Turbo Golf Racing, the proven experience

What happens when a game is hugely successful? Other titles inspired by it were produced, both because the developers were inspired by the quality of the video game, and because suggesting something similar to a successful title would allow you to more easily reach a large audience and thus earn. Is this good? is it bad?

You decide why Turbo Golf Racing It is undoubtedly similar to the game Rocket League, but at the same time it mixes the style of karting games such as Mario & Co. , with a hint – of course – to the game of golf in real time.

Thanks to the beta phase made available by the developers, we had the opportunity to Try Turbo Golf Racing In a version that’s definitely not definitive, but powerful enough to give us an idea of ​​how exciting this game can be.

on the starting line

We repeat it. yes, Turbo Golf Racing reminds us of Rocket League We are sure it is not just a coincidence. The graphic style, gameplay cars, big balls and also the controls and feeling the effects with the ball seem to be taken directly from the game Psyonix. However, there are various innovations.

First of all, the favorite sport in this game is not soccer but soccer golf. This is not an insignificant difference, because it completely changes the structure of the playing field, the dynamics and purposes of each game and above all changes the type of interaction with other players. But let’s take it step by step and start by seeing how to make a single hole.

Each game requires you to bring your own ball to final hole, which is a large gap illuminated by a colored beam and also has an attractive effect and facilitates the balloon insertion. Obviously, since this is a real-time game, the victory is not the result of the number of hits needed to get to the hole, but only the period required. It’s a timed race against other players who will try to finish the race in front of us.

This means that we have to carry the ball with us, hitting it as hard as possible to make it fly in the air for a longer distance, while also making sure to send it in the right direction. Unlike in Rocket League where missing a shot is not a big deal because the ball is always a few meters away and our allies are around us, in Turbo Golf Racing missed the shot It’s a serious waste of time because no one is going to continue the game for us.

In the midst of all this, we have to keep a minimum account our opponents. You cannot directly interfere with their game, because the ball and the enemy’s machines are intangible, except with one tool: the missile. In karting style, there are power ups around the track, at the moment rockets or turbochargers (which work just like Rocket League). Missiles are the only way to hit the enemy and lose a second or two. It may seem like a small thing, but on average, Turbo Golf Racing’s gap is pretty short. Shorter paths can take less than 30 seconds once you understand how you need to move, while longer paths barely exceed a minute. Each game is divided into three holes, and as a result, each multiplayer session takes a few minutes to complete.

upgrades

Depending on our results in the race, we get Experience points and in-game currency. The same happens by completing the weekly and seasonal classic quests, which in the beta phase were in the genre “play a certain number of games”, “hit a number of enemies with missiles”, “get first into a hole”, and so on. . By leveling up in the Season Pass (free in trial, we’re considering our payment in the final version), you get cosmetic items for our machines, in-game currency and an upgrade kernel.

The latter is another special feature of Turbo Golf Racing. Unlike in Rocket League where each car and each player can rely only on their own hand skills, in Turbo Golf Racing you can choose a maximum of two Cores that give bonuses passive but also certain active abilities. The first thing that unlocks is the turbo boost: in the first races against players who already had this boost, we immediately noticed that at first we were immediately behind, which shows how much the boost is. However, there are more useful skills, such as the ability to emit a wave of energy that propels the ball: in our opinion, this is a great power if used well, as it allows you to hit the ball even if we are in a bad position. Nor. So waste time maneuvering. Added to this are many other upgrades, some of which can be purchased with the base in-game currency that can be easily obtained through playing.

The idea of ​​power ups is interesting, but also Fundamentally problematic. Assuming none of this money is only available for real money payment (whether it’s a direct purchase or through the paid version of the Battle Pass), there is still a risk that more regular players will find themselves with a solid and useful core between seasons. Whereas new players, or even casual players who don’t follow the competitive side very much, find themselves facing opponents with tools they can’t possibly get. At the moment it is pointless to focus too much on this issue, but at the review stage it will be an element that we will probably have to consider carefully.

Single player and modes

So far we’ve only talked about multiplayer, but Turbo Golf Racing also offers another mode: single player. It is not a version of a multiplayer game played against the AI, but rather a version of timed challenges with unique aesthetic rewards. Practically speaking, the game suggests the different paths that we will find in the competition and asks us to go to the hole within a maximum period of time.

Besides being a nice addition that we never take for granted, it’s a great way for new players to gain some experience without the stress of competition. In sigle player you can Single hole trainingto understand their characteristics and to understand what is the best course of action to follow.

In Rocket League (sorry for the constant confrontation, but it comes easily) Fields rarely present significant differences that change the way you play. In Turbo Golf Racing, what matters most is road structure. It’s not an empty straight but there are branches or even areas of tall grass or sand that slow it down, points where you get speed bonuses, circles that fly when you hit the ball throwing it in the right direction, but also ramps, gradients and not only. Our machine can also counter “flies” with more safety thanks to the wings that must be activated by the player to glide and overcome greater distances while chasing the ball.

At the moment, the variety of methods is a lot of fun: it would be important to suggest something new on a regular basis, but this is an issue that we will have to analyze in the future. We also hope that between play mode Multiple slot versions appear. Three holes guarantees a quick and fun session, but with six or even nine holes, you may have time to recover in case the first few holes see you undefeated.

We also have doubt, which the beta version did not allow us to beat. Races put players at the starting line, respectively: This means that the starting point is not the same for everyone, and depending on how the first part of the course is configured, some positions will have an advantage since a straight shot will be enough to be already placed for the rest of the way, while others will have to Get around environmental barriers immediately. Perhaps, since balls and machines can’t touch each other, having all players start from the same place would be more honest.