Cursed to Golf

Lore & Background

The player, a professional golfer killed by lightning before a tournament's end, is sent to Golf Purgatory and greeted by a giant ghost named The Scotsman. The Scotsman explains that completing an eighteen-hole course will resurrect the golfer, but using too many strokes on any hole results in death and a return to the start. The holes are randomly selected from approximately 70 predesigned levels, viewed from a two-dimensional side-scrolling perspective, and form themed biomes with specific features and obstacles. Cursed holes, usually optional, occasionally handicap the player, such as restricting aim to a specific direction. Boss battles at the end of each biome pit the player against opponents like The Scotsman, The Explorer, and The Forgotten, featuring special statues that stun the boss when broken.

The player has three clubs—a driver, an iron, and a wedge—and aims each shot by timing button presses for power and direction. A moving arc displays the ball's flight path, and the player can redo a shot's power during aiming. The player starts with five shots per hole but can gain more by smashing gold and silver statues that yield four or two additional shots respectively. The ball can be spun upon landing to slightly change direction. Single-use Ace Cards, received after defeating cursed levels or purchased from shops using cash earned for excess shots, provide temporary upgrades or abilities, such as a mulligan to retry a shot or a U-Turn card to reaim the ball midair. Upon death, cash and Ace Cards are lost unless stored at a shop, but permanent rewards from bosses are retained and bosses do not need to be fought again. The game is considered a roguelike due to its permanent death mechanic, randomness from hole variety, and rewards from defeating bosses.

Reader's Guide

Cursed to Golf was developed by Kyoto-based indie studio Chuhai Labs and published by Thunderful Publishing. Director Liam Edwards, who previously worked at Rockstar Games, created the original version on itch.io in 2020, citing physics games and a podcast about roguelikes as inspiration, with the golf aspect emerging from a prototype of a bouncing ball in a dungeon. The game was first announced for Windows and Nintendo Switch on Thunderful's YouTube channel on August 30, 2021, with a 2022 release date. It was showcased at the ID@Xbox Showcase and Future Games Show in March 2022, with a limited-time Steam demo that month. The exact release date of August 18, 2022, was announced on July 7, 2022, alongside availability on PlayStation 4 and 5. The game launched on Steam, GOG.com, the Epic Games Store, and console systems.

Prior to launch, Cursed to Golf was described as 'the Dark Souls of golf' due to its difficulty. Critics universally noted this difficulty, with some finding the curve satisfying and others deeming it unnecessarily frustrating. Polygon's Russ Frushtick likened its intensity to Spelunky HD and Slay the Spire, highlighting frustrations from limited vision and guesswork. Rock Paper Shotgun's Rachel Watts and Vandal's Juan Rubio criticized the game's replayability and slow pace. However, reviewers praised the simplicity of controls, Ace Cards, and ball spinning mechanics. The pixel art aesthetic was commended by multiple reviewers, and the chiptune soundtrack was lauded by some but found repetitive by others. The game's 'witty and macabre' writing was also noted. On Metacritic, most platform versions received 'generally favorable' reviews, while the PlayStation 5 version received 'mixed or average' reviews; OpenCritic assessed strong approval, with 67% of critics recommending it.

Did You Know?

• The game was originally created as an itch.io demo in 2020.
• The soundtrack was composed by Mark Sparling, who also wrote music for A Short Hike.
• There are approximately 70 predesigned levels from which holes are randomly selected.