Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots is a well-made and content-filled golfing game that celebrates the long-running series while providing a deep and relaxing sporting experience. There’s some solid comedy interspersed in the game’s many modes, making this a golf player’s dream. That being said, if you don’t already enjoy golf, this won’t change your mind.
Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots
Developer: HYDE, Inc.
Price: $40
Platforms: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Nintendo Switch, and PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PS5 code for review.
Growing up, my dad was very hopeful that I’d get really into golf. I played and practiced golf quite a bit, even playing games like Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee. As such, I figured I was fairly qualified to review Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, so I put my big golf brain to the job. It’s an impressive golf game that I’m sure will be even more beloved by longtime fans of the Hot Shots Golf/Everybody’s Golf franchise.
Interestingly enough, there’s a story mode in Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots called World Tour. You get to see the playable cast interact with one another in their own little stories while you play various holes and courses. This is how you can unlock characters while showing off your skills, making for a pleasantly straightforward mode.
Of course, there are plenty of other modes – a wild amount, even. Aside from standard stroke play and the like, the big standout is “Wacky Golf.” This includes a few bizarre modes, like Boom Golf, which sees your ball potentially explode upon landing, and Colorful Golf, which gives you power-ups or negative abilities to use on your opponents, depending on where your ball lands. My favorite has got to be Survival Golf, though. In this mode, the loser of each hole has one of their clubs taken from them, putting them at a disadvantage on the next hole. It’s an interesting way to add some extra strategy to the competition, and a rather creative way to shake up golf.
The gameplay of Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots is superb.
Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots has incredibly impressive gameplay, with several layers of depth. You can control where you tee up your ball, your preferred spin, the angle of your hit, and more. Timing your hits perfectly is an exciting challenge with each hit, and using different clubs and balls that you can unlock creates an extra layer of customization. You can even boost a character’s skills by giving them food items, adding even further customization to the mix. And if you prefer to golf using a different method than the standard control scheme, there are two other control sets you can use, depending on your skill level, which are nice additions.
Players and Caddies both have relationship levels you can increase to unlock new items and abilities. The more you play, the more these levels improve, giving you more and more to use. I liked that you could check out their profiles to find out some fun details about each character as well – it’s a small thing, but it adds to the roster. The roster seems to be comprised of characters from across the franchise, so fans who have been with the series for a good while will get a lot out of the cast.
The visual style of Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots will likely be a sticking point for some, but I’m fond of the anime aesthetic. It makes the game stand out further from other golf games that aim for realism, while the exaggerated animation makes for some rather funny moments. These are given even more comedic support by the English voice acting, which is wonderfully over-the-top. These characters are given a lot of personality by their looks and voices, which make for some rather lively rounds of golf.
The Final Word
Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots features plenty of golfing goodness that will please anybody who likes to take to the green. It likely won’t make golf more appealing to anyone who doesn’t already enjoy it, but the variety of modes and playable characters and caddies make it into a title that will devour the time of any enthusiasts.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great