Golf Story

Golf Story is a 2017 role-playing sports adventure video game developed by Australian studio Sidebar Games exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. The game was released in North America, Europe, and Australia on September 28, 2017.

Golf Story
Nintendo eShop storefront artwork, featuring the game's various settings
Developer(s)Sidebar Games
Publisher(s)Sidebar Games
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
ReleaseSeptember 28, 2017
Genre(s)Role-playing, adventure, sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay and synopsis
Golf Story is presented as a traditional role-playing game, with the combat replaced with golfing.

Golf Story is a role-playing sports adventure game that follows a down-on-his-luck golfer attempting to reclaim his childhood love of golf, passed down to him by his father, after not playing the game for 20 years. The game is presented as a traditional role playing game, with the combat replaced with golfing. The player is free to explore eight unique areas[1] (some of which are locked at the start), each filled with side quests and minigames that allow the player to earn experience and money, which can be used to develop the player's skills and purchase new equipment. Each area includes a nine-hole golf course that can be played after certain missions are completed. Golf is played with the traditional three-click system,[2] in which player clicks once to aim, once to set power, and once to set accuracy.

Even when not playing an entire 9-hole course or specific challenge, the player can tee up and drive a ball from any outdoor location in the world at any time. Players are encouraged to do so by a variety of secret or challenging targets that the player may discover while exploring. These special targets typically reward bonus cash or experience points, but in rare cases they may even unlock new areas. Just as in traditional RPGs, the player is rewarded for exploring locations, searching containers, and talking to NPCs. For example, some NPCs will provide players with a clue for the location of a secret cache, which the player can dig up with a special wedge.

In addition to traditional golf, the game also features a handful of cousin sports, including disc golf, mini-golf, an Atari-like golfing mini game, a driving range, and lawn bowling.[2]

Development and release

Golf Story was originally in development as a Wii U title by a two-man team, and was to be Sidebar Games' first game on a home console platform.[3] Due to lengthy development time from expansion of the game's scope, development moved over to the Nintendo Switch after the end of Wii U's lifespan, and Nintendo assisted Sidebar Games with the process.[3] The game was influenced by various past golf video game titles, and particularly the Game Boy Color version of Mario Golf.[3] A split-screen two player story mode was originally planned for Golf Story, but was cut due to time constraints.[3] Sidebar Games has no plans to port the game to other platforms.[3]

Golf Story was released in North America, Europe, and Australia on September 28, 2017,[1][4] and in Japan on March 9, 2018, courtesy of Flyhigh Works.[5][6] A limited physical retail release, published by Limited Run Games in North America, became available starting on September 28, 2018.[7][8]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic78/100[9]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid9/10[10]
Eurogamer[2]
Game Informer9/10[11]
GameSpot8/10[12]
IGN7.5/10[13]
Nintendo Life9/10[14]

The game received generally positive reviews upon release, with Eurogamer calling it "one of the finer games you'll find on Nintendo's Switch this year,"[2] and Kotaku simply stating, "Golf Story is a Nintendo Switch RPG you should play."[15]

While the majority of the reviews were mostly positive, some reviewers felt the RPG was lacking in crucial areas, such as game mechanics and originality. Gaming Trend reported, "Golf Story is held back by a number of mechanics, some of which are not very fleshed out or enjoyable."[16] RPGamer noted "...it can be argued that the game doesn't provide anything overly new..." [17]

Eurogamer ranked Golf Story fiftieth on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017",[18] while EGMNow ranked it 24th in their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017.[19]

Awards

The game was nominated for "Best Switch Game" in Destructoid's Game of the Year Awards 2017,[20] and for "Best Switch Game" and "Best RPG" in IGN's Best of 2017 Awards.[21][22] It won the award for "Biggest Surprise" in Game Informer's 2017 RPG of the Year Awards.[23]

