The Xbox independent video game incubator is already bearing fruit, now more than ever we are seeing a large number of announcements of video games whose studios were under the umbrella of Xbox. Hugecraft Studios is one of them, and in this case they will launch their Turbo Golf Racing game, the golf version of Rocket League.

Be careful, we named Rocket League because it is obviously their biggest inspiration, but they manage to adapt the concept perfectly to a totally different sport. Let’s not win the prejudice that golf is a boring sport without rhythm, because Turbo Golf Racing manages to make it a roller coaster of emotions with several more than interesting additions to this sport. Of course, there are many things to polish.

Racing and golf come together in Turbo Golf Racing

We had already tested it in the open beta a few months ago, but it is always important to recognize the positives and negatives of gameplay mechanics. It is not something totally new, since in mobile games the concept of reaching the hole first in a race against other opponents had already been seen in mobile games. The interesting thing is that you are in a race with obstacles and sabotage between runners, which increases the interest in each game.

Being able to play solo is something that could be interesting, if it weren’t for the fact that it takes all the excitement out of the game and leaves us with the same rhythm as any other golf game, something without rhythm and monotonous. It is not something that encourages you to play Turbo Golf Racing, Most of the features disappear and it only leaves us in a time trial to practice and get items for your car.

One plus point of this is, as I already mentioned, that you can practice on the maps individually to make the most accurate shots in each race. As in racing games, challenging yourself against time in each race to get three stars and break all the records can be an option and an addition that is not superfluous.

A multiplayer to perfect

As in Rocket League, here you will have to perfect your technique with the ball, hitting and precision; each hit on the ball will be decisive for victory, so taking into account shortcuts, boosters and others will be important in each game. Best of all, you will compete against other players who will want to sabotage you to get there first.

Many races will fall into the same old thing, because you will surely focus so much on your ball that you will not even notice that there are other players. Also, the match may not feature all players, ending with an empty track, competing against only one racer. Although we are in early access for now, it is clear that it is necessary to have complete games all the time.

A very positive point is that each game is not reduced to a single track, with a scoring system to make the races dynamic. I could summarize it as “a best of three”, but no, because depending on the time you last you will get more or less points, as well as the rolls in the original golf.

Special powers and customization

An important element for the races are the powers or abilities, these can establish our way of playing and completely change our movements. For example, there is an ability so that sand pits don’t affect your mobility, giving you more wiggle room than other players. In this way, everyone personalizes their game tactics to get to the hole first.

Also, just like in Mario Kart, you will find powers to attack or defend yourself from the other cars; this feature is not as explored and does not have as many skills scattered around the track, boiling down to rockets and shields.

With all this, we also have an aesthetic customization, which is a bit limited in this early test, but will surely grow over time. I don’t spend much time on this feature, since it doesn’t have much content, just a battle pass that adds little to this section.

The technical section complies, but it is not the best

Not that we can expect graphical power for an indie game, but maybe I’m a bit disappointed with the graphical style chosen. The textures are simple and do not have any kind of complexity, so it looks like a game with flat and clay textures.

Light, as an essential factor in a colorful art style, is not a big deal. Making an unfair comparison, we could talk about Rocket League, being a clear reference in how to embellish a simple graphic section with reflections and shadows. It should be noted that it is an early access, so it is possible that it will improve over time if it is successful enough.

conclusion

Turbo Golf Racing is a game with a very interesting concept that has been refined over the course of the open betas. The game is set to officially launch on August 4 as early access on PC and Xbox consoles; We will be able to try the game thanks to Xbox Game Pass, which will be its launch window so that it reaches as many players as possible.

There is a section that we have not been able to test in the best possible way, and that is that the multiplayer is its best hook, but it does not seem to have a sufficiently robust support for the number of players that will enter the launch date. It may become a big game with many seasons of content, slowly growing with the community; just as it is possible that it stays at that, in an early test and loses the interest of the players.

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