Dog Gone Golfing [Switch]
Developed and published by Vagabond Dog, Dog Gone Golfing is a golf game - where you play as a dog. Simple as that. Only, it’s not quite as simple as it first seems; with tonnes of obstacles and holes for your puck to disappear into, it actually takes a surprising amount of skill, with a little bit of luck thrown in too. There are a few different modes for you to try out, beginning with a Practice Green that allows you to get a run through of all of the available holes, and familiarise yourself with some of the challenges that await. You’ve got your standard ‘World Tour’ mode, in which you’ll play a round of golf in the hopes that you’ll stay under par. Additionally, there is a Challenge Mode, where you try to get as many holes as possible, each within a certain number of shots; Endless Mode, does what it says on the tin; 1 vs 1 Battle, where you and a friend can face off to see who does the best; and finally, Pawttle Royale, a multiplayer mode where it’s first to however many points you choose.
You can choose to play as one of an unexpectedly large roster of mostly dogs, with the occasional other animal as well. Each character has their own name, stats and unique appearance, including a few little jokey references such as Barney the purple dino-dog, and Froggy the green dog. My personal favourite is Bandit, purely for the reason that my dad had a dog named Bandit when he was a kid, and I thought that was a nice coincidence! There’s no precise aiming involved aside from facing left or right, with your shots guided by how much power you put in, along with which of the two shot-types you use, and this is what makes it so challenging. If you hit too hard, then you’ll go bouncing off the edge of the level (respawning you at the beginning, but without resetting the shots), but if you hit too soft, then you won’t get far enough - and might still run into danger in the form of the many pits your puck will vanish into.
There’s a bunch of different locations spanning the variety of holes for you to play, with multiple game types utilising them all. You’ll spot creatures such as gophers that you can bonk with the puck, as well as birds hovering overhead to drop eggs that will throw your puck off course, and scenes range from icy levels to even being on the moon. It has a simple appearance, albeit sometimes a tad cluttered, with some levels having obstacles that are pretty hard to notice - until you hit them. It’s also absolutely filled with doggy puns, and I always appreciate a good pun.
The soundtrack is filled with very retro arcade vibes, with pleasingly chirpy tunes that help to keep you feeling positive despite the overwhelmingly crushing defeat you will find yourself experiencing at every hole. So many holes were classed as having a par of three. And how many shots did it take me for most of them? At least ten. As I said before, this game requires a fair amount of skill and luck. Thankfully, the fast-paced nature of the game allows you to quickly go in again, and this makes it all the more satisfying to get those shots in under par.
The controls are something that definitely threw us both off, repeatedly; many of the buttons are not the ones you’d typically use. Selecting options with B, and going back with A means you’ll often end up within different screens than you intend. It also doesn’t make things overly clear in regards to how to play, with most of what you do being picked up just through trial and error. You can look over the stats for each level, which show you details including overall score, holes completed, stars you’ve gained and animals neutralised (yuuup - hitting those poor little babies sends them to the great big putting green in the sky).
You earn coins as you play, and these coins can be spent to unlock additional puck designs, ranging from flags, to food items. Having these items to unlock encourages you to really try your best to earn as much money as you can as pucks are unlocked at random, with the price steadily increasing the more you’ve unlocked, and the compelling gameplay has you continually trying again in the hopes that you’ll finally unlock the puck you want. If you’re looking for a challenging golf-style game on Switch to pass the time, particularly one that’s fun to play with a friend, or in short bursts - then you can pick up Dog Gone Golfing for £7.19 on the Switch eShop.
In the end, we decided to give Dog Gone Golfing the Collecting Asylum rating of 6.5/10.
Have you played Dog Gone Golfing yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Vagabond Dog for the Dog Gone Golfing Nintendo Switch review code!
