Dinkigolf review

Golf is a deceptive game. It has simple rules, but it's a game of patience and you have to respect that if you want to be any good at all. This is especially true with Dinkigolf, an arcade golfer filled with devious course designs that you'll want to go back to over and over again.

Preposterous putting

Much like other mobile golf games (think Golf Blitz), Dinkigolf is a 2D game where you trek across vast courses by adjusting the power and aim of your shots to overcome obstacles. The obstacles here definitely include your standard sand traps and water hazards, but can also feature giant blocks of ice, ramps, portals, and more.

Your goal in Dinkigolf is to complete each hole in as few strokes as possible, but the pars for each hole are rather high given how ridiculous each one is laid out. It's not unusual to complete a level with a stroke count of 20 or so and have that be considered under par. This is to say that Dinkigolf's wacky courses can be quite lengthy and require consistent skill to complete with a decent score.

Skillful strokes

Speaking of skill, each of Dinkigolf's worlds includes a new set of tricks to learn and master. Some might involve hitting switches or learning to "wall jump" by ricocheting your ball off of walls. As these locations ramp up in difficulty across their nine holes, these mechanics get layered on pretty thick, which can be very challenging.

Thankfully, there's nothing complicated about how you overcome these obstacles. You don't have rpg mechanics you have to adjust and manage, or powerups you need to collect. It's just a matter of dialing in the power meter and angle just right (while accounting for the wind).

Short and long game

The simplicity of Dinkigolf could be considered a negative, but for me it allows the game to capture the essence of golf, even when using its mechanics to make you dodge laser beams. If you overshoot or land in a hazard, it's for no other reason than your own personal failure to plan and execute.

As of this writing, Dinkigolf features four different worlds for you to golf in, each with at least one set of nine courses, coming in at a total of 54 pre-designed levels. Dinkigolf also features an Endless Mode which you can unlock after earning top-level par rankings on at least half of the available levels. There's also nine different ball skins to unlock and your own personal leaderboard you can use to try and beat your own personal bests.

The bottom line

Dinkigolf is a well-designed arcade golf game. It has some wacky level design, but maintains a simple, skill-based set of mechanics that make it easy to learn, yet difficult to master.