Golf Story

Golf Story is a smashing success and does so much more than it needs to. While the game would have been well received simply for its golfing aspect, Sidebar Games has built a great narrative and world around it.

Yes, this is just a golf game at its core, but Golf Story makes you care about the characters and their world just as much as sinking a do-or-die putt. Part of its charm is keeping you off kilter, forcing you to hit a 300-yard drive with pinpoint precision one second, then solve a murder mystery the next. A continual delight to play, Golf Story is a breath of fresh air for sports, and another fun story to follow for role-playing fanatics.

Sidebar Games brings Nintendo Switch users a great RPG adventure camouflaged in a golf game.

I was already hooked by the idea of a golfing game with an overworld, side quests, stats, and leveling, but it wound up being so much more than that. The fact it's not trying to be a sim makes it so approachable, and I have no problem suggesting this to people who don't even like golf. Technical issues notwithstanding, Golf Story is an unexpected and excellent addition to the Switch's eShop lineup.

The plot in Golf Story isn’t the most gripping or complex, but its world and characters simply ooze with so much charm it’s hard not to fall in love with it. Though the gameplay mechanics on show here might not be as deep as you’d want from a proper golf game, Golf Story is still a wonderful delight to play from start to finish, and it’s a gem of an RPG that Switch owners shouldn’t skip out on.

Its plot could be more involving and it feels too long on several moments, while the characters certainly won't become the player's darlings but Golf Story's redeeming factors can cover part of its shortcomings and create an interesting mixture of an RPG and golf.

There's plenty to like here - the script almost justifies a playthrough by itself - but it's a little overlong, a little padded out, it's obvious charms soon obscured by busywork, reputation and irritation. [Christmas 2017, p.122]

Great game. One of the best RPG on Switch (it’s in my top 5 switch rpgs) and one of the best indie pixel art games ever made.

Bought the physical copy and complete the game. Basically it's a good game especially if you like RPG elements, but there's significant problems with the control and linear storyline, and also lack of tutorial in guidance. I personally don't think the final chapter which is a tournament is fair enough, especiallythe gamer have to face the wind blowing and uneven surface of conditions that not well presented on screen. It's a good game but not great.

Good base mechanics but I have found that (on the switch) some of my inputs seem to be ignored for a given hit, resulting in inconsistent results (sometimes). At the beginning of the story there seems to be characters, and gameplay elements that would be developed later in the game, and whil each level does bring something new to the table there is a distinct feeling that the developer bit off more than they could handle and that the final product is alot less than what could have been. This is also apparent in the narrative, which although funny, seems to have been cut back due to a lack of time or resources. The result is a game that, while fun, feels a little short, and occasionally repetitive.

Not sure if everyone else is just easy entertained or what but this gane is boring. So bare bones it has no place being on anything but a dusty SNES cartridge. Charming? Uhh if simplistic dialog is charming to you. But but..kots if side quests!! They don't tell you 90% of them are so mind numbing "hit ball here".

Well the storytelling around the golf system is fun (though I feel like the controls on Switch are not intuitive for me at all and took me a bit to get familiar with). My main complaint : the Frisbee is just really really bad design, I have to force me to pass over these tests to go through the whole game and give it a fair chance, but the overall experience at the end wasn't THAT great.