Cursed to Golf Reviews
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.
Cursed to Golf has such good aesthetics, and is based on such a fundamentally sound idea, that all of this could be forgivable – and some, no doubt, will relish the challenge. The roguelike structure, though, means that these frustrations have to be endured over and over again. Unlike, say, Nuclear Throne or Into the Breach, the game lacks the smooth and addictive core gameplay to make that feel worthwhile. It’s for that reason that despite taking a strong first shot, Cursed to Golf ultimately ends up feeling under par.
Even with Cursed to Golf’s punishing difficulty, I’ve found myself getting closer and closer to the vaunted 18th hole on each run, with no desire to stop until I’ve reclaimed my mortality. It’s a testament to the craft of developer Chuhai Labs, which was willing to take such risks with such a proven formula that I haven’t stopped even after several punishing deaths. And I won’t stop until I finally remove this dreaded albatross from my neck.
Its roguelike elements and course designs feel like a swing and a miss, but Cursed To Golf has plenty of visual charm and is a fun throwback to Flash-era golfing games of bygones past.