House of Golf 2

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House of Golf 2

Preview

Miniature Golf, Full Sized Fun

"They say you should never mix business with pleasure. Really? Well then, explain to me how a putt-putt golf company operates." So says the ever-affable Andy Bernard in The Office, and so say I. There's a simple charm to miniature golf, putt-putt golf, or whatever your own regional dialect chooses to call the wonderfully wacky past-time, and House of Golf 2 captures it in a laid-back arcade-style approach that mixes pleasantly familiar environments with some more out-there course obstacles. I was able to play through three 9-hole courses ahead of the game's full release, and I fully enjoyed the simplicity that permeates the experience.

Keeping It Simple


Mini-golf is a simple activity, and House of Golf 2 makes the potentially divisive but ultimately, I think, correct choice not to add unneeded complexity or 'game-ify' the experience more than it needs to. Indeed, the gameplay loop is incredibly straightforward, and there are only a few controls to do everything the game has to offer. Hitting the ball is, of course, the central skill, but it is managed completely with a simple aim of the mouse to determine power. While House of Golf 2 doesn't go so far as to provide full information about the path the ball will travel while aiming, there also aren't any gimmicks to make things more challenging. The aiming reticle is steady, and there's no minigame required to set the power.



At least in the slice of the game that I was able to play for the preview, this fairly utilitarian mindset extends beyond the actual hitting of the ball into the rest of the experience as well. There's music, but it isn't overwhelming. There are, of course, Steam achievements, but individual courses don't have added-on challenges or a meta-game beyond some gold medals placed around the various holes that can be collected (by running the ball through them) to unlock different golf ball designs. While I anticipate that those looking for more constant hits of dopamine may want more, I personally found the focus on playing the game for the sake of enjoying the various courses and minimizing the riff-raff to be a welcome addition. Each course does have three trophies available to earn by achieving certain stroke totals, and that was enough for me to play through each available set of holes quite a few times for this preview.

Balancing Simplicity With Challenge


This isn't to say that the game is easy, because it isn't. At least not always. The game does a nice job of starting each Championship (set of 9 holes) off relatively easy and upping the difficulty; while the first hole or two may have a pretty clear path to a birdie, I was still having a hard time with several holes in each set at the end of my time with House of Golf 2. With the game demanding no reflex or timing-based skills, the challenge comes from internalizing the power bar to know how hard to strike the ball and taking the time to look around each hole to understand the lanes, obstacles, and general lay of the land. Fortunately, House of Golf 2 allows the player to detach from the behind-the-ball view before every shot and freely move the camera around. There's no doubt that, at least for a while, the power bar can feel frustrating. The number of times I stroked out (max 10 per hole) because I just couldn't get a read on what I needed to perfectly clear a jump or avoid flying over a barrier is high, but it happened less and less with experience, which is exactly what should happen.

Familiar Trappings


Of course, as every mini-golf enthusiast knows, hitting the ball is only half the fun of the sport. The other is enjoying the scenic and/or whimsical courses. House of Golf 2 takes a household approach to mini-golf, dressing up each hole to look like something the player built around various domestic rooms. Balls will roll across gutter pipes, remote-control cars, and hop around chairs, and the zoomed-in feel (the player views the ball at its level - there's no avatar swinging a putter) adds to the general coziness of it all. The game doesn't go full-on realism in its design, though, bending the suspension of disbelief with a crane that picks up and drops the ball and fully breaking it with a few portals that ignore the laws of physics.

The challenge will be keeping it all fresh over the full roster of available Championships. The House of Golf 2 preview build showcases courses spread across kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, and attics, and it will be interesting to see where things can go from there. I appreciate a fast-paced, sweat-inducing video game as much as the next person, but I also strongly value the appeal of something more relaxing, and those who feel similarly would do well to check out House of Golf when it releases in full on August 16th.


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