Stinger Golf 4+

Let me start this off by saying that I almost never leave reviews but seeing as this is a small game, I want to give it the credit that it deserves. The physics of the game and overall features are awesome. Most golf games don’t have the option for backspin so I really enjoy it. There are some things that I’d like to see added/improved. One is that I don’t think you can get better clubs, I feel like this will eventually make the game monotonous. Another is that I’m pretty sure the left handed and right handed stances are wrong. When you close the club face as a righty you hit a high draw and when you open it you hit a low slice. Maybe I am doing something wrong here but I would like to have it explained to me. Being a small game I expect that over time new things will be added to make it more appealing and I am looking forward to that. To the creator I just want to say that if something I’ve said is incorrect I will edit this review but I want to try to help you grow the game.

Thank you for the detailed review, and the support!! The game was designed to be as realistic as possible, so that’s great to hear you enjoy the physics and features. As for the different clubs, that is actually in the works! There are some new features being developed that will let you select between a few different sets of clubs, for different play styles (more aggressive with spin vs more focused on distances…)

As for the left and right handed stances, the design of that was to match the real-life stance of a golfer. With a right-handed golfer standing of the left side of the ball, “closing” the face would tilt the club face slightly towards the golfer, and remove loft - thus the arrow would point towards the golfer (in this case to the left). This is just reversed for a left handed golfer, where closing the club face has the arrow point closer to the golfer (in this case to the right). The feedback here is great, as perhaps some more work can go into the UI and the explanation of this feature. The game mechanics also support club face and swing path separately, so a low draw is possible to hit, as well as a high fade!

As you mentioned, the game is developed by a solo indie-dev, so updates are slow but thorough. If you have more specific ideas, feel free to reach out to info@wttrlabs.com and share!

Much more is planned for the future, so stay tuned, and keep playing!

Thank you :)

Despite updates, greens and fairways are still unrealistic. Ball spins more on the fringe or fairway than the green, which isn’t ever the case. Long iron shots that hit the green don’t bounce, they just hit and roll, which is also not the case on a golf course. Apply grass physics that bounce, check, spin correctly instead of smooth solids. Not a fan of the shot shaping controls. Or club selection. Clock selector is frustrating. No controls for a low draw stinger or a high cut. There are 9 possible stock shot outcomes, punch shots, flop shots with a wedge, different bunker options like a splash shot, etc. Consider studying console golf games like PGA2K who have mastered the endless possibilities available in golf and possibly consider a mini menu or HUD to select these options and combinations. Water would be a fun hazard to add on courses, especially those that float in the middle of the skybox/world. Bunkers generally do not pose as a penalty at all. They’re too easy to get out of. Same with rough lies. No difference across varied turf on course. This game has lots of potential and is quite impressive for an indi dev to have nearly mastered. Adding in and perfecting the little things are what will make this game successful.

ALSO: don’t make a 677 yard par 5 on a new course with 50 feet of elevation if you’re not going to offer club distance upgrades or shot height adjustments. You’re asking for people to rage out of your application

Thank you for the updated review and the detailed feedback! The game is still early in development, so the thoughts, notes, and suggestions on how to improve are greatly appreciated! Reviews that are as in depth as this, are incredibly helpful.

There’s definitely another level of depth of golf shots still in development (the punch / flop / splash shots), and some variations on the controls for those are still in the design stages. Some specific shots, such as a low draw stinger and high cut, are indeed possible but need some extra tricks to make happen now (hint - your golfer doesn’t always have to face directly in the direction you are hitting the ball, playing a shaped shot that launches to the side sometimes can be helpful). However making these shots both intuitive and straightforward to execute is definitely a priority.

A key concern in the design of the controls has been to keep it as simple as possible with very few buttons needed to set up the shots, but as the controls get more complicated additional menus may help in allowing for all possible shot combinations.

For the course designs, and the different types of lies - those are still in development as well, and will likely be next before any more courses are released. The courses were designed for longer term play as each player gets more used to the controls, and also the yardages were kept in mind for future club upgrades and wind conditions. A challenging experience was the goal (similar to real golf), but not one that causes frustration - so this is a great note, and we’ll keep this in mind for future planning.

If you’re interested in sharing additional thoughts, or would like to be a part of beta-testing the upcoming gameplay features for feedback - please reach out to info@wttrlabs.com and we’ll get back to you.

Thanks again for the feedback, and for playing the game! This is just the start of Stinger Golf and your feedback helps keep the game moving in the right direction.

I love the idea and a lot of the execution of this game, but it just doesn’t feel finished yet.

Cons:
- Very repetitive feeling to the holes (either long par 4s or quick par 3s)
- The ball moving on different grass types doesn’t feel organic or rewarding
- The ‘island’ par 3s are extremely unforgiving in the slants and angles in their fairways and their greens
- Not much to look at visually
- The camera controls to see the ball and its surroundings are restrained and hard to maneuver
- No good ‘chipping’ mechanic (hard to use the 60 degree for closer control of the ball) and putter also seems a little unbalanced as far as power of shots goes

Pros:
- Very intuitive gameplay mechanics (feels good to hit the ball)
- Easy to use interface (literally only need one finger to play)
- Lots and lots of holes to play on (even if they all feel very similar)
- No bugs or software issues
- Can play for a quick 5 minutes or go an hour without noticing
- Leaderboards that aren’t broken and give a great sense of competition

Feels like this game is still in development, but that is no big issue! Because the core idea and execution is very well done. All now is just to clean it up a little!

Thanks for the detailed review! This game is still early in development so these comments are encouraged and the suggestions are welcomed. The "Signature Courses" are meant to have that diverse (non-repetitive) golfing experience and give more of a challenge than the standard holes. Each Signature Course was designed from scratch with a specific type of play style in mind.

Also the camera controls for the range finder mode, and a more intricate chipping / putting mechanic all have some updates planed as well!

There are many more updates to come, and much more in development now. If you have more specific suggestions, please reach out to info@wttrlabs.com and we'll do out best to implement all ideas!

Thanks for playing!