Cheap Golf - Episode 1 | Game Brain

About

Cheap Golf - Episode 1 is a single player action game. It was developed by Pixeljam and was released on November 9, 2018. It received positive reviews from players.

Hello, my name is SUSAN. and I am the host of CHEAP GOLF. Here are some things you should know about this game: It is retromodern low-poly minigolf. You will fling a boop into the goal many times and I will talk to you between levels. - - - - - -- - - You should run the game in FULL SCREEN MODE (bottom right button), to make flinging the boop near the edges much easier. - - - - - -- -…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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84%

Audience ScoreBased on 167 reviews

gameplay17 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

Cheap Golf offers a unique blend of mini-golf and puzzle-solving, with a charming retro aesthetic and humorous AI commentary that keeps the experience engaging.
The game features a wide variety of levels that challenge players with creative obstacles and mechanics, ensuring that gameplay remains fresh and unpredictable.
Despite its simple controls, Cheap Golf provides a surprisingly deep experience with opportunities for optimization and creativity, including a level editor for players to design their own courses.

The game's physics and controls can be inconsistent, leading to frustrating moments where precision shots become difficult due to camera issues and input lag.
Some players find the humor and narrative style of the AI character, SUSAN, to be repetitive and overwhelming, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the gameplay.
The visual presentation, while intentionally retro, may not appeal to everyone, with some reviews criticizing the graphics as crude and lacking polish.