YearAwardCategoryResultRef
2017 The Game Awards 2017 Best Debut Indie Game Nominated [24]
2018 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards Game, Original Sports Won [25][26]
Game Developers Choice Awards Best Debut (Sidebar Games) Nominated [27][28]

Sequel

On December 10, 2019, a sequel was announced in a Nintendo Indie World showcase. It is titled Sports Story and will feature more types of sports in addition to golf, such as tennis, soccer, baseball, and comedic-combinations of the sports. It will retain the first game's mix of sports, role-playing, and adventure gameplay. Originally set for a mid-2020 release as a Nintendo Switch exclusive,[29] it has been delayed to a yet to-be-determined date.[30]

References
  1. "Golf Story for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Game Details". Nintendo. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  2. Robinson, Martin (September 29, 2017). "Golf Story review". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  3. McFerran, Damien (24 October 2017). "How Golf Story hit a hole in one on Switch". Red Bull. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  4. Whitehead, Thomas (September 25, 2017). "Golf Story Will Swing Into Action This Week on the Switch eShop". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  5. "It's an honour to publish Golf Story (by @sidebargames) in Japan and have it featured in #NintendoDirectJP. Well, great news, it's available on the Japanese #NintendoSwitch eShop right now!". Flyhigh Works official English Twitter. March 9, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  6. Whitehead, Thomas (September 4, 2017). "CIRCLE Entertainment and Flyhigh Works Confirm Impressive Line-Up of Switch Titles". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  7. Craddock, Ryan (June 11, 2018). "Limited Run Games Announces Eight New Physical Game Releases For Switch". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  8. Doolan, Liam (September 8, 2018). "Limited Run Games Locks In Physical Pre-Order Dates For Furi And Golf Story". Nintendo Life. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  9. "Golf Story for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  10. "Review: Golf Story". Destructoid. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  11. Reiner, Andrew (September 30, 2017). "Nothing Short of Charming - Golf Story". Game Informer. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  12. Woo, Ginny (October 21, 2017). "Golf Story Review". GameSpot. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  13. Marks, Tom (October 3, 2017). "Golf Story Review". IGN. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  14. Vogel, Mitch (September 30, 2017). "Review: Golf Story". Nintendo Life. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  15. Jackson, Gita (September 28, 2017). "Golf Story Is A Nintendo Switch RPG You Should Play". Kotaku. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  16. Purcell, A Kay (October 16, 2017). "Par or a Birdie, it depends on how you swing: Golf Story review". Gaming Trend. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  17. Fuller, Alex (2017). "Golf Story Review: Dude, Where's My Respect". RPGamer. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  18. Eurogamer staff (December 26, 2017). "Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2017: 50-41". Eurogamer. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  19. EGM staff (December 27, 2017). "EGM's Best of 2017: Part One: #25 ~ #21". EGMNow. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  20. Valdez, Nick (December 14, 2017). "Nominees for Destructoid's Best Switch Game of 2017". Destructoid. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  21. "Best of 2017 Awards: Best Switch Game". IGN. December 20, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  22. "Best of 2017 Awards: Best RPG". IGN. December 20, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  23. Wallace, Kimberley (January 7, 2018). "The 2017 RPG Of The Year Awards". Game Informer. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  24. Makuch, Eddie (December 8, 2017). "The Game Awards 2017 Winners Headlined By Zelda: Breath Of The Wild's Game Of The Year". GameSpot. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  25. "Nominee List for 2017". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 9, 2018. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  26. "Horizon wins 7; Mario GOTY". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. March 13, 2018. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  27. Gamasutra staff (January 5, 2018). "Breath of the Wild & Horizon Zero Dawn lead GDC 2018 Choice Awards nominees!". Gamasutra. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  28. Makuch, Eddie (March 22, 2018). "Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Wins Another Game Of The Year Award". GameSpot. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  29. Nintendo (December 10, 2019). "Nintendo Switch - Indie World Showcase - 12.10.19". YouTube. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  30. Theriault, Donald (August 17, 2020). "Sports Story Delayed To TBA". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
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