Synopsis:
A silly physics-based golf parody where every golf course is a new surprising type of golf, some brilliant or hilarious, others so absurd they will make you go: WHAT THE GOLF?

 Reviewed on: iPhone 11 Pro (Apple Arcade)
Also available for: Windows (via EGS on October 1st), Nintendo Switch (2019)

Developer: Triband
Publisher: Fig

In What The Golf? you are aiming to get to a flag attached to a pole and maybe even a hole below that, but you a most likely not hitting a golf ball with a golf club. In fact, sometimes you’re throwing the club itself, or the golfer; in one level you’re throwing the power and direction indicator itself that you use to control your shots. All, of course, leading to you asking “what the… golf?” 

As a game, What The Golf? could have putt-in its jokes and puns and run out of stamina very fast. But somehow developer Triband manages to constantly tweak, re-work and build upon the simpe gag throughout the game’s campaign and make me laugh, smile or give my nod of approval to some of the outrageous pun-tastic level finishes. 

The easiest comparison to make here is to Wario-Ware, but where that game is a fast-paced mixtape of fun nonsense, What The Golf? is all that with everything being connected with an overworld. You work your way through an underground golf test-lab, seemingly inspired by Portal. The levels are broken up into sections around the lab which you have to clear to unlock the next, and so-on. Each section has its own theme which keeps everything fresh and constantly changing. 

For the most part, the levels are a breeze, and it’s mostly about the experience and jokes at play. The challenge is in replaying each level for a ‘par’ and then the ‘challenge level’ which often changes up the level in crazy ways you may not have expected.