Gone Golfing
- October 15, 2020
- Icehelm
"Gone Golfing" is a first-person golfing game with a twist of horror and comedy. Players must navigate through a Lovecraftian-inspired environment, solve puzzles, and survive against enemy AI while playing golf. The game features unique mascots, mutated creatures, and multiple endings, with the additional "Merry Golfmas" DLC offering a new map, rules, and challenges.
Reviews
- Gone Golfing is a unique blend of mini-golf and survival horror, providing a fun and quirky experience that keeps players engaged.
- The game features interesting puzzles and a charming aesthetic, with a mix of humor and horror that adds to its appeal.
- Despite its flaws, the game offers multiple endings and game modes, making it a decent value for its low price.
- The golfing mechanics are clunky and frustrating, often leading to tedious gameplay that detracts from the overall experience.
- Enemy AI is inconsistent and can be easily exploited, reducing the tension and scare factor intended in a horror game.
- The game suffers from numerous glitches and poor sound design, which can disrupt immersion and enjoyment.
- gameplay32 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the fun and unique "gone fishing" level, while others criticize the overall mechanics as tedious and clunky. The golfing mechanics are particularly noted for being rough and difficult to master, often leading to frustrating experiences, especially when the ball interacts poorly with the environment. Despite these issues, the game's art direction and atmosphere have been appreciated, suggesting that while the gameplay may falter, the overall experience can still be enjoyable for some players.
“If you can look past the convoluted hide-and-seek mechanics and a good handful of jarring enemy pathfinding, I'd highly recommend grabbing this gem.”
“I actually do like the jankiness of the golfing mechanics, and the atmosphere and art direction made it pretty easy to immerse myself into the game.”
“Fun game regardless of how you play though, I love the art style and the golfing mechanics.”
“The golfing mechanics are very rough; if the ball lands near a course boundary, you're going to have a bad time, as the putter will register that you want to swing above the boundary instead of swinging at the ball.”
“Putting mechanics are terrible and shot strength is hard to gauge.”
“The problem, however, is the weird nature of the clunkiness of the gameplay merged with the lack of atmosphere that really hurts the game and any sort of impact to keep you really wanting to play more.”
- story18 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as having an interesting backstory that spans multiple modes, but the execution is often criticized as blunt and poorly integrated, particularly in the last level, "gone fishing," which attempts to explore the antagonist's backstory but ultimately falls flat. While there are multiple endings and modes that offer replay value, many players feel the narrative elements do not cohesively come together, leading to frustration rather than engagement with the story. Overall, the storytelling is seen as secondary and lacking depth.
“The backstory behind the game is interesting, and the story spans through all of the game modes and alludes to more meaning behind what is going on.”
“With multiple endings and different game modes besides the main story such as Merry Golfmas and Golfmare, there is infinite replay value.”
“They even have a little story that works.”
“Additionally, the storytelling is meh.”
“The worst contender of poor storytelling is definitely the last level 'Gone Fishing.' Really, the entire level is oddly placed and bad.”
“It tries to tell a prequel story about the main antagonist Mr. Golfy relating to his relationship with his father, I believe, but it just doesn't work.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the unique low poly art style and solid aesthetic, while others criticize the visuals as grotesquely bad and in need of polish. Despite the varied opinions, many agree that the art style contributes to the game's charm, even if it doesn't elevate the overall experience. Overall, the visuals are seen as a fun aspect, but they may not meet everyone's expectations.
“The mascots look really unique for the game, and fit really well with the low poly art style.”
“Fun game regardless of how you play, though I love the art style and the golfing mechanics.”
“Visuals were nice, the golfing felt good; could use a bit more polish, but it was still pretty nice.”
“Won't complain about the graphics because it's part of the charm and vibe, but it's just so grotesquely bad right off the bat that I can't recommend anyone bother.”
“Visuals 5/10”
“Visuals 5/10”
- humor12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by absurd characters, witty dialogue from monsters, and a darkly comedic premise involving monsters bludgeoning players with golf clubs. While many players appreciate the unique blend of humor and horror, some find the gameplay tedious, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the game is noted for its entertaining and quirky ambiance, making it a standout in the indie horror genre.
“The characters are absurd, there's funny dialogue from the monsters hunting you, and the monsters literally just bludgeon you to death with golf clubs.”
“Wasn't really sure what to expect but 'Gone Golfing' is a nice mix of humor and horror.”
“A great little horror game with a delightfully dark sense of humor.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is significantly hampered by numerous bugs and glitches, particularly affecting the AI of monsters, which become increasingly problematic after the first level. Players report issues such as AI detecting them through walls and persistent glitches that detract from the overall experience, especially in the DLC. Despite these stability concerns, many still find the game enjoyable.
“The AI of the monsters is incredibly buggy past the first level.”
“Getting past the main game, the DLC is broken with AI that can see you through walls, making it nearly impossible to avoid them due to glitches.”
“The game is fun to play, but the main issues are the glitches and bugs.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unengaging, with an interesting concept that quickly loses its appeal. The gameplay becomes repetitive and drawn out, detracting from the initial excitement and making completion feel like a chore. Overall, while the idea has potential, its execution leads to a frustrating experience.
“This becomes much more tedious and will drag out this part of the game, both games did take a few attempts while playing to complete because of this.”
“It is an interesting idea which is executed on an okay level, but ends up falling flat by being scary for the first few seconds and then tedious for the rest of each game mode.”
“Funny concept but the actual gameplay is super tedious and unfun.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the art direction and find it immersive, others criticize the lack of sound design and music, which detracts from the overall experience. The clunky gameplay further complicates the atmosphere, leaving some players feeling disconnected and less engaged. Overall, the atmosphere fails to consistently captivate players, impacting their desire to continue playing.
“I actually do like the jankiness of the golfing mechanics, and the atmosphere and art direction made it pretty easy to immerse myself into the game.”
“The problem, however, is the weird nature of the clunkiness of the gameplay merged with the lack of atmosphere that really hurts the game and any sort of impact to keep you wanting to play more.”
“The lack of sound design and music oomph doesn't create the atmosphere that's really needed.”
“The gameplay feels clunky, and the absence of a compelling atmosphere detracts from the overall experience.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers high replayability due to its multiple endings and various game modes, including unique options like Merry Golfmas and Golfmare, providing players with endless opportunities to experience the content differently.
“With multiple endings and different game modes besides the main story, such as Merry Golfmas and Golfmare, there is infinite replay value.”
“With multiple endings and different game modes besides the main story, such as Merry Golfmas and Golfmare, there is infinite replay value.”
- music2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been criticized for its lack of impactful sound design, failing to create the necessary atmosphere to enhance the overall experience.
“Lack of sound design and music oomph that doesn't create the atmosphere that's really needed.”