It’s on the green.
Arcade golf games have always been my forte. I absolutely loved Mario Golf and Hot Shots back in their heydays, and unfortunately, there hasn’t been many in the past few years aside from one or two games every three years. Well, Clap Hanz is finally back on the PS4 with Everybody’s Golf. That’s right. They decided to go with the Japanese title for the North American release, but make no mistake, this is very much Hot Shots Golf 7.
For the uninitiated, and this game really plays out as if the player is, Everybody’s Golf is a simple arcade golf game that has players creating their very own golfer and playing in tournaments in order to level up their rank, skills, and wardrobe to make it to the top of the board in the single player. Then, players can move over to the online multiplayer and take on people across the globe.
Platforms: PS4
MSRP: $39.99
Price I’d pay: $39.99
It’s rather simple to be honest. The golfing itself is a simple three button press system. Tap once to begin, second to determine the power of the swing, and third to determine the accuracy of the hit on the ball. If I mess up on the point of contact, I could end up slicing the ball too far to the left for right and end up in the rough or worse, in a hazard. Players can choose where exactly to tee off from inside the tee off box and from there begin the hole they want. Everybody’s Golf uses a 9 hole system to keep the games short and sweet.
Along the way, while just playing the game, players’ characters will level up in different ways. Finishing a tournament gives experience to the overall level of the golfer, but even during a match, they will gain experience via club experience. If I were to make a great tee off using a 3 Wood, I would gain experience with the power of all 3 Woods. Same goes for Irons. I make a great chip-in with a 5 Iron, I gain better control for all 5 Irons. It’s a nice pace that really gives the player a sense of accomplishment even if they’re having a rough day on the links.
After gaining enough experience points to level up, players will be challenged to a one on one elimination game versus one of the champion players in Everybody’s Golf. These matches consist of each contestant taking a turn on a hole and if one contestant wins more than three holes in a single session, they win by default. When beating these challenges, players will then unlock the wardrobe from the challenger and be able to customize their character even more.
Speaking of customizations, there are a massive ton of them here. Any kind of combination of shirts, pants, skirts, hats, and other accessories are available to the player and even more unlock the more they play. Things can also be purchased through the store using credits gained from winning tournaments as well as completing challenges.
The online mode is rather interesting. Of course, I can always invite friends into a game to play a standard tournament, but just going into the online hub is interesting. Players will spawn into an area with other random players. They can walk around the golf course, choose to play a single hole if they want, interact with the other players there, and even go fishing and zoom around on golf carts. While not playing with chosen individuals, players can choose to take on a global tournament that has their score posted up on the global leader boards for that chosen day/week. There is also a chaotic mode called Turf War where teams will compete with each other to gain control of the golf course by winning holes. It eventually turns into a mad dash as players of each team are running around an entire golf course trying to get to holes the score on before the time limit. It’s actually kind of fun, but a bit too chaotic for my tastes. Everybody’s Golf is a chill out game for me, and it works just fine as that.
While the customization is massive, I do have to say that I don’t entirely like the overall look of the characters and even some of the courses. Many times they look nice, but upon closer inspection, the textures are flat and unimpressive. I really wish Clap Hanz had used the PS4’s potential to make an impressive looking golf game.
The only other issue I have with Everybody’s Golf is the grind. While the pacing is decent, players are going to have to get used to playing the same courses multiple times. Unlocking new ones takes a lot of time in the single player mode. While that’s fine and it allows one to master the courses, I would have liked to see a few more brought up more often.
Everybody’s Golf was exactly what I was looking for in a relaxing, yet fun game. It has the makings of a great arcade golf game and some pretty nice longevity with the online mode. The single player is no slouch either even when it does get slightly grindy. The customization is giant, and the way the game teaches the player the simple mechanics of golf and slowly discusses the more complicated aspects of the game and how to do certain shots really makes the game accessible to pretty much anyone. I highly suggest this one to anyone remotely interested in it or the game of golf. There’s a lot of content here, and for the most part, it’s all good.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.