As a rule, I like sports in video games better than I do in the real world. For someone like me who's never been great on the court or field, taking an athletic endeavor and adding a layer of the fantastic to it is one of the best joys that a sports title can offer. It's a joy that Super Stickman Golf 2 delivers in spades.
I never got around to playing the first Super Stickman Golf but I remembered hearing other game critics raving about it last year. So, while I can't measure SSG2 against SSG1, I can say that it's a great must-play game on its own.
SSG2 is super-simple. It's still golf, after all. All you need to do it hit a ball into a hole within a set number of strokes. But when the course designs look like something out of an old-school platformer, the challenge multiplies exponentially. Players get special hats that do things like slowing down the power meter and can use balls that explode in their quest to get as far under par as possible. Swatting the ball past moving barriers, around curved levels and onto sticky surfaces is a test of your planning and reflexes, one that you won't be able to stop trying to ace. You can spend money to improve your stock of power-ups, but you definitely don't need to take advantage of in-app purchases to progress.
Mixing up special abilities and gear is one of the funnest parts of SSG2 and adds significantly to its replayability. You always feel like the right combo of aim and power-up can get you ahead of friends you're competing against or your own personal best. On top of all the mechanical enjoyment that Super Stickman Golf 2 offers, it's also got bright, eye-catching art direction and a great chiptune soundtrack. You know how you can break into a smile the minute a soundtrack for a new level of a video game starts playing? You're going to doing that a lot while playing SSG2. The whole thing is going to make you smile a lot, actually, even when you're five strokes over par. Go get this one. You won't regret it.
Super Stickman Golf 2
- Genre: Arcade golf
- Developer: Noodlecake Studios
- Platform: iOS and Android
- Price: $0.99 on iOS and free on Android
Get Super Stickman Golf 2 on iTunes and Google Play