PGA Tour 2K23, 2K and golf simulation review by HB Studios

The return of the iconic 2K golf franchise is certainly good news for the entire category of sports games. It’s clear that the sports market for seat athletes has dried up over the years, reducing less popular sports to whiteflies. We also welcome the welcome return on the cover of Tiger Woods, a champion who has had to overcome many personal challenges in his career.

We said golf games: If it’s true that the square is occupied by several containers, then PGA Tour 2K23 manages to win that two-year hiatus, offering a generally smoother, richer, accurate and accessible experience than before, and finally unfolds. Even for those who are a bit less golf chewers, down to a bit more horizontal gameplay in terms of bidding.

Follow us PGA Tour 2K23 review To find out if HB Studios’ new game is in the hole.

3-pressure system

If you are coming from the previous sections, you will have already made calluses. Swing Rod system, that is, the oscillation performed by tilting and releasing the correct analog. A system that is not trivial but certainly open to a rewarding learning curve, the problem is the path to longed-for satisfaction: It is an ingenious yet punishing system linked to our ability to draw thumbs. in every sense – precise rotation trajectories.

The slightest mistake involves sending the ball where we didn’t want it and as a result, intimidation and frustration to overcome. HB Studios wisely chose to add a new, much appreciated swing system, at least for the series, 3 pressure swings. We rely on the X to start charging the power, you stop shooting and stabilize: The result is a game closer to the concept of a video game at events we’re most familiar with, giving us more control and precision over the medium term. If that’s not enough, you can always change the preset difficulty level to ensure less frustration in the early stages.

All this, of course, collects the part around the shirt; In reality, the beauty of 2K23 isn’t the sudden part – which is still hilarious – but the study of the course, the conformation, the slopes and the wind. Once we have mastered shooting, the game puts us before the calculation of variables, as well as the study of distances and the position of obstacles.

While the choice of the stick remains a recommended element, we will have to decide independently of the type of shot, angle and impact. Particularly complex is the green approach to the hole, where fieldwork is even more important than in the past: Even on the first holes, avant-green will almost always hide traps. It will make you clenched the fist of anger, but it will also give immense satisfaction when you learn to read the surface and get the first score.

Topgolf is everywhere

HB Studios has added 3 more in the 2K23 edition to 17 inherited courses from the past: South Course of Wilmington Country Club, The Renaissance Club and St. George’s Golf and Country Club and 3 more promised post-launch (Pebble Beach). Golf Club, Spyglass Hill, and Torrey Pines). A fair amount, but quality fluctuates: there are excellent courses, well prepared, others a little less inspiring. We don’t know what your expertise is in this matter, but the fairways offered by HB Studios are mostly Anglo-Saxons, taken among the most famous in the United States and the United Kingdom. On the other hand it is understandable that they are golf major countries, we regret to note how the team focused on this definitive proposal without risking less famous areas, but perhaps more as a source of inspiration. Of course, you can always draw them yourself if you want. Course Designeror download one of the community pre-loaded old ways that literally flooded the PGA 2K21 with over 300,000 creations.

But let’s get to the point topgolf, perhaps the most interesting fun add-on: if you don’t know about Topgolf, know that this is an “indoor” golf driving range, inside special structures players aim at targets with electronically tracked balls, targets for the long haul. shoot and approach targets. You can play both co-op and online by adding this mode to the activities to be held in PGA Tour 2K23, which has become a multinational institution in the last 20 years. It works, and while it’s been stigmatized by traditionalists as a somewhat disruptive trend, it’s a welcome addition that offers a different way to engage in a gaming session.

Gigetto, our golfer

Coming to more pure technical, interface and aesthetic features. PGA Tour 2K23 is a beautiful sight, sure: we played it on PS5, and maybe for the first time you can gladly opt for the Quality mode, because golf is not really a crazy sport that requires significant flow on the screen, even if the Performance mode gives more oscillation precision. It’s a matter of choice and skill.

The models and animations of the hero and staff are good, minus the audience; slopes instead well donedecently communicate local flora, from lush trees and lakes to tropical beaches. However, it is clear that the technical part is not the part where the team spends the most time, perhaps kept low by a game once again in the older generation, with only 60 frames and some minor improvements for the PC. Xbox Series X | S and PS5. We’ve also noticed load times that aren’t too low, but we hope these will be fixed.

The possibility to create your own avatar is back with an editor that isn’t huge but certainly honorable; Therefore, thanks to the mod, we started the career of our avatar Gigetto. my careerThe true simulation of a PGA Tour season can be unlocked by running tournaments, updated, streamlined and enriched with a full skill tree style progression system; skills, among other things, help the player progress by taking action in certain situations. The same applies to in-game currency, which can be collected to buy clothes, accessories, sticks and handles, but also through microtransactions, which are now unavoidable, even if they have nothing to do with skills and only relate to the aesthetic part. Overall, the career is full-bodied, fulfilling and stimulating, definitely the most interesting game component among the recommended ones, and a characteristic “campaign” style that is now inevitable in sports games.

Among other things, Tiger Woods and other current golf celebrities are back, along with others. sports celebrities Like Michael Jordan and Stephen Curry. Everything works, but it must be said that the interface is absolutely not flawless: it will take a long time to learn how to navigate the menus, skills, progress and in general all the settings on the screen. not very clear. On the other hand, the sound is good, which sees commentators expressing their opinions by commenting on our hole with a certain wealth of detail and emphasis. Of course it’s all in English only, just as crossplay is unfortunately not online.