Golf at the end of the world… no, really! It’s honestly the end of the world as we know it. Are you ready? Check our Golf Club: Wasteland review!

 

Urban Wasteland Adventure Golf
The rich fled to Mars but venture back to a desolate Earth for a round of golf. Each hole in the wasteland offers its own little story and possible puzzle to sink the perfect shot. Play through destroyed brutalist monuments, crumbling shopping malls, and abandoned museums as neon signs and poignant graffiti take swings at current events, Silicon Valley culture and humanity.

Three Stories Make a (W)hole
Piece together the full story of how humanity fell through three distinct sources – Details from the lone golfer’s story, who’s come back to Earth for one last game. The Radio Nostalgia from Mars broadcast gives a glimpse into the lives of those who escaped, and the narration of a “secret spectator” watching from a distance.

I’m a huge fan of golf games, having put hundreds of hours into Everybody’s Golf and the PGA Tour series. If a game has golf, then I’m in. The name Golf Club: Wasteland really interested me. This one isn’t like the other golf games I mentioned and feels closer to a casual golfing experience. It’s played from a 2D perspective, and you use the left analog stick to control the aim and distance of your shot. I played the game in Portable Mode with the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con as well as with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller in Docked Mode, and I do have to say that aiming and shooting felt better when using the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.

 

I also wished there was an option to have a few different clubs on you for the different distances you need to shoot your ball over. You don’t need to give a full club set for that, but 3-4 options would have been a great option for this golf game. Instead of this, Golf Club: Wasteland places a big focus on the game’s story, which is something you don’t see in other golf games out there. You’ve traveled to Earth after everything has been destroyed after a global catastrophe. Part of the human race has traveled to Mars to stay alive, and golfing on Earth is an exotic way for the rich to flaunt their riches. The golf happens in the desolate wasteland, as you learn new bits and pieces of what happened to Earth between the environmental storytelling and the awesome radio station from Mars.

You can play Golf Club: Wasteland in its standard difficulty setting, where you need to complete each hole under par, or you can activate the story option so that you can take as many strokes as needed to reach the hole. There are some levels that will allow you to get a hole-in-one, but many of the stages will require that you overcome a variety of obstacles and hazards in your path – and yes, this does include sand traps as well as small and large bodies of water.

 

Challenge Mode is the name of the one where you need to finish each stage under par, and if you manage to complete each level with a specific number of strokes, you’ll unlock new diary entries, giving you some extra insight into the world of Golf Club: Wasteland. And if you’re wondering what happens if you don’t manage to complete a level under par, well, it’s simple: your ball explodes! You’ll then fly back to the start of the level so that you can learn from your mistakes and give it another go. And if you really want to bump up the difficulty, you can take on Iron Mode, which is not for the faint of heart. Make a single mistake with one of your shots, and you’ll have to start all over again!

Golf Club Wasteland quickly became one of my favorite experiences of the year. It’s a short, chill golf game that tells a unique story and has some great music and excellent visuals as you explore Earth after the end of the world. This is a certified indie banger, and you should definitely check it out on the Nintendo Switch.

Disclaimer
This Golf Club: Wasteland review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Untold Tales S.A..