Golf Around!

Golf Around! is a 2020 multiplayer mini-golf game developed by Hough Studio, where players navigate wacky courses set in imaginative locations like villages, dungeons, harbors, and ski resorts, each filled with obstacles such as stairs, lava, loops, and laser barriers. Supporting 1 to 12 players online with a first-person perspective and point-and-select interface, it includes a level editor for creating custom courses and emphasizes chaotic, fun gameplay.

Golf Around!: The Chaotic Charm of Community-Driven Mini-Golf

Introduction: A Swing at Convention

In the crowded fairway of digital mini-golf simulations, Golf Around! (2020) arrives not with the polished prestige of a Mario Golf or the gritty simulation of The Golf Club, but with a glorious, unapologetic swing for the fences of pure, unadulterated chaos. Developed by the aptly named Golf Around Studio (primarily the work of Steve Hough), this title carves out its niche by blending the fundamental satisfaction of putting with the surreal, often hilarious, obstacles of “crazy golf.” Its legacy is not one of critical darlingdom or blockbuster sales, but of cult appeal and profound community integration. This review argues that Golf Around!‘s true significance lies in its successful democratization of level design and its potent formula of simple controls paired with exponentially complex course dynamics, making it a standout example of indie games finding their stride through player creativity.

Development History & Context: The Indie Approach to a Classic Genre

Studio Vision & Constraints: Hough Studio, a small independent developer, entered a genre dominated by either licensed AAA titles or niche simulators. The vision, as articulated in store descriptions and developer comments, was straightforward: a multiplayer-focused mini-golf game with an unprecedented emphasis on user-generated content. Built in the accessible Unity engine, the project was inherently constrained by a likely small budget and team, which paradoxically became a strength. The “threadbare” look of official courses, as noted by developer PubliusCorneliusScipioAfricanus (Steve Hough) in Steam discussions, was a direct result of optimization needs and a design philosophy that prioritized clear sightlines and performance over visual density. This minimalist aesthetic inadvertently created a clean canvas for the complex gameplay mechanics and, more importantly, for community creations.

Release & Landscape: Launching into Early Access on December 12, 2019, and fully releasing on December 4, 2020, Golf Around! emerged during a relative renaissance for casual, physics-based party games (Fall Guys, Among Us). However, it differentiated itself by grounding its mayhem in a traditional sport. Its key competitor at the time was Golf It! (2018), which also featured a robust editor. Where Golf It! leaned into a vibrant, exaggerated art style, Golf Around! initially presented a more subdued, first-person perspective with simpler environments, focusing player attention on the shot and the immediate obstacles. The game’s business model was a straightforward one-time purchase ($9.99/€9.75), eschewing microtransactions in favor of Steam Workshop integration and cosmetic item drops, a decision that fostered goodwill.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive: The Plot is the Playground

Golf Around! possesses what could charitably be called a “narrative” only in the most abstract, ludological sense. There is no storyline, no characters with arcs, and no dialogue-driven plot. The game’s “theme” is the Experience itself: the unpredictable narrative created by the player’s ball ricocheting off a katana, being incinerated by a dragon, or launched from a cannon.

Environmental Storytelling: The narrative is told entirely through the themed courses: the Village suggests a quaint town square rendered hazardous by ill-placed architecture; the Dungeon implies a traps-laden catacomb; the Lab evokes chaotic scientific experimentation; Vaporwave and Cyberpunk are pastiche aesthetic statements. These are not stories but vibes—setting pieces that contextualize the types of absurdist hazards encountered. The “plot” of any given round is the player’s personal saga of triumph and catastrophe against these environments.

Core Theme: Unpredictable Agency. The game’s underlying theme is the tension between player agency (aiming, power control) and systemic chaos (unpredictable physics, environmental hazards). This mirrors the core appeal of crazy golf itself. The thematic depth lies in this constant negotiation: a perfectly aimed shot can be ruined by a bouncing dragon, while a horrific slice might land on a platform that sets up a miracle hole-in-one. It’s a game about adapting to, and sometimes laughing at, the whims of a game master who is also the environment.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems: Precision Meets Pandemonium

Core Loop & Physics: The fundamental loop is classic mini-golf: aim, set power (with a numerical percentage indicator, a feature lauded by players for its precision over eyeballing), and putt. The first-person perspective places the ball directly in the player’s view, emphasizing spatial awareness. The physics are a double-edged sword. They are generally solid for rolling and bouncing, but users frequently cite “unfair” bounces and inconsistent behavior, particularly with jump mechanics online. This creates a meta-game of learning the engine’s quirks as much as the course design.

Crazy Mechanics & Obstacles: This is where Golf Around! distinguishes itself. The officially advertised “crazy mechanics” are not mere gimmicks but fundamental course-altering systems:
* Destructibility: Katanas can slice the ball in half, requiring the player to control two separate balls.
* Environmental Hazards: Dragons breathe fire (setting the ball ablaze and altering its trajectory), lasers and lava destroy the ball on contact, loopings and cannons launch the ball into novel trajectories.
* Dynamic Elements: Moving platforms, rotating blades, and collapsing pathways demand timing and adds a puzzle element to the sport.

Game Modes & Customization: Beyond standard stroke play, modes like Shape Mode (where the ball leaves a colored trail, challenging players to create patterns), Race Mode, and Hardcore Mode (likely with stricter time limits or more hazards) provide varied objectives. The robust Level Creator is the game’s beating heart. It includes a terrain editor and a vast library of prefab obstacles, allowing for immense creativity. Steam Workshop integration means the official 10 courses (180 holes—note: earlier MobyGames info cited 7 courses/126 holes, indicating significant post-launch growth) are just the starting point; the community has thousands more, ranging from brutal challenges to whimsical art pieces.

