Cursed to Golf Review
The most exciting thing about indie sports titles is that sometimes you get a mash of multiple genres in one game that creates a unique experience. Cursed to Golf is a near-perfect example of that, taking the characteristics of a rogue-lite with some platforming elements and throwing them into a fun golf experience. With roughly 15 hours played in Golf Purgatory, I can safely say that Thunderful’s ghostly golf game is frustrating, fun, and addicting. The perfect combination.
Meet The Champ
On the brink of winning the biggest golf tournament of his career, The Champ is suddenly struck by lightning. With death insight, The Champ falls deep into Golf Purgatory, where he meets a ghostly Scottish caddy named The Scotsman. This friendly ghost tells The Champ that he must complete 18-holes of the most hellish game of golf to return to the living. If he fails, he will spend the rest of Eterni-tee in Golf Purgatory.
Golfing in Purgatory
Golf Purgatory is everything from a graveyard with demonic statues to grasslands with sharp jagged spikes. But all of it makes your golf experience a living hell. However, some items help increase your chances of returning to the living.
Idols
Idols are statues that are placed around every golf course. They increase the number of shots you can take, so you should plan your strategy around hitting idols on your way to the hole.
Ace Cards
Ace Cards give you abilities to help you through Golf Purgatory. These abilities range from stopping the ball midflight, redirecting a shot, or turning a golf ball into ice. Gathering these cards throughout your run and using them wisely is essential to your success in Cursed to Golf. As you progress through the game, other abilities become available, which keeps the game fresh throughout your playthrough.
I spent my first 4 hours in the game’s opening stages, trying to get my barrings and understand what cards I was good at using.
A Caddy with a Stragtagy
Even caddying from one course to another involves some strategy. Choosing which route to go can be costly. You could obtain many cards and money on one path but have to play through a cursed hole; which causes effects on your ball and course. Another path might be straightforward, but you don’t gain many items leading up to the boss encounter. These small decisions can make the boss’s course easy or very challenging.
Not Rogue-lite but Golflike
Cursed to Golf takes the sport of golf and throws it into an addicting rogue-lite gameplay loop. Similar to games like Hades, when you fail to reach a hole, you will restart your journey in Golf Purgatory; but you will retain the items and abilities you gain throughout your previous playthrough.
This gameplay loop hooked me and kept me wanting to go another round even though I was frustrated. Cursed to Golf’s ball physics are so good that it’s usually not a game error that causes you to fail; it’s always a user error. I often stupidly hit balls into the water or blindly slapped the ball into the abyss and got stuck. It would be best if you have a strategy to the hole and a good understanding of the many stages that the game generates.
What I would love to see implemented is a multiplayer feature with a time attack or race mode similar to the boss courses. Playing with your friends in a separate mode would make the experience more fun in Cursed to Golf.
Verdict
Cursed to Golf’s difficulty and gameplay loop had me hooked from the first tee. The rogue-lite elements mixed with the addicting golf gameplay will have you teeing off deep into Golf Purgatory. And with a modest price point of 20 dollars, you will be playing one of my favorite indie titles this year.