Game Review
PGA Tour 2K23 Review — Plays Pure
2K23 challenges you to use imagination to get up and down its gorgeous golf courses.
Watch any recent interview with Tiger Woods, and you will find him talking about “feel.” Similarly, feedback and feel are vital to sports gaming. So, how well does PGA 2K23 simulate hitting a forged-iron pure? We put PGA Tour 2K23 through its paces to find out.
This review is being performed on Xbox Series S with the Xbox Series S/X controller. A review copy was provided for free to Sports Gamers Online by 2K Sports. The review was played on 2K23’s performance graphics setting found in the main options menu. A link to the full review can be found at the bottom of this post.
Presentation
PGA Tour 2K23 starts its round out white-hot with the signing of cover athlete Tiger Woods. Additionally, HB Studios and 2K Sports deliver Michael Jordan and Steph Curry as playable characters in the game, among a number of other PGA Tour players. And I must say, it caught my attention. There’s something about NBA2K’s signature player models that other studios can’t match. 2K players move so life-like — I can’t help but to want to play some golf with Steph Curry in a completely new environment.
Visually, the game is crisp — sunny and bright. The colors are balanced evenly, and the overall environments are clean. The sharp lines speak to 2K23’s high-resolution graphics. HB’s attention to detail in the environment(s) is undoubtedly one of its strengths.
2K and HB developed 20 official courses, many found on the PGA Tour. One of the things I love about golf games is the ability to virtually travel and play through some of the most beautiful courses in the world. At a minimum, 2K23 delivers in this regard. One step further, the game returns its full-fledged developer tool to design virtual golf worlds. I applaud 2K and HB for engaging the mod community in an official capacity.
Moreover, the sound effects are a welcome surprise. Considering I am new to the series, the various sounds at impact provide excellent information. They lend a sense of realism and positive reinforcement to a pure swing. Put a poor swing on the ball and you’ll know it upon contact by the sound. Overall, 2K23 promotes a simulation feel through its excellent sound design.
Conversely, 2K23 is missing other important presentational elements. The game does not feature narrated flyovers on individual holes. These drone camera views are an informative way to show off course design. Moreover, PGA 2K23’s tragically bad replay system further illustrates the need to integrate NBA 2K camera technology into the PGA game.
For context, 2K Sports fired shots at EA Sports by signing Tiger to be the cover athlete. The expectations are higher than ever, yet 2K fails to deliver on what 2K does best. The remarkable player models and the unmatched presentation from NBA 2K never migrated over to PGA Tour 2K23. It is confounding to have such incredible intellectual property that cannot be shared amongst the games two years after 2K acquired the golf simulator.
As a result, the player models are vanilla at best. They look semi-realistic but are all carbon copies, animation-wise. Whereas the iconic 2K animations are fully leveraged in NBA 2K’s MyPlayer mode, distinct swing types are nowhere to be found in 2K23. It is a shame because the game has the potential to be special.
Gameplay
It is important to play the shot that works with the situation, and a shot that you are confident you can pull off… 2K23 challenges you to use your imagination to get up and down.
2K23 is a simulation at heart. It succeeds in emulating the sport and the precision the game of golf requires. Similar to real life, 2K23 requires accuracy down to the millimeter in order to hit the ball cleanly. All of 2K23’s swing action occurs in a very narrow plane of motion on the analog stick.
Tempo, precision, and concentration are required. Just as important, a commitment to the shot is a must. Your hands must be quiet to consistently hit good shots. The overall feel that I’m looking for is here, but the game just needs a few adjustments. A variety of unique animations would add much-needed personality to the game.
On that point, HB Studios delivers plenty of shot customization options. Players can shape shots, add or remove loft, and execute a number of shot types. Each shot type will require a different tempo, so it’s best to practice shots by pressing in the right analog stick before letting it fly. It is important to play the shot that works with the situation, and a shot that you are confident you can pull off. In this regard, 2K23 challenges you to use your imagination to get up and down.
Continuing, the swing control itself is not revolutionary. Those familiar with the series understand that the game borrows the design of Tiger’s games from the PlayStation 2 days. In this sense, the game treads water. The design choice works, although it does not move the genre forward. All of the shot customization I’ve outlined above existed in Tiger’s previous games.
Going back to feel, my first real critique is on the rumble feedback. The feedback at impact does not sync with the impeccable sound design of the clubs. A flush, center face shot should result in a smooth and subtle rumble center of the controller. Instead, the feedback occurs in the backswing and confuses the feel at impact. The incongruity of it all is head-scratching. Surprisingly, this does not take away from realism. Perfect swings still feel like magic because of the sound and the ball flight.
Next, swing plane and tempo feedback are provided in real-time but limited information is provided. A mishit can occur even when executing a very smooth swing on the ball and the game does not tell you what went wrong. We are forced to trace the ball flight and come up with our own analysis. I can’t help but think that my holy grail for sports game design, MVP Baseball, might offer the type of feedback valuable to a golf game. MVP’s slow-motion, hyper-zoomed swing replay would suit 2K23’s swing analysis tool well.
Despite such shortcomings, 2K23 plays so true that it can be quite enjoyable. The game offers many layers of simulation elements such as swing-tuning and all of the equipment options you can dream of. I’m playing the Titleist T-series irons that I would like to try in real life. As a true simulation game, 2K23 has the potential to generate different sounds and experiences depending on the brand of iron. I am surprised that 2K missed the opportunity to do so, considering the game hits all other points so poignantly.
Game Flow
2K23 plays at a good pace. The game is quiet, but overall, 2K23 promotes a smooth round of golf. The game requires patience and time, and it funnels gamers into using a true golfer’s mentality. I was able to cruise through 18-holes within minutes once I got into a bit of a rhythm.
I intended to make an argument that PGA Tour 2K23 is not interactive enough. But the truth is, the game allows users to interact with the breathtaking courses. Sky Peaks Resorts is so pristinely beautiful, it changed my outlook on 2K23. We have the ability to get lost in perfectly designed landscapes and to shape shots around giant redwoods. The game’s excellent golf ball physics shine with every unique lie, with each pin position, and the ways in which you can map out an attack. In this sense, the strategy begins to stack, and each shot requires considerable thought. HB Studios and 2K deserve big points for nailing down the formula and immersing gamers in the environments.
This review, originally written for sports gamers online, continues at: https://www.sportsgamersonline.com/games/golf/pga-tour-2k23-review/
