What's the deal with all the wacky golf games? Rock Paper Shotgun Support us Join our newsletter Visit our store Sign in / Create account If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. What's the deal with all the wacky golf games? Fore! News by Alice Bell Deputy Editor Published on April 15, 2022 38 comments Would you believe Good Friday isn't a bank holiday in Ireland? I didn't, until I found myself living it. I'm here driving the RPS bus alone, nobody to stop me as I careen down the motorway screaming and trying to slam on the brakes. But I can't, because a golf ball has rolled under the pedal! You ride this bus long enough, you see games move in cycles similar to fashion designers, or those big ferris wheels at fairgrounds. Things come round, they peak, they go round again. Often a few different people independently notice an empty niche and start working on something to fill it, so you get a bunch of games with similar themes or styles coming out within months of each other. So I ask: why and/or how have a bunch of people identified golf as a gap in the market? Specifically it's golf but a bit wacky and cool. Not your mamma's golf, baby! At the end of last year we had Golf Club Wasteland. Then RPGolf Legends. Cursed To Golf is coming out later in 2022. There's Rocket-League-but-golf game Turbo Golf Racing, and recently Golf Gang was announced as well, a kind of Fall Guys but with balls instead of beans. Watch on YouTube I understand how it works, thematically. Golf is kind of a stuffy game for boring rich people and/or old dudes, right? That's the perception, anyway. So making it ker-azy is extra trope-subversion, extra contrast. I get that. But why golf? How did everyone hit upon this? Did a bunch of people go on a golf stag do or team-building retreat in 2018? Personally I think What The Golf probably started this. Golf, but fun (please don't come at me, golfers), and everyone loved it! I know Dangerous Golf came out in 2016 but I feel like What The Golf made more of a dent. Any suggestions for other sports that can be made into not-sports games? Or weird stuff to do with golf? A golf deckbuilder. A tennis roguelike with zombies. Give me your best shot. Tee off. Ho ho. Disclosure: my partner worked on Golf Gang for about three months. More News Jack King-Spooner's next handcrafted game has a teaser demo out Judero brings chat and action in the Scottish Borders Alice O'Connor 17 hours ago 1 If you were hoping for any Overwatch 2 balance changes then you'll have to wait until season two The next season begins in December CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 3 The Dead Space remake will chuck random Necromorphs at you as you wander the Ishimura In space, no one can hear you proper bricking it CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 8 Valve register mysterious new Neon Prime trademark in the US It doesn’t seem to be for a particularly colourful Steam Deck CJ Wheeler 20 hours ago 11 Latest Articles What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 21 Past Wordle answers Here's an archive of previous Wordle words Ollie Toms 2 hours ago 1 Wordle answer today (Saturday 15 October) Hints and the answer to today's Wordle word Rebecca Jones 9 hours ago Overwatch 2 hero tier list Which are the best heroes in Overwatch 2? Ollie Toms 16 hours ago Supporters Only You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona My new obsession Ed Thorn 2 days ago If you're hankering after Bayonetta 3, Valkyrie Elysium might be a good substitute It's not out on PC until next month, but the console demo has been a surprise charmer Katharine Castle 1 week ago 4 We've been talking, and we think that you should wear clothes Total coincidence, but we sell some clothes Buy RPS stuff here