Review: Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots Isn’t as Enjoyable as Clap Hanz Games

There are two developers I trust most for enjoyable golf games. One is Camelot, though many of its best entries appeared between 1999 and 2004. The other is Clap Hanz. It ended up being the go-to developer for the Everybody’s Golf series, and its original Easy Come Easy Golf and Ultimate Swing Golf titles ended up being really strong. For the multiplatform Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots entry, Bandai Namco turned to HYDE and, while it’s fine, it doesn’t feel like it captures the same spirit and attention to detail as the Clap Hanz installments. 

Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots is designed to be an arcade sports experience. So while this is traditional golf, there’s a whimsical spirit even in its the not “Wacky” mode. Once you hop in, single and multiplayer options are available, and it is also possible to head into Golf Lessons to learn how to play and fine-tune your skills. The single-player section features Challenge Mode, World Tour, Stroke Play, Match Play, Wacky Golf, and Solo Round. Challenge Mode involves earning money in Easy, Normal, and Hard tasks, and World Tour is the story mode. As for multiplayer, Stroke Play, Match Play, and Wacky Golf are available. Stroke Play is for up to four people and covers every hole. Match Play involves one or two people, with each hole marking a chance for success. Wacky Golf is the “silly” option, with Colorful, Scramble, Survival Golf, and Boom Golf. Colorful is more random with constant changes, Scramble involves teams taking turns, Survival means you’ll possibly lose clubs and get to take your opponent’s, and Boom uses exploding balls. It’s a decent selection of modes,

The newcomers Aile and Mizuki are available at the outset, and characters from past games can be unlocked as you play. Everybody’s Golf as a whole always featured some colorful characters that might feature some exaggerated traits and designs, and it feels like HYDE is trying to do that with Hot Shots’ newest players. The thing is, both Aile and Mizuki are so exaggerated that it feels forced for the sake of a gimmick, and going through each one’s World Tour story felt grating as a result. These can be skipped, but it’s a little off-putting considering the quality of Clap Hanz’s work. Especially since the patter that comes up when you unlock other characters and caddies and starts to go from color commentary to absolutely obnoxious. I started to be of the mind they should all be seen and not heard, because at least the character designs look okay. But since characters do unlock gradually and you do only get the two to start, it’s just a lot to endure. Especially since you constantly need to go through Challenges a ton to build up loyalty so you can unlock shots and the other characters. 

While the golfers can look okay and the course layouts are also generally fine, some elements of Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots don’t look as good. Generative AI is used for the grass and course textures, the trees, and environmental elements. While it might be colorful sometimes, it is quite bland. I even felt like the bad agricultural design made it difficult to sometimes gauge shots. That is, when the camera wasn’t getting in the way.

While Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots can work fine, there are times when it didn’t feel as precise and well-optimized as past installments. Lots of unlocking to get all of the golfers, shots, and courses is only the start. You can choose to go with three-button press, a power bar, and feedback, but all are hampered by the game sometimes not accurately registering or the timing feeling off. The default settings are bad, and I found I only had success when using the second camera setting. The UI conveys information, but not as well and efficiently as past entries. I even felt like I couldn’t rely on any estimates for shots, and as though the NPC opponents were playing under conditions that aided them and hampered me. I’m honestly hoping some of the controls and other elements are hampered by bugs that could perhaps be patched out. It doesn’t feel as accurate as I expected. 

Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots seems like it should include everything we expect from the series, but it falls short of Clap Hanz’s work. Characters come across as annoying, rather than charming, and it’s a lot of work to unlock them and build them up. The general selection of modes available are fine. However, some technical issues and design choices keep it from running and looking like it should. It’s okay and might be better after a few patches, but past entries were more enjoyable.

Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots is available on the PS5, Switch, and PC. 

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