Quest Log — Golf Story: Eight Courses, Eight Worlds

Welcome back to Quest Log, the weekly series here at GamesWrite where I highlight the most memorable quest — or in this case, the most memorable design choices — from whatever game landed on my desk that week. Quick refresher if you're just joining us: I play each game for one week before reviewing it and moving on. I don't always see the credits roll, but I see a lot, and sometimes something grabs me by the collar and refuses to let go. That's what this series is all about. No major spoilers, just the stuff that sticks.

This week I teed up Golf Story on the Nintendo Switch 2, and rather than spotlight a single quest, I want to talk about something the developers at Sidebar Games absolutely nailed — the eight courses. See, quests in Golf Story are short by design, more like bite-sized challenges than sprawling storylines. But every single course in this game feels like its own little world with its own personality, characters, hazards, and even sense of humor. That kind of variety in a golf RPG deserves the spotlight.

It starts at Wellworn Grove, your classic starter course — and I mean "classic" in the most beat-up, bargain-bin way possible. The fairways are rough, moles are tearing up the ground, and the owner is a shady operator trying to squeeze every last dollar out of his clientele with cheap equipment and creative upcharges. It's the perfect tone-setter because it tells you immediately that Golf Story isn't taking itself too seriously. Then you hit Lurker Valley and the game throws you a curveball — or rather, a tar pit. The entire zone has this prehistoric vibe. NPCs talk in broken caveman speech. Dinosaur footprints cut across the fairways. And if you hit your ball into the water in just the right spot? It bounces off a turtle and keeps going. That's when I knew this game understood fun.

Cheekybeak Peak brings the breezy, hippy-commune atmosphere with wind and elevation playing havoc on your shots, plus birds that either help or punish you depending on their color. Bermuda Isles is the sandy beach resort complete with surfer dudes, beach babes, crabs everywhere, and a killer island soundtrack driven by kettle drums. There's a surprising amount of item trading here too — it felt more like an adventure game than a golf sim. Then Tidy Park flips the script entirely with classical music, bagpipes, and the stuffiest private country club you've ever seen. Old money, old people, and a pro shop salesman who will not stop talking. The course used to be the crown jewel of the pro tour but refused to modernize — there's a quiet little commentary buried in there if you're paying attention.

Now, my personal favorite — Oak Manor. This is the Halloween zone, and the developers went all in. Suspenseful music, goth kids hanging around, skeletons, ghosts, talking headstones, pumpkin hazards, blood gators lurking in swamp water, and — I kid you not — a boss battle. In a golf game. Oak Manor also has my favorite music track in the entire game. It's the kind of course that makes you forget you're playing a sports title. Coldwind Wastes follows with full Christmas energy — snowstorms, frozen fairways, candy canes, snowmobiles, bundled-up NPCs (and a few frozen ones), and a Pac-Man-style collect-the-ball minigame that came out of nowhere. And finally, Blue Moon Dunes serves as the grand finale. The music is epic and almost fairy-tale-like, the hazards are cranked to maximum — wind, water, sand, fast greens — and there's a fairy queen hidden under a waterfall. Because of course there is.

What impressed me most is that none of these courses feel like reskins. Each one has its own mechanical identity, its own cast of characters, and its own sense of humor. For a small indie golf RPG, that level of world-building is genuinely remarkable. Sidebar Games understood that variety isn't just about aesthetics — it's about making every new area feel like a discovery.

Have you played Golf Story? Which course stuck with you the most? Oak Manor supremacy is the correct answer, but I'll hear arguments. Drop your pick in the comments, and I'll see you next week with a new entry in the Quest Log.