Golf Club Wasteland Review

As I measured my next shot and positioned the best trajectory to propel the shiny orange golf ball above Ursula, an acid tentacle monster lurking in deepest waters, I felt a sense of blissful joy. Radioactive cows, tempting basketball hoops, and bastard ball-stealing sparrows. Golf Club Wasteland captured my attention and made me feel relaxed and serene.

This game was not something I expected to get much out of. It was so relaxing to play that I couldn't put the game down. Golf Club Wasteland was an amazing experience, even though I have no passion for the game of golf.

Tee-totally Glorious Wasteland

Wasteland's beauty is the first thing you will notice. The aesthetic design and art style are outstanding. They rely more on creativity than mass quantities of polygons. As you move through broken buildings and over containers, cars, and other desolate human creations, each level is filled brightly with vibrant colour. The backdrops for the 2D maps are excellent, with numerous neon signs and landmarks from around the world.

Each course can be viewed as a view of another section of civilization's crumbled remains or the debris of what might have been. It is stunning graphical work. The world sparks life with the help of the many colourful details and detail. It's amazing to see the beauty of the wasteland.

Your golfer-extraordinaire character animates nicely, as do the other animals and creatures you'll occasionally come across on your escapades through the levels. Although everything is clear and distinct, there are a few bits that blended in with the colour palette, which made navigation with shots difficult. It looks great overall and I love the art direction.

Put your efforts into achieving success

Golf Club Wasteland is not only a beautiful game to view, but it's also an enjoyable game to play. It's simple enough to start with. You have a hole and a bright orange ball that you must plug it. The left analog stick is your only input. It will guide you in the direction and force that you apply to each shot. It sounds simple, right? It's not. It is not. Mentally mapping the shot to the distance and potential obstacles can be a difficult task.

Through clever level design, levels become more complex and present more obstacles. Your golf balls will be eaten by animals, and hitting water can result in a lost stroke. Acid and electricity can also devour your shot. Wind physics will be applied and obstacles will become dynamic by movement. Wasteland does an amazing job of mixing each course with new factors that you need to consider. You will need to find hidden shortcuts or work out the best routes for certain levels.

I was impressed by the way the game combined the broken and abandoned nature of Earth with its level design. You must carefully fire up a building and move from balcony to balcony. One level is a time-consuming task. The second level is at the top of a destroyed skyscraper, where the wind will happily ruin all your plans.

Although creativity is admirable and beautiful, there are some issues with difficulty spikes. Even in story mode, with unlimited shots per course, nothing is impossible. The middle section of the courses felt more difficult than the ones before them, and the ones following were easy by comparison. Although it didn't impact my enjoyment of the game, it is worth noting that you may encounter a little obstacle that will slow down your otherwise fast progress.

Get rid of your fears

Surprisingly, I didn't feel frustrated, annoyed, or even bothered despite the occasional difficulty spikes. Golf Club Wasteland balances its more difficult elements with the relaxed, chilled atmosphere that it absolutely nails. You'll be able to enjoy the constant tunes of Nostalgia radio from Mars as you play. These tracks range from soothing, easy-going ambient songs to dance music, and even satirical lyrics mocking society's vices.

Nostalgia Radio is effectively one giant sarcastic voice of humanity's silliness, idiocy, and it exposes how Mars life for the super-rich is anything but idyllic. Guests will recall the "repetitive song" they heard, but it turns out that it was just a minute long of a man singing "repetition ". It happens over and over. Another highlight was the forced participation of everyone on Mars, regardless of rank or position, in mandatory "wellness" sessions. The radio host announces this anonymously. Sign in to all sessions and wear badges before the T&Cs say.

It's blunt and silly, but it's funny in a truly funny way that had me laughing on more than one occasion. You feel relaxed as you play the game, enjoying the absurdity of capitalism and materialistic humanity. The music is (w)hole relaxing and easy-going. It allowed me to gently glide along as the game progressed. It is rare that games can capture a feeling or atmosphere as well as Wasteland.

What is a Worthy Course?

I completed 34 levels (the 35th doesn’t count ...),), and it took me less than an hour to complete the story mode. Story mode allows you unlimited attempts to complete the level. If you get stuck, it will even offer you a level skip. I did not take up skips as I was too stubborn to accept defeat. However, it does add a nice touch to make the game more accessible to players. You unlock story mode after you finish it. This allows you to go through the same levels but you must pass the level below-par. You will have to start the level over again if you fail to do this.

Although it is more rewarding, the challenge run can be stressful as some levels have very strict requirements. It never felt overwhelming or frustrating. The only thing that annoyed me was my incompetence or impatience. This mode adds a nice challenge for people who want to stay longer in the world.

Iron mode is finally here. This mode, I did not want to go through this kind of torture. Failing to reach a level below par? Do you accidentally knock the ball out of the building or into the pile of leaves? You can start at level 1. You must complete the entire level with no mistakes. I don't think so, but you can if you want to be the post-apocalyptic king.

Mars, the Rough Bogey

While there isn't a major story to tell in Golf Wasteland, there are some environmental storytelling and subtle delivery that will give you some insight through the levels. Your leading astronaut golfer, having survived an ecological catastrophe that decimated Earth, landed on Mars in a rocket that was left in time.

For the mega-rich of Mars, you've returned to Earth to play a round of golf. You'll get snippets of story when you reach new levels or through your diary entries that remain unlocked after reaching par scores. Once you have completed story mode, you will unlock the "Odyssey", which provides a tiled backstory that fleshes out your character's past. Although it's not a masterpiece, I found the context and credibility to be very helpful. Several moments contain genuine contemplation scenes.

Give the green a shot

Yesterday, I was asked about Golf Club Wasteland by someone who said they had considered it to be one of their game-of-the-year contenders. I laughed and dismissed the suggestion. It's been a great year for me. I'm still playing with it and thinking about it.

Although it doesn't offer a lot of content, the three-mode pricing, skill ceiling and unquestionable price point make it a worthwhile purchase. Beyond that, I was able to relax and reflect on the game's background and themes through its world-building and art direction. It's worth a try, even if you don't enjoy golf.