[xy_game]Infinite Minigolf is currently available in Early Access on Steam, and today I’ll tell you what I think about the games’ progress so far.
This is the latest title from Zen Studios, one of my favorite developers from the last gaming generation, and the creators of Zen Pinball/Pinball FX2, so naturally I’ve got some faith in them. When I first booted up Infinite Minigolf, I was a little surprised to see such a clean, smooth user interface… it’s not their style. Since this title isn’t officially released, you’re currently limited to playing solo or with a local friend. There are some unavailable options on the main menu including Online Match and Duels, so there’s hope to see some online multiplayer added to the game at a later date.
If you jump into solo, there’s no developer-made courses so-to-speak, but there’s an endless supply of user-created holes to play, which in some sense makes the game endless. Of course that also means there’s a course creator for those of you who want to make your own mini-golf holes for your own enjoyment, and to share with others. Like Mario Maker, you must complete the course successfully before it can be shared with others. This helps to avoid people filling the servers with impossible courses… but you can definitely make ‘em challenging.
Course physics will definitely take some getting used to in Infinite Minigolf. Courses are typically made of cardboard and can be littered with random items from smartphones to VHS tapes, ramps, and jumps, and of course…power-ups. What I don’t like about the game is that some power-ups are really confusing, and you have no idea what they’re going to do, whether it be help you or hurt your score in the game. There doesn’t appear to be an explanation for any of them, and you are left on your own to figure it out as trial and error. This isn’t a huge issue though since you can restart any hole in mere seconds, and try again if you didn’t like your outcome. The same can be said during the course creator – very little explanation on how to build a course, no descriptions for categories, or how to move stuff around, and its trial and error. I wish it was a little more user friendly.
Infinite Minigolf has a solid start on its competition, at least on Steam – since the majority of the other similar games don’t look nearly as pretty, and this one features full controller support so you can play with a wireless Xbox 360 controller, or whatever else you may have. The game doesn’t have a ton to offer right now, but we hope to see those new modes open up soon, giving players a chance to face off against others, and maybe earn some sort of in-game rewards.
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