▲ Recommended
0 hrs
I played the original on miniclip so long ago, I remember the awe-inspiring fun designs of a simple golf game. This is just that but much more realized, to the point that this is pure art. 10/10 please pick this game up when you have the chance.
▼ Not recommended
6 hrs
wonderputt forever is a former free flash game of the mini-golf variety but a decent amount of effort went into this version, while still remaining a flash game. so much so that there's more fluff than content.
only 3 courses with 18 holes each, unlocked one by one. for added longevity they can be played in par and relic modes. the latter unlocks at rank 8 and involves collecting dna coils on your way. simply getting them all is not enough though, as each move consumes a piece of energy, so if you collect all 6 on a level but take extra moves to finish, the total will be less than that. running out of energy isn't the end of the game but the way it works, I didn't bother with another run-through of the 54 holes to get absolutely nothing out of it. and that's even if you succeed, meaning 80% of dna remains per every 3 holes.
the better you are at shoving your ball into holes, the more points you get, which doubles as xp. there's no on-screen timer but completion time counts towards the score, so it's even less relaxing than it could be and might involve some repetition or grinding to gain ranks. plus the usual amount of trial & error because it's mini-golf with a bunch of random ♥♥♥♥ on every level.
additionally, 4 geometry trips with different mechanics, 100 quick holes and 20 collectibles each become available after the first course. they're unlocked by reaching hole 25 in the previous one. other unlockables are kept track of in your profile, such as ball and arrow skins, different ball behavior for the trips (added challenge for more points, one life, bomb, etc.) and the aforementioned relics.
no individual hole select anywhere and unskippable cutscenes on the main courses are a major issue if you want to grab everything or just replay certain levels. mid-run progress is saved individually for each course, game mode and trip, even mid-hole progress is kept if you quit.
controls aren't rebindable but mouse and controller both work and there's limited keyboard support (menu navigation, pause, restart, mute, etc.). controls can be checked in the settings but they're very simple: hold left mouse to aim (shift helps with precision), let go to putt, right mouse handles the camera, wheel zooms. camera controls are bad. not only is movement sluggish (that's flash for ya), it always resets after letting go. of course the ball is followed automatically but it's not always a good thing and sometimes the camera can't catch up fast enough.
excellent presentation but too white/bright and overall visibility can be a problem. more transparency would be necessary when the ball or its surroundings can't be seen, and a white outline for a hidden ball on a white floor with a white directional dotted line is just ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up. settings are okay. separate volumes (patched in upon request), a non-resizable but much smaller windowed mode, a ton of languages and various gameplay toggles (arrow behind ball, touch anywhere control, relative precision control, invert thumbstick aim and camera).
it can be really frustrating because it's physics and golf, so I gave up on the 3rd and 4th trips around the halfway point, good enough. definitely don't pay $10 for what used to be a free flash game (it's also cheaper on mobile), and without proper level select don't even bother, whether you like weird mini-golf or not. shame because it would be fine otherwise.