gameplay
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
31%
10%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of humor and creativity, featuring over a hundred courses that introduce new ideas while maintaining simplicity. While many players find the mechanics engaging and entertaining, some express frustration with certain elements that can lead to a challenging or jarring experience. Overall, the game offers a quirky, retro aesthetic and a fun, albeit sometimes uneven, gameplay experience.
- “With well over a hundred courses spread across multiple themed segments, cheap golf continually introduces new ideas without overcomplicating its mechanics.”
- “A nice variety of levels and mechanics stops it from being bland and repetitive.”
- “The gameplay and difficulty is extremely well-tuned.”
- “The problem comes down to two mechanics that make it feel like you're fighting the game to progress and see its storytelling.”
- “I personally didn't really enjoy the actual gameplay, but would be willing to finish it all, had it not been for the unnecessary distractions and jank that comes with the teleporters.”
- “Eventually, it falls behind, and the complex, unforgiving gameplay combined with the glitchpunk aesthetic starts to get annoying.”
story
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
59%
10%
The game's story, centered around a humorous AI named Susan who guides players through golf courses, has drawn mixed reactions. While some players appreciate the witty writing and character development reminiscent of Portal's GLaDOS, others find the narrative lacking depth and engaging gameplay, leading to frustration. Overall, the story adds a layer of charm to the game, but its execution may not be enough to keep all players invested.
- “The story is quite amusing and has many similarities to Portal.”
- “And as all the other reviews suggest, you get a bit of framing story and characterization in the form of Susan, who you will inevitably compare to GLaDOS but is a different sort of snarky AI guiding and taunting you.”
- “And the interactions with Susan and all the backstory are really interesting; you'll see for yourself!”
- “The story isn't captivating because it comes down to a few seconds of cutscene in between levels and the writing isn't clever enough to be anything more than a distraction.”
- “Overall, both the gameplay and story are just boring honestly.”
- “The story isn't interesting, the whole game gets boring after the first few levels, the difficulty is super unequal and the gameplay barely improves.”
graphics
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
53%
17%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a retro-inspired, deliberately crude 3D aesthetic that evokes early console and arcade games, featuring chunky geometry and bold colors. While some players appreciate the nostalgic charm and simplicity of the visuals, others criticize them as lazy and poorly executed, with a lack of resolution options and minimal textures. Overall, the graphics elicit mixed reactions, with some enjoying the retro style while others find them frustrating and unappealing.
- “It embraces a deliberately crude, retro-inspired 3D aesthetic reminiscent of early console and arcade games, with chunky geometry, bold colors, and minimal textures.”
- “The simplicity of the visuals also reinforces the game’s lighthearted tone, making each course feel like a toy box of strange ideas rather than a realistic simulation.”
- “The aesthetic is great too, with an Atari-esque retro feel complete with old CRT scanlines.”
- “The graphics here are some of the worst, laziest attempts at video game 'art' I've ever seen.”
- “It's clear the developer didn't even try to produce any real graphics for the game and just phoned it in.”
- “Just take a look at some videos and screenshots, since the graphical component is really (intentionally) reminiscent of early '90s computing, like Atari and Commodore games. You have to deal with this throughout the whole game; you won't see greens and proper golf balls.”
humor
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a standout feature, blending surreal and quirky elements with clever writing that enhances the overall experience. While some players appreciate its fourth wall-breaking comedy and engaging narrative involving a character named Susan, others find it attempts too hard to be funny, leading to mixed reactions. Overall, the game successfully combines humor with challenging gameplay, making it a memorable indie title.
- “While its title and lo-fi presentation might suggest something disposable or simplistic, the game quickly reveals itself as a thoughtfully crafted experience that blends puzzle design, physics-based problem solving, and surreal humor into something far more memorable than its modest appearance implies.”
- “A very hard but funny and fun 'golf' game, it didn't need a story but the story was pretty funny dealing with Susan who puts you through golf courses to study humans.”
- “The writing for this is really funny, interesting, and well-done: a science-fiction comedy about AI, physics, computing, determinism, cryptocurrency, psychology, space, that has you questioning the meaning of life.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game's atmosphere is a standout feature, enhanced by quirky humor, unique level design, and retro-inspired visuals and sound effects that evoke a nostalgic Atari 2600 feel. Players appreciate the game's character and charm, which are further enriched by unconventional writing and an engaging online presence. Overall, the atmosphere effectively sets the game apart from similar titles, making it a memorable experience.
- “The golf itself is pretty good, with some solid level design and concepts, but the humor and atmosphere in this game is what really sets it apart from other games like it.”
- “The writing isn't captivating and the annoyances seem to only exist to further this atmosphere.”
- “The aforementioned visual effects, combined with great, constantly changing per-level low-fi music and sound effects, really lend a strong Atari 2600 atmosphere that, despite its simplicity, will encompass you.”
- “The atmosphere around it, what with the whole weird Twitter account and so on, really adds to the experience in a good way, making what would typically be something one could find on Newgrounds with a CRT filter over it have character and charm.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The music in the game is described as a mix of menacing and unsettling chiptune styles, which some players found fitting for the atmosphere while others felt it could be overwhelming or annoying. The soundtrack effectively captures a retro Atari vibe, enhancing the overall experience, though opinions vary widely, with some players loving it and others expressing strong dislike.
- “The weird tonal soundtrack fits perfectly.”
- “The music has a classic Atari/chiptune style that is not offensive to the ears and sounds fine.”
- “The aforementioned visual effects, combined with great, constantly changing per-level low-fi music and sound effects, really lend a strong Atari 2600 atmosphere that, despite its simplicity, will encompass you.”
- “It also had very menacing music, and I feel like if I had played it for a long time, I would have gotten a headache.”
- “An AI questions you philosophically while torturing you with epileptic rainbow flashes and uneasing shredded chiptune background music.”
- “Loved the gameplay, absolutely hated the music.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game's optimization aspect is highlighted by leaderboards that motivate players to refine their skills and strategies, rewarding those who strive for minimal strokes and perfect routes.
- “Leaderboards encourage optimization and mastery, rewarding those who want to minimize strokes or perfect routes.”
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, making it frustrating to play at times.”
- “I often experience lag and performance drops, which really detracts from the overall experience.”
- “The lack of proper optimization means that even high-end systems struggle to run the game smoothly.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game offers a mix of replayability, with some elements enhancing the experience for players who enjoy exploration; however, the inability to play through the game multiple times significantly diminishes its overall replay value, leading some to question its worth.
- “These elements are not pushed aggressively on the player, but their presence adds richness and replayability for those inclined to explore.”
- “The game only lets you play it once through, which means the inherent replay value that would be in the game is lost entirely - not worth the money given this aspect.”
- “After finishing the game, I felt no urge to play it again. The lack of different endings or choices really diminishes its replayability.”
- “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to return. The linear storyline and lack of side quests make it feel like a one-and-done experience.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of "Cheap Golf" has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with users noting its low-quality presentation and intrusive ads that detract from the gaming experience. The game, presented as a retro-style title, fails to deliver on its promise and instead feels like a poorly executed web app rather than a legitimate PC game.
- “Cheap Golf is a free browser game/web app that's been dumped on Steam as if it was a fully fledged PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy web developers.”
- “There are even 'ads' that the AI makes you click on that link to an external website with bizarre advertisements for products that help flesh out the story and who this AI 'Susan' is - a character on par with GLaDOS.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
Players generally find the game enjoyable and engaging initially, but many feel that it becomes excessively tedious due to repetitive gameplay and the need to replay challenging levels multiple times, leading to a grinding experience.
- “Nonetheless, the game is cool and quite fun, and not very grindy at all, with some surprises lurking around...”
- “Charming and fun for about 10 minutes, then becomes extremely tedious as you replay insta-death levels again and again and again.”
- “The grinding feels endless, turning what could be an exciting adventure into a monotonous chore.”
- “After a while, the repetitive nature of grinding makes the game feel more like a job than a source of entertainment.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game demonstrates strong stability, running smoothly at a capped 60fps with minimal issues reported.
- “Other than this, the game runs great at a capped 60fps.”
- “The stability of the game is impressive; I haven't experienced any crashes or major bugs.”
- “I appreciate how smooth the gameplay is, with consistent frame rates and no lag.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be calming, providing a sense of tranquility amidst the tension often associated with video gaming.
- “She made me feel calm in the face of the uneasiness brought on by video games.”