Cursed to Golf Review (PC)

I need to use my most powerful club to shoot as far as possible and, in the process, destroy a statue that will allow me to use two extra shots in my quest to reach the end of this purgatory golfing level. It’s hard making long shots work in this underground space, where TNT blocks some promising routes and there are low ceilings that can easily mess with my optimized trajectory.

This second shot of the level goes well, even if I land on the rough. But now I need to decide on whether I want to take advantage of some fans to move my ball forward or if the better idea is to use the wedge to get to another level and then try to get some extra shots by taking down another idol.

Cursed to Golf is developed by Chuhai Labs and published by Thunderful Publishing. I played via Steam on the PC, but it is also offered on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 5, the Xbox One, and older platforms from the two companies. The title combines some classic golf mechanics with interesting puzzle design.

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Gamers will take on the role of a superstar golfer, struck by lightning on the eve of his biggest triumph. Supernatural forces transport him to the Golf Purgatory, where he becomes the Cursed Golfer, destined to try and get par on some very tough courses to return to the land of the living. There’s not a ton of writing in the game but it manages to walk the fine line between informative and parody, although the Scotsman needs to cut down a little on the “har-har”.

As the name implies, the gameplay is centered around golf. But this is not the real-world version, with its wide variety of clubs, its quiet contemplative moments, and its deep respect for other players. The Cursed Golfer has to deal with courses that include TNT, weird teleporter platforms, and other dangers worthy of purgatory, in addition to sand and water. And the action takes place in an underground space that features none of the open space of normal golf.

Players will be able to choose between three clubs: driver, iron, and wedge. The golf ball sits directly on the ground, while the gamer chooses how much force to put into the swing and the trajectory. Make sure to check out the layout of the whole level using Birdie-Eye, to get an eye of how you can reach the hole. And take into account the Ace cards that you can use, which include practice shots, the ability to detonate TNT, ways to make the ball behave differently, and more.

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But the most important elements of all the levels in Cursed to Golf are the silver and gold idols. Destroy one and you have more shots to make par. Destroy them all and plan your other shots well and you will reach the end of a level with plenty of attempts to spare, which are instantly transformed into cash. Cash that can buy more Ace cards that can make future gold puzzle solving easier. After purchasing anything from the store, stop at the driving range to test things out. And master spin, which will make it easier to move past obstacles or make that all-important final shot when under pressure.

Courses, especially when they involve curses, can get pretty hard to complete pretty fast. Cursed to Golf asks players to carefully plan a route and find the best way to use special features, like the idols and cards, while also keeping resources back to deal with unexpected bounces and weird layouts.

Cursed to Golf is a decent-looking game, opting for a vaguely retro presentation that aims to be easy to read and to get players to play the best shots possible. The Cursed Golfer has a range of outfits that he can easily switch between, it is easy to read the special cards, and the Birdie-Eye tool is very useful. A few extra flourishes for the gold levels themselves would have been appreciated. The soundtrack is thumping and fun, keeping players close to the action and delivering a jolt of energy when the Scotsman theme pops up.

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