Everybody's Golf is one of the longstanding supported brands within the PlayStation universe. The company has been supporting the series since 1997, when it first made its first PlayStation. Over the twenty-two years of its existence, the series has undergone many changes and different platforms, for which the authors had to constantly adjust the gameplay while bringing improvements that would be of interest to a particular platform. Regularly supporting one brand for more than two decades is still quite exceptional, especially with such a specific title. It is common for commercial sports to be of great interest even if they are published every year, but golf is definitely not one of these games, at least not in our region. However, Everybody's Golf is also specific for its cartoon design, which puts it in even greater contrast with conventional sports titles.
As the series has been doing well for a long time and is ranked high in the reviews of this genre, it was only a matter of time before it wanted to take it to the next level. It would certainly be a shame to have new technology available and not to exploit its potential. The creators of Clap Hanz's studio have embarked on the development of a special version for virtual reality, which was announced only in September last year. Moving a successful series to the VR was definitely a good decision, since golf is one of those games that are more than appropriate for virtual reality
Unfortunately, I am not among those who have some real experience with golf in real life - at least some. Here we are, however, somewhere else, because Everybody's Golf has never been played on any professional simulator, so I believe this absence of practice doesn't matter. After all, even for playing Call of Duty, we didn't have to spend years in the war zone. However, there is a certain element of (virtual) reality that you should compare with if you were to play golf in reality. While Everybody's Golf VR is different from its classic versions in many ways, it basically tries to remain what it has always been - quality arcade entertainment with a specific approach. To fully immerse yourself in the world of golf, it is ideal if you own a PlayStation Move controller. Although you can play the game with DualShock, well, of course, you lose part of the experience. Although the authors were able to cope quite well with the possibilities offered by a common remote control, this is not the case. By moving the DualShock, you can rotate the mallet around its axis, while the actual launch is tilted.
PlayStation Move is more accurate, however, because it was designed for such use in games. To get the most out of the game, you must honestly go through the initial setup. Here you set your dominant hand and especially your height, according to which the game can determine the correct length of your clubs. Here I would point out a small, but all the more incomprehensible shortcoming. Nowhere has I found an option to change the imperial system to metric. Height and all distances directly on the course, you can see only in feet and yards. What at first confused me was the scale of the world. The sticks were too robust and the world smaller. After a few hits, however, I got used to this mismatch of the fairy world and subsequently I accepted it even when playing repeatedly.
After an equally short workout, the game takes you to the reception, a traditional menu that is the gateway to the world of Everybody's Golf VR. More precisely, it would be more a gate because the game is not as extensive as you might expect. Tens of hours can entertain you, but you must be a big fan of golf. The problem lies in both the available modes and the progressive system. At the beginning, as an inexperienced player, you start almost at zero. The vast majority of options are locked for you. The options depend on your level, so you have no choice but to play what is currently available to you. So the basic course and three random holes. At the beginning I was still tapping, but in the second or third attempt the game decided that I could get a higher level and allow me to enter the higher league. She unlocked my nine-hole options. I still had a basic pitch, but this time I could go with the first nine or the last nine holes of that pitch.
So I had to unlock the last mode with all eighteen holes in one game by playing these three options over and over again. Initially, you do not even realize such limited access, because you are also trying to play the same holes repeatedly to improve your score. The real problem will only start later, when you know all the holes to the last blade of grass and the game will push you to take them once again and try to improve. It may not be such a bad way of motivating you to improve your performance, but for pure entertainment, a different system of advancement would be better. Especially if there is only one mode available in the game, ie classic playing on the pitches without further variations. On the other hand, the game hides four different courses that offer different environments and very well treated holes. You have to fight with precision to avoid sand, water and unpleasant trees.
In virtual reality golf, however, the accuracy of what keeps you excited for the next game. Once you hit from ten feet, then from twenty and finally you manage to hit from a greater distance directly into the hole. The fact that this time almost all the power is in your hands and not in pressing the buttons at the right time is truly immersive. The feeling of a well-hit hole is much more intense and pushes you into the next game. I suppose this is what the authors wanted to achieve with the game. Of course, not everything works as it should, as the current PS CoR solution has certain limits, but this is nothing that cannot be accepted. I personally had no trouble tracking the position, PS Move driver was in most cases accurate and transferred to the virtual world what was happening in real.
An integral part of any golf game must be keddy. Since we are talking about the Japanese title, you certainly know the direction in which these devotees helped the authors to go. Your one is Riko - nice Japanese girl who tries to make you happy every single second on the playground. He supports you, believes in your exact reach and always treats you nice. However, its passion for the game can only arouse two feelings - either you hate it or accept it. By playing it you can unlock new outfits, but you can also spend more time with it outside of golf. With Riko, you can move between the holes to the recreational or remote areas of a specific course to bring additional virtual reality experiences. Once you find yourself over the abyss between two rocks, sometimes you will watch sunset together or enjoy your free time on the bench. The more time I spent between holes, the more these nipples looked more like a date than a simple distraction.
Everybody's Golf VR acts as a cautious attempt to enter virtual reality. The game basically offers only one main mode with four separate courses. However, you must unlock already small content by playing, which in short means you will be forced to play the same thing around to get to the next content. On the other hand, the playing experience itself is very good given the available options. In conjunction with the PlayStation Move Controller, you get very solid control over the entire game, bringing you into action. The subsequent good feeling of a successful hit or a well-hit hole is all the more intense and valuable. Even the VR version of Everybody's Golf is not perfect, but it offers solid entertainment for anyone who likes golf or just looking for another good game for PS VR.
