Clearing something that most of us, or maybe it was just me, are guilty of - this game is not similar to Rocket League, no matter the number of similarities you can compare them to. When I first saw this game announced, that is exactly what I thought it would be like, but now that I had the chance to take part in the closed beta, I can confirm they are quite different.

Turbo Golf Racing is a new game from Hugecalf Studios and publisher Secret Mode. While they are still working on getting an official release date together, they have been holding a closed beta this weekend for a select amount of players on Steam and Xbox. Getting some hands-on time with this game, I have to say that I am really glad to find out how much this game stands on its own and manages to provide a unique experience.

Gameplay

This game plays just how you would expect… you have cars with boost hitting a giant ball to a hole at the end of a crazy built track and the first one to get their ball to the hole takes the lead. Then you do that two more times on different tracks, each time the rankings will be updated, and the highest score at the end of the three rounds is the winner.

What you didn’t expect are the intricacies that go into getting to the hole first. Your car controls are: accelerate, reverse, jump, flip, boost, glide, and use power. Using the proper mix of these controls, you need to take the lead. Also, when you hit the ball, it will go in the direction you hit it, so if you hit it with the corner of your car’s front shield then it will head in that direction - either directly or with a curve accordingly.

If you flip forward right when you hit the ball, you can give it an extra power push when done correctly. The same can be said for boosting, which can also be done while gliding. Your boost meter will run out quickly, so managing that with the boost pick-up is important. However, if you want a more aggressive approach, you can also go for the missile pick-up which will let you fire a projectile at an opponent to hit them and stop them in their tracks.

After you get a few levels up, you will start unlocking power-ups to use or earn currency that can be used in the in-game shop to buy power-ups. You will be able to equip a passive power-up, one that should take effect without you needing to activate it, and a regular power-up, which you will need to hit your power button to use. If you prefer, you can make both slots passive power-ups, but you can’t do two regular power-ups since there is only one power button. Right now there aren’t a bunch of power-ups in the game, so just pick your favorite ones.

Other than your own controls and setups, the track itself offers some options for you. There are speed paths that will boost your car for you while filling up your boost and power rings that will fling your ball forward in a helpful direction but it will also fling your car if you hit it so don’t let it throw you far away from your ball. There is some negative stuff though, such as sandpits that will bring your ball to a stop, tall grass that will slow your ball greatly, and a golfers favorite - trees that ruin everything.

The good thing to know is that getting the ball in the hole is just a matter of hitting the ball over where the hole is. There is a large light that extends from where the hole is and if your ball touches that light, it will be sucked down into the hole. So even if you launch the ball from right next to the hole, if it would fly over the hole then it counts. Given that we are in rocket-powered cars, that is a great choice!

Expectations

For the love of the game, please add a ‘ball cam’ option! The number of times that I would lose sight of my ball or just have a bit of an issue finding it was far too often. I understand the regular camera being set up so I can always see in front of me which helps me know which way to go on the track, but that is honestly a player problem. Not having a ball cam is a limitation problem and having the option would improve general playability.

The options of power-ups and the different tracks in the game are both pretty limited, but they are in there enough to show their worth. I look forward to seeing the number of different choices in this lineup expand greatly for players. Same with their car customization, which is actually pretty well fitted for a closed beta.

Verdict

Turbo Golf Racing knocked a hole-in-one with this closed beta! I am loving the initial experience of this game and can’t wait to see how amazing it turns out to be once the full release is ready to go. It’s entertaining and a game that is easy to sink a quick fifteen-minute game session or a couple of hours into. This is truly an amazing start for this game and they have nowhere to go but up from here.