Recent reviews by Unraveling

SimGolf was always one of those 'comfort food' kind of games for me. Every couple years or so, I would get an odd craving for a golf course tycoon, for some unknown reason. SimGolf was the only thing that could scratch that itch for ages.

Until Golftopia, that is.

I got this when it was first released on Steam Early Access; in that state it wasn't quite to the point of SimGolf, but it was close. I almost wrote a review that that point, and I'm glad I didn't. Almost all of the issues I had with this game at release(lack of shot types, tournaments, golfer AI) were quickly knocked out in one patch after another. At the point of this review (0.6.0), I'd consider this game basically on par with SimGolf, though it definitely feels different with its sci-fi elements and smatterings of Tower Defense game play.

It's like if a great local restaurant started serving a version of some obscure childhood favorite food of yours. A mix of joy and paranoia washes over you when you see it on the menu, like the chef knew exactly what you wanted without ever asking, and decided to prepare a new take on cuisine you weren't sure anybody outside your own household even knew about. It's not quite SimGolf, and it doesn't try to be, but it certainly hits that same spot for me.

The game itself is beautiful, but still ran well on my old gaming laptop with an 860M. The course construction tools are spot on. Being able to paint over everything but green and fairway, or only over sand traps, or any other combination of the various terrain types, makes building a hole feel snappy, instead of feeling like a fight against the UI. The system for painting terrain types with a brush allows for lots of freedom to build the course compared to the isometric grid of SimGolf. I know, I'm comparing UI and mechanics of games that were released almost 20 years apart, but there really hasn't been much else to compare SimGolf to until now. If someone knows another comparable game that's worth playing, please tell me. I can always use more golf course simulators, apparently.

I feel like any current complaints I have about the game will just get ironed out at this pace. However, more map styles and aesthetic choices would be very welcome. Also, if deeper skill progression is added, I think that would put it firmly above SimGolf for me. But until the day I can give my golf manager the swing power of a gorilla and the accuracy of a blindfolded man on the tee, I'll have to put this game at about the same level as SimGolf.

If you're like me, and find yourself coming back to SimGolf every now and then to scratch some golf itch you don't understand and lose a day or two, give this a shot. Since I found Golftopia, I've been SimGolf-free for nearly 5 months now, and I think I'll be staying clean.

Had my grandson and son-in-law killed to make sure my genius newborn son could inherit.
11/10 would gain sympathy for Disney villains again.