I used to play a ton of golf games back in the day. It was mainly the Tiger Woods games and others where you could create a character and level them up as you play and compete in tournaments. So when I saw the new Mario Golf game, I knew it would be one that I would like.
There are a few different game modes to play and different multiplayer modes. The main one to play so you can unlock the different courses and other things is the Golf Adventure. It is basically a single player campaign where you create your own golfer and move up the rankings.
There isn't much customization to your character when you are creating it. It uses Nintendo's Mii characters, which I have never really been fond of. I think their faces are dumb looking, but it is what it is. As you play the different lessons and courses, you earn XP and can level up your character to make them a better golfer.
Your character sucks pretty bad when you first start and can't really hit the ball very far at all. It makes those par 5s pretty hard to get a decent score because it takes almost all your swings to even get to the green, but as you play, you can level up your power and pretty soon, you will be hitting the ball like a pro.
The Golf Adventure has you play alongside a few of the other Mario characters to learn the different techniques to become a better golfer. It starts off fairly easy, but as you move into the tournaments, the difficulty starts to go up.
It took me a few tries to beat the first tournament, but luckily you earn XP even if you lose, so you can level up your character and it makes it easier. It does get a bit of a grind playing some of the same courses before you unlock the others, but the gameplay is fun and it doesn't seem like a chore like others games that do this.
Pretty soon you will be getting those birdies and eagles and winning prize money to buy new outfits and golf clubs which all have different stats to make you a better golfer.
If you don't want to play the adventure, there are several other game modes as well. The multiplayer is a lot of fun. The speed golf is the best.
With the speed golf, there are no caddies and you have to run to where your ball lands, and the person that finishes the hole the fastest with the least amount of strokes wins. If you go over par with your shots, time is added to your score. When you are running, you can run into the other characters and slow them down. There is also some special moves and swings you can do to give you the upper hand. It is a lot of fun.
The graphics are pretty good for the Nintendo Switch. I have never noticed how much of a difference in graphics there is from the Switch and my Xbox until I started playing stuff on my Switch again. You can really tell that the Switch is lacking in power.
There is a substantial drop in graphics quality when you are playing split screen multiplayer. Edges start to lose their sharpness and frame rates begin to drop as well. It isn't game breaking, but it is very noticeable.
The sound and gameplay is pretty polished though, like most of the games that Nintendo releases. That is one thing that I like about Nintendo is that they don't release half-assed games. They make sure that they are top notch before they release them.
Overall, this is a pretty great game. One of the main reasons that I purchased this game was so that I could have something to play while on the airplane to Mexico in a couple weeks. I really love the Nintendo Switch for its portability. I can look past graphics and stuff in most of these games because the Switch offers me a way to play games on the go.
If you have a Switch and like golfing games, I think this would be a good addition to your gaming library. There seems to be a lot of content in it and it will keep you occupied and coming back for more.
All images are my screenshots
