Bandai Namco, the publisher of hits like Dark Souls, recently unexpectedly revealed the golf MMO Winning Putt. Immediately afterwards, the open beta for Winning Putt, developed by Webzen Onnet, was launched. We tested the game, which, according to official sources, is already nearly completed.
This is how your virtual golfing life begins
First, it is necessary to download over 3 GB before the open beta can be started. Once this hurdle is overcome, you create a nickname and off you go.
At the beginning, you create a male or female golfer. There are surprisingly many customization options available. Not only can the appearance be designed in detail, but you can also choose your clothing and even your voice.
Of course, Winning Putt cannot compete with the customization options of The Sims series, nor the graphics of Fallout 4, but this character customization feature is quite convincing for a golf game. At the end, you decide whether your golfer should focus more on power or accuracy (the option “Balance” could not yet be selected) and off you go to the green.
After a brief intro, where beautifully designed golf courses and happy golfers are shown to you in stunning graphics, you enter the “Golf Academy.” Here, you can learn the rules of the sport and the game controls through some challenges. They even try to make this somewhat entertaining, as the academy director Christina is always trying to offer funny remarks. However, most of the time it just remains an attempt.
This is how golf is played here!
But back to the game mechanics: In the image on the right, you can see a bar at the bottom of the screen that fills from left to right when you press the shot button. When the bar reaches the turquoise square, you must click the shot button a second time with the mouse to set 100% power for the shot. If you click too early or too late, the ball will fly significantly shorter.
Without pause, the bar now fills from right to left; here you must click a third time when the bar is at the height of the green marking, just above the shot button. This controls your accuracy. If you press before or after the green area, the ball will be deflected left or right. Essentially, it relies heavily on reaction and precision.
One thing that I really enjoy about Winning Putt is putting, which means getting the ball to drop into the hole only by rolling it, without it going through a flight phase. Here, precise accuracy, and probably also experience, is necessary.
As can be seen in the picture, the grass in front of you is divided into a grid pattern; the white markings on the green lines indicate the slope of the surface accurately. The white markings move in the direction of the slope. This indicates whether you need to put more or less force into the shot and how to aim for the hole.
If the slope goes from the top right to the bottom left, you need to aim significantly to the right of the hole. The grass is rarely uniformly shaped, making it a real challenge to predict the ball’s trajectory and ultimately sink it.
Here you can meet other golfers!
The place you come to next is both a meeting point and the main menu. In this golf campus, you will meet other human golfers, can play some games with them or just chat. There is also the possibility to form guilds. However, this function was not available to me during the open beta.
Non-playable characters (NPCs) must be approached to play certain modes or to access the shop. They essentially form a living main menu.
Basically, aside from the Golf Academy, I could only play friendly matches offline and online, as the other functions are not yet available or require a much higher level than I have currently reached. As can be seen in the picture, many other online golfers are in the same boat, which is why there is usually a crowd present during friendly matches.
This golf campus area is actually quite spacious. Here, I am far outside the main area. While you can admire the sea and check out cars outside, there’s not much more to do at the moment. However, you can also find golf caddies, which are small golf carts that you might be able to drive around in later. At the moment, this is still not possible.
How is the online experience?
So far, I have completed some games against three other golfers. Sometimes in a free-for-all mode, sometimes in a two-person team mode. At first, I found it quite slow, as each player has 30 seconds (this time can be individually adjusted; sometimes everyone had 45 seconds) to make their shot. You find yourself waiting quite a while until it’s your turn again. However, I quickly discovered one thing that can make the whole experience much more enjoyable: the chat window at the bottom left.
If you know other online games where you are continuously insulted by teenagers, Winning Putt is a true paradise. So far, I have only encountered decent golfers, with whom I had a lot of fun. I particularly fondly remember a game against a Canadian, an English teenager, and Dirk from Niedersachsen. None of us was particularly good at the game, but we had a blast!
What remains in the end?
Winning Putt is a really good golf MMO that gently introduces beginner golfers like me to the sport: you have to pay attention to the slope of the grass, always keep an eye on the wind markers, and make intelligent shots with various golf clubs.
Furthermore, you gain experience points with every shot, allowing you to level up continuously, unlock new skills, and earn clothing and equipment for your virtual athlete. It should be possible to progress successfully and grow into a professional golfer also without investing money, but rather with a lot of time. The community that has already formed has been positively noticeable, although there is no guarantee that this will remain so.
I noticed some audio issues negatively. Occasionally, there are rustling and crashing sounds in the background. The background music somewhat resembles the build menu music from Sims. The controls on the golf campus were not always smooth, but everything on the golf course itself ran smoothly; I can’t complain there.
I believe Winning Putt provides entertainment for golf newcomers, at least in the short term, and can be a genuine alternative for avid golf fans. However, it remains to be seen how the final game will turn out. So far, I’ve had fun with it!
