This past weekend, I sat down with Andrew Jones on the Operation Sports Podcast and talked about his company’s game, Perfect Golf. PerfectParallel’s vision behind the game is a simple one: create a realistic golf game where real physics matter and the beauty of the courses you play on is part of the experience.

Andrew told me that they wanted to mix the old photo-realistic courses of Links with the new 3D graphical prowess of modern golf games. Another key point I was told the team was focusing on are real ball-physics where shots are not predetermined when they leave the club. Effects like wind and other course conditions will play a huge role in determining how a shot ends up, with cool little touches like wind being stronger above the treeline than below being readily apparent.

I had a chance to play the Early Access version of Perfect Golf this past weekend on steam and here are my impressions:

• First thing first, the game is gorgeous. The courses look fantastic, and the (future) ability to create your own is really going to make for some beautifully done courses.
• The swing mechanic is new and quite unforgiving. It’s the most realistic golf swing mechanic I think I’ve ever dealt with, as you have to have a near-perfect motion to hit a near-perfect golf shot. There is some clunkiness to the mechanic still, but it’s an early access game.
• The short game is one area that is still definitely being worked on. While it’s functional, there are still some pieces missing it seems like. Regardless, putting is as difficult as you’d imagine, and making good short shots requires you to think about what you are doing.
• Playing different types of shots requires you also adjust your swinging motion (I’m using the mouse) to allow it to happen. Right now there aren’t any pre-sets in the game, but I’d imagine those may be added down the line, so you can have a decent idea of how to shoot a draw or fade without having to tweak everything manually.
• Club selection is solid, and there are plans for a lot of customization in this area nearer full release.
• The five courses are all pretty solid and varied.

Final Thoughts

Perfect Golf is, ahem, not quite perfect yet. But that is because you are playing what is basically a beta product right now, it’s not yet finished and the game does reflect that. If you want to get in on what could be one of the more promising PC Golf Games in years early, I’d recommend you check it out. The brutally realistic gameplay is a challenge, but that’s exactly what Perfect Golf is striving for.