For a franchise as long-running as Everybody’s Golf all tied to one platform, it’s awesome to finally see it branch out.

Everybody’s Golf has been a staple on Sony hardware, a constant hit through PS1 to PSVR and now onto PS5, but also Switch and PC. Hot Shots, the latest addition to the lineup, follows its predecessors faithfully and feels like something of a greatest hits, that also iterates in some interesting ways.

So, first and foremost, there is a lot of golf here. A lot. Almost too much. And that applies to both single and multiplayer gaming, whether you want to play locally or online. There’s even Golf Lessons here so you can brush up on your skills and really learn how to play your best round. And honestly, I’d recomnend at least going through the early lessons to learn the broad strokes.

But beyond swinging your club and smashing the ball, there’s a lot of nuances to factor in, such as the spin you put on the ball, the effect wind has on it, the type of land you’re contending against whether you’re going uphill or there’s a slant. You can also change up the gauge shot system to suit you, whether you prefer to measure the swing or have a straight line to track against.

As with other Everybody’s Golf games as well, there’s special mode and power shots you can also perfom to try and increase your speed and power, getting the ball as close to the hole as possible, which could be the difference between a Bogey and a Birdie.

All sewn together by the different characters you play and caddies they bring along with them. Characters have their own individual attributes and quirks. Some are just good at everything. Some have more power or control, better spin shots. And this is further developed by your ranking and skill with a character the more you play with them, but also the relationship they build up with a caddie.

More characters and caddies get unlocked over the course of victory in particular challenges or World Tour, but you can also earn money for entering these competitions or being particularly skillful out on the course and then spend it at the shop to unlock new clubs, balls, attire and more.

In the shop, you can actually buy clubs to make your life a bit easier if you’re finding the timing hard or you’re not really getting the ball into the right positions, so there’s an element of the more you play and earn, the better off you can make yourself in the long term. So don’t give up!

That’s the beauty of Everybody’s Golf, in general. It straddles the line quite nicely of being a well put together, core golfing experience, but it adds the right element of zany and quirky to make it playable and enjoyable for everyone. Something like a Mario Golf meets PGA.

Solo wise, there’s so much content here that you’ll be playing for weeks. It kicks off with a Challenge Mode that basically lets you gain more and more prize money so you can buy stuff at the shop and entering tournaments. These start out fairly simply with lower prize money, with a series of conditons to fulfil. But by becoming the champion, not only do you get the money, you also unlock new items at the shop too.

Challenge Mode is a really nice way to just dive right into playing Golf and earning and unlocking things right away. But the core experience is the World Tour where you play as all of the characters in game and complete each of the chapters to unlock the next. The chapters themselves also have their own unique challenges where you can earn even more and gain secrets, but the aim is always just to beat the chapter to unlock the next and eventually gain a super special prize at the end, getting more and more characters in your roster.

The World Tour itself is full of back and forth between the characters, so you learn more about them and their backstories – if you’re so inclined – but again, you can also just go straight into the golf. Everybody’s Golf is really good at putting you right into the thick of things if you want it to. And to be honest, the back and forth does often go on a little long at times and can be a bit a boring.

Stroke and Match Play is pretty fun as here you can really customsie the golfing experience you want across all the courses in the game – whether you want to play as low as 3H or have the full 18H experience. But you can go further still by choosing the weather type and whether you want fixed or dynamic conditions or the time of day your play on, which is really sweet. There’s even custom rules to add, like no spin or Unlimited Power Mode.

And of course this is a nice multiplayer experience as with Stroke Play it’s all about getting the best score whereas Match Play is more direct competition from hole to hole.

Then there’s Wacky Golf, which is basically the game’s take on Crazy Golf, and considering the game is already pretty out there – I mean, you can get PAC-MAN out there playing for goodness sakes – there are some wild rules in here! This is just pure fun and silly chaos, where you can choose between a Colourful Wacky Golf where there’s lots of unexpected surprise moments or even Boom Golf where explosions send your ball soaring. Theres’ even a mode for stealing other players’ clubs.

Meanwhile Online, the highlight is unquestionably World Tournament where you can list and register your scores against …everyone. This is a nice way to see how good you are and truly test your skills against the rest of the world. Alternatively, there’s Group Matches where you can just join a lobby and dive right in. It’s up to you how you play.

Hot Shots goes further still, though, by holding a lot of data on how you play. This is great to look back on and review as you can see your Player Info – who you play most, how much you’ve earned and what shots you like to take. Also average Course Score, success rate at Putts and even manually recorded videos. It’s pretty cool

As for the game itself, on PS5 it’s pretty rock solid. Full HDR support that really helps the game shine delightfully, with support of up to 120 HZ and VRR. I’ve definitely heard of and seen issues on other platforms but for PS5, the game runs like butter.

There’s also great control options here too, with several types that really fit your play style – if you like to apply spin before shots or even during. But you can also customise as you see fit.

And for the actual game itself, it’s really fun to play! I would definitely say the AI is brutal and unforgiving at times, they really make it hard for you to win matches, especially on the high end difficulties. But as for a core experience, the variety of shots you can take, the approaches, hazards and even settings you have to factor in so you can be best prepared for what lies ahead.

But even the character animations really give life and meaning to each of the characters beyond aesthetics and some stat changes, there’s real individuality between them all, and you’ll quickly learn which ones are not for you and which are more in your wheelhouse. Some of these folks can be a tad annoying.

As for the backgrounds themselves, this is where I’d say the game comes a bit unstuck. Everything feels a bit barren at times, with some elements, like mountains looking a bit too pointy and bland. And as you’re probably aware by now, AI has also been used in some of the recreation of assets, particularly trees, and it definitely looks a bit off.

The good thing the game does do is allow the environment to adapt to the wind, so you can really see which direction it’s moving in with the way leaves blow on the trees and you can even pluck some grass to test the direction even further.

There’s definitely an element of simplicity to some of the environments and assets used, even when doing the bird’s eye view of the course to determine where to hit your shot, but it also keeps the system fairly simple, flowing and intuiative so you can just strike the ball if you want to and get it where it needs to go.

All in all, Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots is just a fantastic golfing game. It’s constantly entertaining, there’s a dirth of content here, it’s a title that will likely stay installed as one you’ll just want to jump into with friends on a whim and it has a simple, easy to pick up but tricky to master control scheme that can feel both mindnumbing and rewarding all at once. Getting that first hole in one is a satisfaction I haven’t felt from a game in quite some time.

Visually, it’s not the best on the market but it doesn’t need to with all the charm and content loaded into this one. One of my favourite current golfing games!

Verdict

Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots is an awesome golfing game to plays with friends but equally loaded with content if you’re flying solo. It blends the quirky with the quality and feels at times both a solid golfing experience while also giving a lot of personality to create bespoke, unique experiences. The aesthetics and art feels a bit bland at times, and there’s definitely some issues with difficulty and balance, but it plays like a dream on PS5 and comes as a must for EG fans or newcomers to the series.

Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots is out now on PlayStation, PC and Switch

Played on PlayStation 5

Code kindly provided by Bandai Namco for review purposes