Cursed to Golf [Xbox]
Developed by Chuhai Labs, Cursed to Golf is a unique take on a golfing game in that the rules are totally different - as during a championship round of golf you are struck by lightning, and sent to Golf Purgatory. Once there you’ll meet The Scotsman, who has been here for quite some time. He’ll teach you the basics of Purgatory, walking you through a tutorial level to explain just how different the rules are down here, and how you must work your way through the 18 holes to ascend to the surface, and get back to your life. The Scotsman also runs Eterni-Tee, the in-game shop where you can purchase new costumes, and more importantly - Ace Cards, which can be used to benefit you during levels, with some adding extra to your Par Count, or allowing you to Time Stop on your ball to get it to drop exactly where you want after hitting. You’ll return to Eterni-Tee if you fail on any hole, though you’ll find that the courses are different the next time round due to the roguelite style.
There’s a Par count of 5 on each hole, though you can gain additional shots by smashing Shot Idols found in each level. Gold will award you with four additional shots, and Silver two, and these are needed in order to complete most levels: five is definitely not enough shots for the majority! The Scotsman will also teach you various tips and tricks to improve your game, such as how to utilise spin to get the ball in the position you want once you hit it - this can help you to get a little bit extra distance on the ball to reach a hole that’s just a smidge out of reach, or to pull you back in the opposite direction if you overshoot your target.
The pixel-art style of Cursed to Golf is gorgeous, with stages having a great variety of themes as you move further through the game. More often than not, the courses will be massive with some shortcuts to find in order to save shots. Being able to use the Birdie Eye Camera is super useful, as sometimes it can be quite hard to judge what’s around - after all, Golf Purgatory doesn’t work like normal golf, the courses are far twistier and unexpected than a normal game of! The soundtrack is great, with fun bagpipe-y tunes to accompany The Scotsman and plenty of catchy tracks throughout.
As you successfully complete courses, you’ll get into your golf cart to move onto the next, passing checkpoints - though sadly these are just a visual for choosing a direction, and not checkpoints to return to upon death - and making decisions about the route you wish to take. Routes might offer safety in the form of going straight to the next hole, or possibly passing by Eterni-Tee or picking up cards or extra cash via a Treasure Chest, but you may also end up with Cursed levels, where some kind of modifier is applied to make things more challenging.
Even in the ‘normal’ levels, it feels like there’s a lot of precision required, which can feel quite frustrating. Starting with such a low par seems okay at first, given the Idols you can smash to increase this, as well as Cards to add as well, but I found myself running on empty pretty much constantly, and having to panic to find Idols. Being able to take shortcuts often requires blowing up TNT, which can be done either by hitting it with your ball or using the Explode Card, and annoyingly I always would seem to get caught on the edge of the shortcut before dropping down, losing an extra shot in the process.
You’ve got access to a Card Binder at Eterni-Tee, where you can bank cards for future rounds, just in case you’ve built up an impressive stash and don’t want to run the risk of losing them all if you fail during a round. There are also perks that you will unlock after defeating Bosses - with four of them in total, taking place as race to the finish style levels - and these can enable you to carry Cards over to a later run, or even gain a checkpoint that can be used once per round. There are alternate costumes to choose from, including Mario and Luigi themed colour ways as well as 1-Bit and ‘Ukulele” variants and these can be switched between at the shop.
Overall, it’s a fun game but it can quickly leave you feeling extremely deflated due to how difficult it can be. The roguelite nature, with dying sending you straight back to the beginning, is very punishing. In general, both of us really enjoy roguelite games, and whilst Allan is normally far more successful at them than I am, we both agreed that this is probably the hardest we’ve ever played. This more than likely comes down to the fact that there’s not a lot of progression between runs, such as powerful unlocks, and the length of time you’ll spend trying to get through the levels before. A full run of some roguelites can be faster than just a couple of holes here, so this makes it feel even worse when you end up dying due to the huge amount of time you’ve just lost. Priced at £16.99 on Xbox, this might just be what you’re looking for if you’re a fan of golf games and are up for the challenge - but don’t go in expecting a casual, easy time as you’ll be sorely mistaken!
In the end, we decided to give Cursed to Golf the Collecting Asylum rating of 8/10.
Are you interested in Cursed to Golf? What do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Plan of Attack for the Cursed to Golf Xbox review code!
