Golf Peaks
Nintendo Switch

Developed By : Afterburn
Published By : 7Levels
Category : Puzzle, Sports, Strategy
Release Date : Mar 14, 2019

The game of golf is actually something that I’ve been around my entire life, both in video game form and in real life. So it’s something that I’ve always known, that golf is a game of strategy. However, when a video game comes along pushing an almost strategy game version of golf, it piques my interest immensely, and that’s just what Golf Peaks on the Nintendo Switch did.

One thing I can tell you right up front, is whether or not you know anything about the actual game of golf, forget it! Throw all of that pre-existing knowledge away, because it’s not really going to matter. Gone are tee-off’s and strokes, no more will you need to care about pars or birdies, because in Golf Peaks the only thing that matters is just making it to the hole.

In the game, you’ll be presented with a small gridded area, with the ball positioned in one space and the hole in another. The most important thing that you’ll see, though, is the tabbed pages at the bottom, because these are going to be the main ways you’ll be moving the ball.

These cards will show different things like straight lines with a number, or arced lines also with a number. The line is set to represent how exactly the ball will move, while the number is how many spaces the ball will move in that way. For instance a straight line with the number one, means that whichever direction you select, the ball will move one square that direction. If it’s an arc, the ball will go straight up in the air, then move that number of spaces, and then land on the ground. Eventually, the game will start throwing cards at you that can combine these elements where the ball will go up in the air for a number of spaces, then land and move more spaces yet again.

No matter what the cards say though, they are always fixed, and for the most part you’ll need to use all of them to complete a level. Whether or not you use all the cards though, the most important aspect will be figuring the order to use the cards in, and utilizing the one thing that you’re going to responsible before : choosing the direction to send your shots in.

But it doesn’t always stay that simple. Very quickly, Golf Peaks will start sending hazards your way. These will include sand, mud, and water just to name a few. Sand will prevent your ball from rolling, so you will absolutely need to use your arc-line cards to get out of these squares. Mud will swallow your ball up and force you to re-shoot, as will the water.

I love playing golf games, but to have this sort of a spin on it really impressed me. Golf Peaks on the Nintendo Switch is a lot of fun, and for as simple it is, the game is really tough to put down. One thing that I loved about it the most is how it completely flips what you know about golf. What I mean by this is that when you’re actually playing golf, you’re always thinking about making it to the hole in as few shots as possible and avoiding all the hazards on your way. With this game though, you just might need to hit those hazards in order to set yourself up to use the rest of your cards. If you’re a fan of puzzle games at all, this is absolutely a title you won’t want to pass up.