Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that float your boat, and it doesn’t really get simpler or more straightforward than Golf Royale! from developer Partyup Games. While that simplicity is appealing as a mobile game that you can safely bust out at any time to kill a few moments, it can also lead to a game sort of losing its luster before too long. I think that’s probably true of Golf Royale!, but it’s so new there’s plenty of opportunity to flesh out the idea down the line, and the core game that is available now offers up enough fun that it’s worth checking out even if you may fizzle out on it eventually.
The gist of Golf Royale! is that you’re hitting golf shots at a hole that’s also a giant target, with more points awarded the closer you get to the hole. Just like the mini-games that have been in golf games over the years and even some real-life golfing spots. Hold your finger on the screen to create an arc that will set the distance of your shot, and when you’re happy with where that marker is at you’ll swipe up on the screen to actually swing and launch your shot. Straight swipes are preferred as any curve in your swipe can make your ball glide to the left or right.
Each game you’ll be matched up with other players online, and everyone plays simultaneously and is hitting balls into the same hole. There are multiple rounds and you’ll need to earn as many points as possible before the timer in a round runs out. When it does the person with the least amount of points is dropped from the game, and those remaining continue on until there’s just one winner left. Win the whole thing and you’ll earn yourself a Crown. And that’s… it, really. There’s no extra modes, or leaderboards that I could find, or unlockables, or power-ups, or anything. But that one single mode sure is a fast and frantic bit of fun.
That Golf Royale’s mechanics are so fun speaks a lot to its severe lack of anything else to do. The core game is really fun, loads super quickly, always seems to have other players that don’t appear to be bots, and since it’s release has been a good source of go-to entertainment for me. But there is definitely all the potential in the world to add tons of more stuff to it. That said, Golf Royale! is free to download, has no IAP, and apparently doesn’t even have any ads or anything, at least at the moment. Probably the biggest barrier to entry is that it doesn’t appear to be released in every country just yet, but if you can find it in your store it’s definitely worth spending a little time with.
