Cursed to Golf Review

Game: Cursed to Golf
Genre: Action, Puzzle, Sports
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam (Windows & Linux), PS4 and Xbox)
Developer|Publisher: Chuhai Labs | Thunderful
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US Everyone
Price: US $19.99 | UK £16.99 | EU € 19,99
Release Date: August 18th, 2022

Review code provided with many thanks to Plan of Attack.

Rogue-Golf-Like 

Cursed to Golf is a 2D golfing game with rogue-like elements, with a dash of card mechanics for good measure. This is not the first time I’ve played a golf game that incorporates the rogue-like design (and probably won’t be the last). Cursed to Golf offers up a golfing experience that is quite different from the norm. A tough 18 holes of golf await you and some gamers will love the high bar of challenge but I can see some getting stuck in a bunker all too often and throwing their clubs in the water. Want to know more, then read on.

The Ultimate Prize

You are a champion golfer taking on the final of a golf tournament. You’re at the 18th hole ready to take your final shot when Zap! A bolt of lightning sends you down to purgatory. There you meet a spirit known as the Scots Man who informs you that to ascend back to life and obtain your well deserved champion trophy you need to complete 18 holes of golf. But these 18 holes are no walk in the park. They are filled with traps and challenges, with multiple routes to the hole and in some cases multiple holes. You start with a 5 stroke limit. If it drops to zero, you are sucked back down to the start of the course to attempt the malicious climb all over again.

The story is kept pretty simple and to the point with occasional text dialogue with the spirits who are trapped in golf purgatory. There’s a light hearted humour to the whole affair. Even though the subject matter of death is kinda depressing, the game presents with this cute retro pixelated art style which is suitable for all gamers of all ages. The Scots Man for me was a particular highlight as he gives you a lot of moral support in your quest. Even when I utterly failed at the game’s tutorial the pleased giant ghost was there to offer encouragement. I enjoyed how his background music had a retro themed Scottish flavour to it. Even though you are in purgatory the soundtrack mostly sounds encouraging and upbeat, softening the horror themes of the experience.

Stroke Limit

The goal is pretty simple: hit your ball into the hole within a set number of strokes. But unlike most golf games the courses in Cursed to Golf are long and at times quite complex. Each hole is randomly generated and it was very rare for me to see the same hole twice despite starting the game again over and over. There are often multiple routes to the hole. There are safer routes which take longer, but have less hazards and often include trophies you can destroy to increase your stroke limit. The shortcuts tend to have very narrow corridors, filled with hazards which only the most precise and daring of golfers will take on.

Controls for the game I’m pleased to say are pick up and play (or drive). Simply choose your desired club, face left or right, tap your power and tap for your angle then watch your ball fly. If you set up a shot but feel you’ve made a wrong call you can cancel it and choose a different club. After a failed run you learn a handy spin move which lets you manipulate the direction the ball will bounce after hitting. An essential tool to help with the nudges into the hole.

Cursed to Golf is a game you really need to take your time lining up your shots. With the haunting stroke limit counting down every turn it didn’t exactly encourage me to take chances on risky routes. A rather large niggle I had is that your view from where you take your shot is very restricted. You can zoom out and observe your surroundings before you take a shot and see what’s ahead. But when you line up your shot to take it you return to the restricted view. Often it feels like you’re rolling the golf dice and hoping for the best. 

Play a Card 

To aid you further in your quest you can play various cards known as ‘ace cards’ before you take a shot. These might include allowing you to change the direction of the ball mid flight. Or turn the ball into a rocket which can be controlled temporarily. Then there’s a scatter shot which shoots 3 balls and you choose the most favourable one to play from on the next turn. Some cards will also increase your stroke limit or let you take a practice shot. Once they are used they are gone for good. You can obtain more by purchasing them at the Eterni-tee shop run by the Scots Man or finding them in chests.

I found some Ace cards weren’t well explained which often led to me totally wasting a shot a few times before I got used to how to actually use them. For example, one card lets you change the direction mid flight but you press the ‘B’ button to do this instead of the usual ‘A’ button to hit the ball in the first place. When you complete a hole you get to choose your preferred path in two directions. Like the courses themselves one path is often the safe option to another hole. The other will have chests with cars or money but also contain a cursed course. These are more challenging holes which add handicaps every so often. Such as only letting you hit the ball to the left or causing it to rain which will affect your play. After a few holes you’ll take on a boss which puts you head to head with another golfer. You need to beat them to the flag whilst still staying under your par limit.

Cursed to Golf feels well worth the price of entry when it comes to content. Keep in mind there is no multiplayer but I guess you could always pass the Switch to a loved one between turns. 

It’s Tough in Purgatory 

Difficulty is often the rogue-like way but I found the barrier to entry to get into Cursed to Golf incredibly high. It took multiple attempts before I could make any progress after the 3rd hole. There were also many times I just knew in my gut the run was a lost cause and chose to abandon it in advance, something I rarely do in roguelike games.

Runs are incredibly long in the hours, thank goodness for the standby feature on Switch so I can dip in and out of it. I can see some gamers picking this up but jumping off quite quickly due to the frustrating nature of the difficulty. It takes time to get your head around the right club to use and having the right ace card to play at the right time. It even requires having gaming gods present you with a course that’s manageable from the game’s random level generation. After spending a lengthy amount of time the game did start to click with me more. But I feel this could really do with an easier mode to break people in a bit more.

Performance wise the game is fine in handheld and TV modes. I did encounter a small number of crashes. One was happening when I was particularly far into the game and was heartbreaking when rebooting as I had to start the run all over.

Conclusion – Aim for Par

I liked Cursed to Golf but I didn’t love it. I was won over early with the game’s charming art style and loveable ghostly spirits. But when it came to playing golf I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I was telling myself I should. The levels are long and become very unforgiving the further you make your way through. This requires a lot of time and patience from the player. Maybe I’m just not ready to ascend yet. Even though it didn’t click with me I can see this being a welcome challenge for others. If you’re looking for a fresh new roguelike with that challenge then Cursed to Golf will keep you busy for many gaming nights to come. Not a hole in one but far from a boogey. 

Final Verdict: I Like It