It wasn’t that long ago that I could jump in Turbo Golf Racing for a limited time preview, all thanks to the Xbox Insider program. I really enjoyed my arcade races, test drive with balls and wondered how Hugecalf Studios would build on the experience. Now it’s back, bigger and better than before, launching for everyone in Game Preview form and on Xbox Game Pass.
It could be partly because I haven’t actually played Rocket League for a considerable amount of time, but I have enjoyed Turbo Golf Racing very much. It is also reminiscent of the Super Monkey Ball golf mini game which was great fun. Certainly much better than normal golf.
This version of Turbo Golf Racing has significantly increased the number of courses to a total of thirty. They are split into three themes and their complexity increases greatly as you progress through the track list. They are all available to whiz around solo against the clock or against other players.
Your goal is simple. By driving and hitting your golf ball along each course, you have to place it as quickly as possible into the cup, which is marked by a beam of light coming out of the ground. Fortunately, you’re not scored on the number of shots (or hits) you make – instead, it’s all about the time you take or the position you finish in.
To help you on your way, your race buggy can slide, bunny hop and boost along the tracks. Certain lane lanes will charge your boost bar, as well as collectible batteries. Floating rings will propel you and your ball to the finish line faster and faster if you have the skill to go through them. When playing against others, rocket pickups allow you to perform a number of tactical attacks to change the outcome of the race.
Playing solo is still a lot of fun though, as your goal is to earn as many stars as possible, up to a maximum of three for each lane. This will unlock rewards that can be used to charge and customize your little race buggy. Spoilers, boost effects, new balls, power cores and more are all up for grabs. The beach ball variant in particular is fun to watch in action.
Power cores offer all kinds of possibilities, ranging from bouncy castles to increased bunker resistance for your buggy. You get two slots that allow you to test combinations, and they can make small but significant differences to your racing success. Multiplayer races reward you with XP, which you level up and earn season-specific rewards, and Cogs in-game currency that can be spent on items in the virtual store.
Compared to playing Turbo Golf Racing a few months ago, the driving now feels tighter than before. However, I’ve still noticed that the ball assist sometimes fluctuates wildly even at the slightest angle change, and the buggy’s turning circle still feels too large, making recovering from a missed shot very costly in a race. To be clear, this is a minor problem – with just a little finesse and fine tuning needed to fix it in my mind.
I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but this time it also looks a bit sharper. The bright, popping colors in Turbo Golf Racing make it a very enjoyable place to race, and also keep it easy on the eyes when following the action. I’m also a fan of the chillout vibes pulsing through the soundtrack, but some of this while racing would be welcome instead of crowd cheering and just SFX.
The biggest root for Turbo Golf Racing is of course the multiplayer. It was here that I immediately noticed overhauled loading screens, along with much shorter wait times, which is great news. The online process is incredibly smooth and smooth in that regard. It’s not without its problems at the moment though – remember this is a Game Preview title though, so quirks will crop up.
To help me out, I’ve recruited some of the TheXboxHub team to jump in and lend me a hand. The “party” option allowed me to go as far as grouping us all in a room, but then we had to wait endlessly to find a match that never came. There was no way to manually start the race with the five of us.
However, when we all went to find a game on the public server (making sure we all pressed the home button at the same time), the game matched up and we started racing pretty quickly. Hopefully the private game capability will work out soon, because finding each other when Joe Public can get on the servers would be a minor miracle.
But once we got going, we had a good laugh. Turbo Golf Racing is fast, hectic and not too complex. The competitive racing elements mixed with the core principles of golf make for a very welcome combination, leveling the playing field as a mix of skills is needed to be successful. There’s also nothing like the fun of bending your ball from miles into the cup to the disbelief of your opponents, then having them rewatch through the best shot replay.
You can also use the D-Pad to communicate via emojis and messages, and choose to act like a real sportsman or troll your opponents. It’s safe to say this was a mixed bag on the team when we played.
Turbo Golf Racing is a game that is perfectly matched for Xbox and PC Game Pass, making it accessible to millions of players who are likely to jump into it for an hour or two at a time. Also in the coming weeks and months, numerous updates and free content packs have been teased, which should keep players happy. Its accessibility and spring-in-spring gameplay should help it build a dedicated player base that, coupled with regular novelty, will make it far above par.
Big thanks goes to Hugecalf Studios to give us access to Turbo Golf Racing. You can find the game on the Xbox store for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, playable August 4, 2022. It’s also on PC. The best bit? Game Pass means this is a no-brainer.
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