Golf Club: Wasteland Review
Golf can be a fun and relaxing pastime when you get the chance, but if you like the sport but want a bit more of a fun element, there is Crazy Golf. It’s here that Golf Club: Wasteland takes its premise. A fun round of Crazy Golf in a world that has been wiped of humankind and the elite rich are residing on Mars, but venture to Earth for a round of golf.
As you play through the levels you start to unravel what happened to the Earth and what happened to the inhabitants from what seems to be an ecological disaster and rich companies that seems to have plummeted the economy into an absolute meltdown. These are conveyed through the radio and a Podcast that you listen to while you play and the environment within in of the 35 levels on offer.
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The game itself is beautiful to play and to look at with a 2D art style and a cartoon like character in his orange spacesuit playing a round of golf in front of some backdrops with pink neon lighting and graffiti scattered about all the while giving you a feeling like something, or someone may be watching you as you play. Golf Club: Wasteland challenges you to try to sink your ball into the hole while navigating the various hazards on each of the 35 levels, from polluted waters and abandoned office buildings and shopping outlets to avoiding animals and other odd creatures. There are 3 game modes on available to you, Story Mode, Challenge Mode, and Iron Mode. In Story Mode you are left to your own devices and can play each level at your leisure and not worry about shot counts (strokes in golf) or worry about your score cards. It’s just about playing the game, taking in the atmosphere of the levels and listen to a bit of Mars Radio as you play through
Challenge mode is where you play a more traditional style of golf where you are trying to sink the ball in as less shots as possible to progress. Iron Mode is for the best of the best where there is literally ZERO error allowed and you must bring your A game with you.
When it comes to the gameplay mechanics there’s not much to shout about and it’s all down to using your mouse or controller, depending on your platform of choice. With your mouse, you aim your shot by moving the mouse away from the direction you want to aim and click the Left Button to take the shot. While on the controller you will be using the Left Thumbstick to aim and hitting the A button to take your shot. There are other controls like moving the camera, zooming in and out to get a better look at your level and where it flag is and so on. It’s quite simple and easy to get to grips with so you will be swinging your club about in no time!
Each of the levels are well thought out and designed with each level getting progressively harder as you reach the final level. In each level you are greeted with some obstacles to overcome to sink the ball. These vary from massive cranes and steel loading containers to skyscrapers and even inside a chemical plant with a not so nice pet.
Visually the graphics in Golf Club: Wasteland are quirky and beautiful in their own way, and I really like the art style the developers have gone for. Your player dons an orange space suited and moves about with a jetpack and takes a wee stretch before he plays about in this uninhabited (perhaps?) world to the life that remains litter across each level. With neon lights that are scattered about in the background on office buildings and supermarkets as creatures like mutated cows, squirrels (that will snatch your ball away if given half the chance) and even a giraffe watch on as you play. Plus, there are figures lurking in shadows watching what appears to be children judging by their size or perhaps something more ominous awaits…
The only negative (and I’m nit-picking here) point I have to say about the game is the lack of a multiplayer option, which would have been fantastic. Playing with/against your friends in Golf Club: Wasteland would have been a great option, as it is after all a crazy golf type of game! Perhaps in a future title we may get that option and hopefully we do, but it doesn’t defer my opinion that this is a fun game to play!
Overall
I loved playing Golf Club: Wasteland and each level offered up enough to keep my attention right until the very end! The visuals are quirky and beautiful in their own right and the controls are simple and work fantastic. While it lacks a multiplayer option, it won’t ruin your experience of the game that is well worth your time! Tee up lads!
GoG Rating: 9/10
SSG Rating 9/10