Everybody’s Golf VR Review

Everybody’s Golf VR

Release: January 1, 1970
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Taking the game of golf to virtual reality is a no brainer, and I’m surprised it took Sony so long to bring Everybody’s Golf over to their VR juggernaut. The problem with VR golf titles is how well the game works in conjunction with the physics of a sport, notably here, golf. How well does this work, and do we recommend it? Let’s dive in.

This review for Everbody’s Golf is going to feel a bit strange, because while I highly recommend you pick this up if you are a golf fan, I question whether this is more than a padded demo that could have been so much more. Since the game isn’t commanding the full AAA price at retail, I forgive the lack of content slightly, but don’t come in expecting the first PS4 release game, but in VR.

For the most part, the VR mechanics for this game work fairly well, although don’t even bother with the Dual Shock 4 controls, as they just don’t work; this game was built from the ground up with motion controllers in mind, so do yourself and favour and make sure you have a pair of these before playing. If you don’t, I’d pass on Everybody’s Golf VR until you do!

Once you’ve got those PlayStation move controllers in hand, the game is as accessible as it is difficult. Easy to pick up, sure, but incredibly hard to master. And that is OK. Golf isn’t an easy sport, and the development team is looking to create an as accurate experience as possible. That means ball physics are realistic, depending on where you make contact with the ball in your swing. The more you play, the more comfortable you get with the controls, and the better you will become.

And even if you are having trouble with certain aspects of the game, you can tweak different modes that will give you a leg up while playing, such as vacuum cups that will suck your ball in if you are a few inches off target with your putts. It’s accessible, which I like, but provides challenge for even the most experiences players.

Ideally, however, there would be more content for you to play. As it stands, you can either practice your golf, or enjoy Course Mode, where you can choose to play a selection of three holes from the course, the front nine, the back nine, or a full 18. With only three courses to choose from, however, you will soon become very familiar with each and every course, and to unlock the fantastic collectibles, you’ll have to grind your way through them again and again and again.

Thankfully, the courses are a delight to play ‘within.’ From the great visuals to the fantastic background audio – wind rustling trees, streams, lakes, etc. – the environment Sony has created is perfect, and really pulls you into the entire experience like very few games have for me in the last few years.

The game does play as an extended demo, and for a 39.99 title (new, retail), I don’t think the amount of content is necessarily a bad thing. It’s a novelty experience that isn’t meant to replace the regular Everybody’s Golf experience on the PlayStation 4. If you are looking for a more fully featured title, that is the one to play. Hopefully Sony will invest more resources into this experience in the future, but at the least, it will be the groundwork for future sports VR titles!