Cursed to Golf

Cursed to Golf is nice because while it has many roguelike elements, it doesn’t inspire the same level of anxiety to progress as other roguelikes. The game putting the choice of difficulty complete in the hands of the player is a nice touch and lets you pick your own risk and reward. Considering the golf aspect, players can easily take this game at their own pace and take advantage of one of the many paths a hole might allow. If you’ve been itching for a solid golf game with just the right amount of challenge, Cursed to Golf is for you.

Cursed To Golf is an original take on golf with charming 16-bit characters and environments that also hide a lot of devious shenanigans beneath the surface. It’s also arguably a more accessible gateway into roguelikes, if also resulting in slower and lengthier runs, while also tricking you into playing a deckbuilder with an inventive suite of abilities to take your ball further. Whether you love or hate golf, everyone should give this a putt.

The game nails just about everything it sets out to do. The pixelated graphics are vibrant and varied, the writing is witty and macabre, and the music is fantastic – albeit repetitive. All aspects of the title come together harmoniously, creating an unexpectedly fun and funny roguelike with a refreshingly unique premise.

Cursed to Golf is designed to challenge you, frustrate you, and punish you – and even if real golf does that, this game takes it to a whole other level. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t usually give sports games a second glance but loves difficulty ramped up to an insane degree, this should be the one sports game you make an exception for.

Charming presentation and snappy golf action. But the roguelike structure can hinder more than help, making fresh runs more gruelling than interesting. [Issue#19, p.91]

Cursed to Golf is a fun arcade sports game, but its roguelike elements don’t stack up well with other entries in the genre. Its long run times hurt the experience, making failure often more annoying than something to learn from. Its cute art, simple but fun mechanics, and challenge kept me enjoying Cursed to Golf to its end, but it’s lacking that addictive element that keep roguelike players coming back for more.

A polished, witty mix of golf sim, platformer, and roguelike that offers sterling value for money but can’t quite overcome an increasing sense of repetition.