If you’ve been following this channel at all, you should be well aware that I’m a pretty big fan of throwing the roguelike modifier into pretty much everything. In culinary terms I’ve come to think of it as the equivalent of something like Sriracha, capable of adding some spiciness and new life to just about anything you put it on, even if it very much isn’t a flavor that everyone enjoys. I’ve been fascinated to see it being applied to new genres in particular, and considering that sports is one of the most neglected in the eShop, the thought of applying its fun to mini golf had promise. I just wished the result was executed better.

The idea is simple enough I suppose, with you hitting various groupings of holes where you’ll need to demonstrate your basic skills of choosing the right angles and power, while having to contend with a variety of rules as well that add to the challenge. In order to give you some help you’ll also be able to pick up some cards that will give you a pretty wide variety of benefits and bonuses, giving you scoring modifiers, a little on-course help, or helping you grab more money that can help as you move further. On paper the ideas are generally sound, and everything makes reasonable sense.

Unfortunately, in terms of execution there are some critical issues that pretty well tear down the consistency of the experience, and the ability to enjoy it. The first is that even after playing for a little while, I found the power level very hard to predict and account for, especially the closer I got to the hole. Close low-power shots are easy to overpower, and I wish there was a way to use a scaled down gauge that was longer to provide for nuance and not so sensitive when you’re trying to make your final shot. Another consistent issue is just how the ball behaves, especially in cases where you need to power it to skip over gaps. These shots just felt wildly inconsistent, and not in a sensible way, as I’d need to do a few in a row to make a critical shot. Of course, the somewhat unusual isometric-ish angle you have to work with to plot your shots also does you no favors, further adding to frustration potential. If you can show quite a lot of patience this could pan out for you, but it makes enough missteps that it’s hard to recommend.