[Review] Golf Club Wasteland - Nintendo Switch

Developed By: Demagog Studio
Published By: Ultold Tales
Categories: Golf, Platformer?
Release Date: 09.03.21

So golf is supposed to be a calm, relaxing sport, isn’t it? Despite this, I find a lot of golf games (perhaps un-intentionally) difficult and frustrating. Despite there being some difficulty in Golf Club Wasteland…this might be the most relaxing golf game I have ever played.

Rich people suck, don’t they? Earth is a dump, they leave for Mars, and then decide to come back just to play golf in it’s ruins? Makes me sick. Also makes for quite the creative brand of golf. Yes, you still get sand traps and water, but obstacles all feel more their own. Knock your golf balls around roof tops, onto a crane, around the animals. Be careful the cow doesn’t just eat your golf ball though. Playing a game of golf just in random ruins is something I’m sure plenty of people would love to indulge on and it’s fantastic to have a golf game that isn’t just putput or full courses.

You know how I said the game was relaxing? It’s just you and the environment…and a radio. People on mars get a little nostalgic, so they made a radio station with music from long ago…2020. After the radio hosts, of which have such nice voices wax nostalgia and speak about themselves, a song is played. These songs are really good. Just nice music to golf too.

It’s a really simple game. More simple than most golf. There’s no gauges, no meters, just one club. You set the angle, and the length, both by aiming, and then you whack the ball. It’s that easy. The challenge comes from how well you can aim.

Golf Club Wasteland much like just freely playing golf unprofessionally, can be played however you want. If you want to play the game for the story and at your own pace? Then feel free to do so, take as many strokes as you need to. Need a little more structure? Then play with the par required to go on to the next stage. There’s even a mode that requires upmost expertise in the world of golf if you dare. And if you can play well enough, you get some extra lore in the journal you carry around.

I’m terrible at golf games outside of Mario Golf, so stuff like this is always always appreciated. I’m not really of the “every game needs an easy mode” mindset, but for some games, it is a nice surprise or addition.

Golf Club Wasteland really is the kind of game to experience, which is odd to say for a golf game, but believe me. I grabbed it because the freeform style of golf interested me, and got sucked in by everything else.