It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and in Turbo Golf Racing, it’s extremely clear to see what has inspired Manchester based developers Hugecalf Studios. But other than flying eye-wateringly close to the wrong side of copyright, is it a bad thing? Really? If a format works for one uber-publisher by rights, it should work for the little guys as well, especially when they put their own spin on things too. As the name hints at, Turbo Golf Racing is a golf game, but instead of swinging a club to hit the ball you’ll be driving a supersonic-acrobatic-rocket-powered battle-car to turn and get that hole in one.
Worth flagging is the game is in preview mode just now, so this will not be a final scoring review as things could and may change between now and the final full release. Turbo Golf Racing is super easy to pick up and a tonne of fun with a few mates, as it strips the core idea of golf to its bare bones i.e., get the ball in the hole; so there’s no shot limits or stuffy club house rules to stick to. There are a number of different courses to play on just now, each with lots of boosts, pick-ups and bunkers to tackle along the way. Games are set over best of three holes as player’s face-off against each other. There are a few spicy pick-ups you find along the way – like rockets – that add a more Italian based water-engineer karting title vibe to things. A well-timed rocket can and will change who gets the ball in the hole first… trust us there. In an interesting twist, if your car gets some air, you can turn it into a glider – which hints at maybe a few fun courses in the future, but just now it’s not really a major part of the gameplay other than a cool transition between areas on the course.
When not hitting it straight down the middle there is a heathy unlock tree of goodies to style up your ride of choice. You can unlock these with in game credits you bank and of course there is a season pass too, as well as a few challenges that unlock abilities to give you the upper hand on the fairway. You know, things like having a bigger ball, or having your ball not spin when you hit it. Are they fair upgrades when you join a lobby of high level players? Hmm… not really, but it is all light hearted fun just now, so hopefully things can be tweaked for the full release. Visually everything is colourful and bright with a real chunky toy box vibe, as for sound, it’s OK, but nothing too epic.
Turbo Golf Racing is fun… it’s that simple. It’s shaping up to be a real hit with a bright future, if you’re looking for something a little different from your standard Friday night multiplayer fair, it’s well worth giving it a go with your mates, as it could be rocketing into a league of its own very soon.
An Xbox early access copy of Turbo Golf Racing was provided by Hugecalf Studios PR team, and the game will be releasing in full on Xbox and PC when it’s ready.
Stuart Cullen
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