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EVERYBODY'S GOLF (PS4)
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Publisher: Sony.
Developer: Clap Hanz. Released: August 2017. Genre: Golf. Posted 18th August 2022. By Tom Clare © 2022 |
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Consistency is a lauded commodity, but it’s also sometimes oversold. For an annual revision, reusing successful game assets means it’s relatively easy to please fans, provided the series in question hits upon a good formula to begin with. But how about something more elusive, like consistent excellence? Amongst all of Sony’s gaming series, only a very select handful rank above Everybody’s Golf in terms of average review scores. The few that do outscore it all comprise fewer entries. The seventh home console entry for a series that has excelled across every PlayStation platform, EG would mark the series’ first and only outing on PlayStation 4.
Clap Hanz, the studio at the helm of Everybody’s Golf ever since the second instalment rolled onto the PlayStation back in 2000 (1999 in Japan), has done a remarkable job over the last two decades. This is as close as Sony has come to the “Nintendo model” of crafting a brand. Aimed at a broad audience with bright, friendly characters, cute but attractive visuals and perennially excellent gameplay, they’re seen just enough evolution to remain both compelling and incredibly addictive.
Ignore the NPCs and you'll find another joyously fun, relaxing yet compelling game of golf
Unsurprisingly then, 2017’s iteration remains a huge amount of fun and is another easy recommendation for fans. Evolution is important and Clap Hanz hasn’t shied away from this. That said, the developers have some lessons to take from the PlayStation 4 instalment. Following some tentative but positive steps towards the world of online play in the wonderful Everybody’s Golf: World Tour, the PS4 entry pushes things considerably further in this direction. However, it ends up feeling artificially bloated at times, with some ideas either not quite gelling or missing the mark entirely.
The first misstep is the area that acts as the game’s hub. Perhaps as a legacy of so many games wanting a piece of the open-world pie, EG allows you to tootle around a small island on foot, or in a golf buggy. In practice, this feels like a messy way of accessing main events and a diversion that doesn’t pay off. Cramming the island and the golf courses with NPCs is both frivolous and unnecessary. Worse still, it negatively impacts the gameplay. As well as likely contributing to some lengthy loading times, fellow golfers are an active distraction, running around like headless chickens as the player tries to tee off. It has the feel of a slightly shaky online lobby, even when you aren’t in one, with occasional moments of lag.
The first misstep is the area that acts as the game’s hub. Perhaps as a legacy of so many games wanting a piece of the open-world pie, EG allows you to tootle around a small island on foot, or in a golf buggy. In practice, this feels like a messy way of accessing main events and a diversion that doesn’t pay off. Cramming the island and the golf courses with NPCs is both frivolous and unnecessary. Worse still, it negatively impacts the gameplay. As well as likely contributing to some lengthy loading times, fellow golfers are an active distraction, running around like headless chickens as the player tries to tee off. It has the feel of a slightly shaky online lobby, even when you aren’t in one, with occasional moments of lag.
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The hub comes with some uncharacteristically gimmicky touches that tarnish slightly the overall experience. Buggies would make sense for speedy exploration, except there’s hardly any incentive or reward for doing so. There’s an ill-fitting fishing game shoehorned in too, which functions okay but makes little sense within a competitive golf game. None of these are bad, individually, but contribute to a collective sense of clutter that also pervades the incredibly busy-looking HUDs. Elsewhere, you’ll be overwhelmed by gigantic quantities of clothing, lucky-dip boxes, upgradeable equipment and special golf balls. Items were a lot of fun to unlock in previous instalments: the PSP versions in particular made a good job of incentivising the customisation element. But in this PlayStation 4 entry, far from proving motivational, the constant peppering of micro-rewards and large numbers of menus quickly becomes a drag.
Multiplayer is, as ever, an area Everybody’s Golf excels, with a raft of online and offline tournaments providing options for different weather, long or mirrored courses, various cup sizes and a raft of additional penalties for landing in the rough or a bunker, or hitting a tree. It retains that magic middle ground of being both ideal for a quick ten-minute game and entirely satisfying to practice for hours on end.
Multiplayer is, as ever, an area Everybody’s Golf excels, with a raft of online and offline tournaments providing options for different weather, long or mirrored courses, various cup sizes and a raft of additional penalties for landing in the rough or a bunker, or hitting a tree. It retains that magic middle ground of being both ideal for a quick ten-minute game and entirely satisfying to practice for hours on end.
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Pseudo open-world elements fail to add to the Everybody's Golf experience, proving a clutter and a distraction
The character art style looks a little crude in comparison to the previous couple of instalments, with a clear lurch in the direction of the Miiverse. That said, the courses are resplendent, with the usual medley of lush links, swirling desert courses and a particularly welcoming, palm-tree-dominated island course. As has long been a facet of the series, these familiar locations are still idyllic and eminently inviting. The music contains the odd earworm even if it can’t be classed amongst the strong the series has produced, whilst the caddies as ever deliver a strange repertoire of comments to accompany your shots. Surprisingly though, there is the odd slight performance hitch: fractional freezes can affect the timing of strokes.
Everybody’s Golf isn’t quite as good as it could have been but it’s important to stress that it’s still one of the best golf games money can buy. It compares very favourably against most other eighth-gen representations of the sport and the only metric by which it’s really found wanting, is against its fantastic predecessors. The dabble with open-world elements needs a rethink, but otherwise, there’s still weeks of fun to be had. Even after all these years, Everybody’s Golf is guaranteed still to put a smile on your face.
Everybody’s Golf isn’t quite as good as it could have been but it’s important to stress that it’s still one of the best golf games money can buy. It compares very favourably against most other eighth-gen representations of the sport and the only metric by which it’s really found wanting, is against its fantastic predecessors. The dabble with open-world elements needs a rethink, but otherwise, there’s still weeks of fun to be had. Even after all these years, Everybody’s Golf is guaranteed still to put a smile on your face.
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VERDICT
"Whilst it may be viewed as a small step backwards for an enduringly brilliant series, Everybody's Golf is still a great deal of fun. There are weeks of play to enjoy, especially with friends. Just ignore the odd performance blemish." OVERALL: 7/10 |