how well things are going. The sheer rush of blood to the head when you nail a carefully planned shot is divine; the pressure to make the hole in your final shot is a burden like no other; defeat is generally inevitable.

And yet, every time Cursed to Golf dumps you back at the start of your run, you don’t feel deflated; chances are you’ll pick up your clubs for one more go, and then another after that. You’re always learning new ways to raise that Par Count, honing your skills so those more repetitive early holes are a walk in the park, and deploying Ace Cards in new and exciting ways. The “final shot” warning is as ominous as things in life can feel.

Chuhai Labs / Thunderful Games All the while, Cursed to Golf is a stunning game–one of the most beautiful 2D platformers out there, where the framerate appears to hold a solid 60fps, and every tiny detail, right through to the minutiae in any given background, is thoughtfully and gorgeously designed. It’s paired with one of the best soundtracks of the year, too–the kind you’ll find yourself humming in the rare hours of free time the game allows you to have, such is its grip. In all honesty, it’s hard to find any major faults in Cursed to Golf .

Boss battles can be wretched affairs in those early stages–the odds feel stacked against you, given their superpowers (most notably, The Forgotten’s birds)–but, y’know, they’re bosses. Similarly, each more successful playthrough is not a quick affair, but you’re playing golf–when has it ever been a speedrun? For just $20, Cursed to Golf is among the best value for money that a gamer can get in 2022–and, for Chuhai Labs, a hole in one that puts the young indie developer firmly on the radar. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn .

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