Golf Story is zany, unexpectedly funny, and mechanically sound. Those descriptors aren’t overly exciting on their own, but then again, the same could be said of what constitutes contemporary RPGs; you fetch things, hit other things, and generally do the bidding of others while your heroism goes ignored. Golf Story is essentially an RPG based on mundane, real-world concerns dialed up to the nth degree, and it’s that relatability that makes it much more charming than it sounds on paper.
It’s a not-so-sneaky homage to titles like Mario Golf considering its central conceit: absolutely everything can be solved with a combination of golf clubs, golf balls, and dogged persistence. That’s where the player-character enters–a man who’s lost half his life to a soul-sucking wife and the general indifference of others–and the fun begins. This is your typical redemption story, but instead of saving the world, you’re trying to simply restore order to your otherwise bleak existence in memory of your father. It’s a small-scale situation, but the the stakes feel enormous.
It’s immediately clear that while golf is (quite literally) the name of the game, it’s not the be-all and end-all of this affair. Just like any RPG, you’ll encounter towns of people who need your help, which usually gets old pretty fast. However, Sidebar Games has managed to keep the pall of boredom away by injecting some local humour into the proceedings. For those lucky enough to be putting their feet up in Australia or New Zealand as they read this, good on ya. The jokes, sly nudges, and the meat pies that are prevalent throughout Golf Story are definitely charming signifiers that people Down Under will be familiar with. While you don’t necessarily need to have watched Kangaroo Jack to get a laugh out of “mate” being used as an insult, those comedic touches will mean that little bit more to those already familiar with the vernacular.
Every quest-giver is, in some timeline or other, a verifiable idiot. It feels just like helping out the usual flood of gormless peasants, but there’s a lot more to it than bringing hungry villagers some cheese. Ever wanted to be a single mother’s hero by hitting her son in the face with a golf ball? You’re in luck. Ever wanted to command an entire legion of turtles who exist solely to help you get a hole-in-one? What about raising an army of the dead to defeat a grand wizard? Golf Story takes the traditional plausibility rulebook and throws it entirely out the window, and it’s better for doing so. Golf is unlikely to be considered a high-adrenaline sport by the general public, but throwing in quests that are equal parts mid-life crisis and downright diabolical certainly gets you more mileage out of your drive.
