Vertiginous Golf - Initial Thoughts

About the Game (From the Steam Store Page)

Vertiginous Golf is a dystopian steam punk mini golf adventure game set in the skies above an alternate world where life on the ground is enveloped in permanent smog, constant darkness and never-ending rain.

After suffering on the ground under a haze smog and pollution, the people of Scudburough have been split in half by a lottery, with the winners heading up into the clouds to live in a floating city called New Lun-Donne. For those left below, they can get a temporary escape from the gloom through the Verti-Sphere, a device that allows them to rise virtually into the cloudy paradise to play mini golf on challenging obstacle courses floating in the sky. But something is amiss in this nation of two cities. Another voice is trying to break through the propaganda messages of peace and prosperity… the voice of an insurrection.

Chip and putt your way through beautiful golf courses floating far above the smog-covered streets below. Play through the unique story mode courses to uncover the mystery of the Verti-sphere. Enjoy 54 classic holes ranging from simple miniputt to mind-bending courses that will test even the most skilled golfers, as well a driving range and race challenges.

Take on these insane obstacle courses filled with hazards and contraptions. Look through the eyes of your mechanical hummingbird companion to explore and unlock the secrets of the green. Use the jewel encrusted beetle to control your ball once it’s in motion and make good use of your limited rewind power to redeem yourself from a bad shot.

What's better than a leisurely round of golf in the sky? A leisurely round of golf in the sky with up to three friends, of course! All the courses can be enjoyed in multiplayer either locally or online. There are also two more unusual multiplayer modes to enjoy: race each other to the finish on the race tracks or fight over control of the holes in the unique battle golf arenas whilst using a variety of offensive weapons to disrupt your opponents.

A fully featured map editor means you can design your own fiendish courses and share them with the community. Who knows what the mad inventors of you will come up with? For the more aesthetically inclined you can tinker for hours with the look of your clubs, your mechanical hummingbird companion and your avatar in Frolich's Emporium.

Previous Playtime

0 hours


Expectations and Prior Experience

I don't really know all that much about this game. It looks like some kind of wacky sci-fi golf, which is . . . okay, I guess. I don't much care for golf, in either real life or video game form, but then, this probably doesn't resemble real golf much at all. I did once play a game called Kirby's Dream Course that I enjoyed quite a bit, but its connection to the sport was tenuous at best.

My biggest fear going into this is that it will be (from a viewpoint of sufficient abstraction) another poorly put-together physics puzzle, like Bad Rats, but because it's ostensibly a "sport" my inability to hit par will be attributed to my lack of skill. And usually this is where I come up with some cheery reason why my pessimism is unwarranted, but the Steam reviews are pretty mixed, so this may actually be a valid concern for once.

Still, it's possible that its fantastic conceit will prove charming enough that I forget about my complete unfamiliarity with the genre and general lack of interest in sports games. Stranger things have happened.