A Little Golf Journey

A Little Golf Journey is the best experience I've ever had in a golf game. With a surprisingly deep story, an innovative and inclusive gameplay, and 400 stars and 68 secret items to collect, whether you are looking for a relaxing moment or in search for the perfect conclusion, this game is for you.

The most surprising part of the experience was becoming engrossed in a story that built without being noticed. The game opens with a letter that originally seems to just be a stand-in for the developer to welcome players to golf, but over time it transitions into something more personal and reflective. What was once a series of formal letters becomes something beautiful, a sincere back and forth between X and Y, the player and the writer. A Little Golf Journey is a game full of surprises and a gameplay loop that never gets old, and comes highly recommended.

With 400 stars to earn, dozens of Blue Things to find, and countless secrets to discover, it turns out that A Little Golf Journey is actually much larger and content-full than its name would imply. I love having it to chill out with before bedtime as I need to wind down after multi-hour Metroid Dread sessions, and I think it might actually be my new favorite golf game on Switch, closely edging out Golf Story. I did encounter a few technical issues where my ball got stuck and I had to restart the hole, but this wasn’t a frequent occurrence. If you’re looking for a peaceful and zen-inducing golf experience, there might not be any better than A Little Golf Journey. I intend to relive this journey over and over as I shoot for the stars, and yeah, those little blue things, too.

Step aside multiplayer sports games! With an abundance of multiplayer games clogging up the virtual pipes these days, A Little Golf Journey is an introvert’s breath of fresh, solo-play, air. An arcade puzzle game with golf as the centerpiece. Take a nice, deep breath, but try not to inhale the golf ball.

Don’t write A Little Golf Journey off if you’re not a golfer. This gorgeous little game is more about solving puzzles than the sport, and it blends the two perfectly. Presented in a wonderful level-based package, finding the best way to putt the ball in each level provides a simple but effective gameplay loop that will keep you coming back for more. This is a game that’ll test your thinking skills, but you’ll also have a lot of fun at the same time.

A chilled and deeply satisfying golf game, A Little Golf Journey combines small scale courses with a pleasant soundtrack, a varied art style and a real sense of adventure in a really pleasing way. Even if you don’t like golf as a sport, the environmental puzzles and quirky narrative in this game make for a gratifying experience, even with an occasionally unwieldy camera.

A relaxing adventure golf game with a lot of content, but a lack of variety.

A Little Golf Journey cleverly mixes 3D platformer mechanics with a standard golf approach to deliver a relaxing yet challenging adventure, with many secrets to find. If only the camera was not so twisted.

A Little Golf Journey oversells its “stunning” courses and struggles to stay fresh with a mostly safe approach, regardless of plot attempts. It’s the sort of game that did enough to make me want to keep going for a few hours, but not enough to finish, let alone 100% it. Lacking diversity, both aesthetically and gameplay-wise, it pales when compared to many other Switch golf titles. But, even with a subpar camera, the secrets are quite a bit of fun. Assuredly not $19.99 fun, though. The content is there, but the enjoyment and polish aren’t as much. Wishlist this one for a sale while you browse other relaxing games on the eShop, and wait for an improved follow-up.