Review – Everybody’s Golf

I’ve been waiting for a new Everybody’s Golf for what seems like forever. It’s been five years since the release of Everybody’s Golf 6 on Vita and they’ve been a very long five years.

The wait has been worth it though. Everybody’s Golf is sensational.

The cartoony, arcadey, yet somehow still simmish gameplay is fully intact. The simple, but perfect visuals remain true to the franchise and it introduces just enough changes to improve upon the entire experience.

Best of all, Everybody’s Golf will eat your time like no other game.

Hours have flown by while I’ve been playing and it’s been a real struggle to tear myself away. The pull of ‘just one more round’ is far too strong. And who am I to say no, when it’s just so good.

Are you too good for your home?!

Everybody’s Golf takes place on Golf Island. A tropical golfing resort with as many activities as you could want. The Home space, as its called, is a replacement for static menus.

After creating your avatar, you are free to explore your home, meet the characters there and, if you so choose, play some golf. There are plenty of options too. You can enter tournaments, go head-to-head with Vs. characters or jump online. The transition from Home to online is seamless.

Once you elect to go onto an open, online course, you’re free to roam. You can meet other characters and take part in a friendly game. You can enter the daily tournaments or you can just take in the sights. To get the most out of Everybody’s Golf you’ll need to play the tournaments in single player.

PlayStation FOOORE!!

Playing single player tournaments is how you level up your player, your clubs and your skills. The more you play, the better you get and the more shots you’ll sink. You’ll get access to some crazy specialty shots, new courses and better skills.

But there’s more! Playing single player, unlocks fun extras including riding a golf cart, swimming and even fishing. In case you want to take a rest from the breakneck pace of the golfing action, you can always stop at any body of water and have a fish. And the fishing mini-game is actually a lot of fun.

It’s a clever system, designed to teach players how to play. By learning through playing single player and levelling up, when it comes time to take their skills online, they’ll be properly prepared.

What’s with all the birds?

Like pretty much every golf game ever, Everybody’s Golf is played by hitting points on a power meter. You press X once to start the power gauge, once to set the power and a final time to set the impact. Perfect Impacts are where it’s at. This is where you line up the cursor perfectly with the power meter. These shots will go further and straighter, but can also become something else altogether.

By using a combination of D-Pad inputs during the swing you can perform a variety of special shots. These are also unlocked by levelling up through solo play. They’re difficult to pull off, but can certainly be impressive when you do. Putting together your shot also involves checking the wind, the lie and choosing the right club. There’s a lot more to Everybody’s Golf than what appears on the surface.

The flat, basic anime graphics are hiding a really deep and satisfying golf game. The more you learn it and its intricacies and foibles, the better you’ll become and the better a time you’ll have. I’m at the point now where if I don’t get at least a Birdie on all 18-holes of the first course, I consider it a failure.

<Insert Golf Pun>

There’s a lot to do in Everybody’s Golf. The beauty is, that playing the same courses doesn’t become tiresome. They’re all incredibly well designed (oftentimes deviously so) and rather than become bored, I found myself needing to defeat each course.

Unfortunately, I’m still chasing the elusive Hole-in-One. I did manage to get an Albatross once too, but it wasn’t in an official match so it wasn’t counted. These failures only spur me on to keep trying, because eventually I will get there and only then will I be finished.

Nearly everything about Everybody’s Golf makes it a winner. Everything except the way you earn new caddies and special items. After you level up, a new caddy and unlock will be available in your Home area. The problem is, there is no indication as to where they are and sometimes they are so well hidden that I nearly gave up looking. I have no idea why this was the system chosen, but it’s the only serious flaw I found.

It’s been far too long between good golf games and even longer between Everybody’s Golf. It’s easily the best golf game you’ll play this year and is a simply a delight. I highly recommend it for anyone with a PS4.

Everybody’s Golf was reviewed using a PS4 code provided to PowerUp! by Sony.