UI & Flaws: The UI is functional but sparse. A significant point of player feedback, as seen in Steam discussions, is the desire for persistent stat tracking (personal and friends’ high scores per hole) and the ability to save custom game settings. The online jump mechanic is also cited as inconsistent, sometimes failing to activate or triggering accidentally, which can be fatal in precision-based courses.

World-Building, Art & Sound: Aesthetic of Accessibility

Visual Direction: The game employs a clean, low-poly, cartoony style. This serves a dual purpose: it keeps system requirements minimal (reflecting its 2GB install size and 512MB graphics card minimum) and ensures high readability. Hazards are clearly colored (red for lava/danger, green for safe paths) and visually distinct. The official courses establish strong, themed identities:
* Village/Dungeon/Castle: Earthy tones, stonework, wooden obstacles.
* Snowy/Lab: Cool palettes, icy surfaces or sterile white tiles.
* Vaporwave/Steampunk/Cyberpunk: Bold,过去 future aesthetic statements (pastel grids and palm trees vs. brass gears vs. neon noir).
The Steampunk course, however, is specifically noted by both players and the developer as being poorly optimized, a technical blemish on an otherwise smoothly running game. Community maps often go far beyond the official aesthetic, creating dense forests, elaborate cities, or abstract art installations.

Sound Design: The sound design is unobtrusive but effective. The thwack of the club, the clunk of the ball on different surfaces, and the various hazard sounds (sizzle of fire, hum of lasers) provide satisfying auditory feedback. The music, described by one user as “lovely” except for the first map, is generally calm, looping background tracks that don’t distract from the concentration required. Its simplicity is a design choice, preventing auditory overload during tense moments.

Atmosphere Contribution: Together, the art and sound create an atmosphere of “casual challenge.” It’s never intimidating or dark (save for the Dungeon’s ambiance), always encouraging another try. The simplicity means the player’s focus is never diverted from the core gameplay puzzle. The community’s vastly more detailed Workshop maps prove that the engine can support stunning complexity, but the official aesthetic wisely prioritizes clarity.

Reception & Legacy: A Workshop Darling

Critical & Commercial Reception: Metacritic shows no critic scores, and MobyGames has only one unscored critic review (from Gameplay (Benelux)), indicating a near-total lack of mainstream critical attention. This is the fate of many niche indies. Commercially, exact sales are elusive, but SteamDB and Steambase indicate healthy, sustained interest. Its Steam rating is “Very Positive” (94% of 1,062 reviews as of early 2026), with praise consistently highlighting:
1. Unrivaled Multiplayer Fun: The chaotic, unpredictable nature shines with friends. The support for up to 12 players (cross-platform) makes it a party game staple.
2. Empowering Level Editor: Reviewers and forum posts repeatedly cite the editor and Workshop as the primary reason for longevity. “The Workshop is great,” is a common refrain.
3. Accessible Price & Depth: A one-time purchase for a vast, expandable library is seen as excellent value.

Common criticisms, as detailed in user discussions, are the occasional unfair physics, the bare-bones official maps (a deliberate design trade-off), the finicky online jump, and the lack of deep progression systems or stat tracking.

Industry Influence & Place in History: Golf Around! is not a watershed moment that redefined its genre. Instead, it represents the maturation of a specific indie ethos: that a game’s lifespan can be infinitely extended by giving players the tools to become co-creators. It sits in the lineage of LittleBigPlanet and Super Mario Maker but applied to a simpler, physics-based core. Its influence is seen in the increasing expectation of robust level editors in indie sports and party games. Compared to its contemporaries:
* Golf It! Offers a more visually lavish and “game-y” experience with power-ups and a different editor.
* Golf With Your Friends focuses on simultaneous play and a polished, bright aesthetic but has a more limited editor.
* What the Golf? (2020) took the absurdity cartoon further but lacked the persistent creative platform.

Golf Around!‘s legacy is that of a quietly revolutionary toolset masquerading as a simple game. It is the Dreams or Roblox of mini-golf for a more focused audience—a persistent, community-powered sandbox that has, for over five years, consistently delivered on its promise of “crazy golf courses” through the boundless imagination of its player base.

Conclusion: A Hole-in-One for Community, a Bogey for Polish

Golf Around! is a game of profound contrasts. It is mechanically simple but systems-deep. It is aesthetically minimalist but content-rich. It is technically unpolished in spots but functionally brilliant in its core offering. Its lack of a traditional narrative is its own kind of story: one about the joy of creation and the unpredictable fun of shared, chaotic competition.

For the historian, it is a case study in sustainable indie development through community empowerment. Its official content is a capable, if sparse, tutorial for the true game found in the Steam Workshop. For the player, it is the ultimate “what if” generator for mini-golf, where a course can feature dragons, laser grids, and piano keys on a lake one minute, and a perfectly crafted technical puzzle the next.

The verdict? Golf Around! is an essential purchase for anyone who enjoys mini-golf, party games, or level design. Its flaws are visible—the physics can be fickle, the official courses are bare, and the UI lacks depth—but they are overwhelmingly overshadowed by its immense, player-driven value. It is not the most polished golf game ever made, but it may be the most alive. In the pantheon of sports games, it secures a unique and deserved place as the people’s champ of crazy golf, a title where the community doesn’t just play the game—they are the game designers. That is a legacy far more significant than any critic’s score.