Monogolf - a Casual Mini Golf Game

Monogolf is a casual mini golf game where your objective is to make a “hole in one” in every level. You earn points for winning a level or collecting orange items scattered in some courses. You can trade them for upgrades such as starting over with more lives or making the ball leave a trail so you can better predict your next shot and change your angle accordingly. The courses are designed so you have to bounce the ball on walls and other elements in order to reach the hole. At first, the surface will always be flat, but later you’ll find ramps, slopes and different terrain where you’ll have to put more or less force than in a flat surface shot in order to compensate, given the way the ball will be rolling. In advanced levels, you will find objects that actually hit the ball like in a pinball game, such as flippers, pegs and bumpers, and also tracks with arrows that can accelerate or slow down a ball when it rolls over them.

There are also hearts in some levels you can pick up by hitting it with the ball to win an extra life. When the ball loses its speed and stops before reaching the hole, you lose a life and have to try again that level. If you lose all lives and don’t have enough points for a continue, you have to start over the 18 holes from the beginning. Once you reach the final hole of a course, you can play in practice mode, where you have infinite lives, and can still earn points for upgrades.

Graphics 71%Monogolf has a simple presentation with 2D drawings and uses only a few colors. You can make out all the elements in the screen easily, as objects project a hard shadow so you can see the height of objects, and also some surfaces display patterns or gradient colors so the levels don’t look too flat; but overall, the graphics aren’t really memorable, and some users will find it way too minimalistic. You won’t really see animation besides the ball moving, and it doesn’t even seem to roll, it’s just a white dot traveling here and there; but it does leave a short fading white trail you can make out if you pay close attention. This game isn’t visually impressive, but given its gameplay and the kind of players it’s aimed at, the graphics are acceptable; although with so many realistic golf 3D games available, some players may feel Monogolf is way too boring to look at.

Production Quality 75%Monogolf features 100 levels, divided into 10 zones, so it’s sure to have you entertained for a while trying to make a hundred holes in one. Besides, it has a level editor so you can create your own challenges, and you can play custom player levels for endless replay value. For some gamers it may feel too repetitive to start over a zone from hole 1, since some levels can becomes quite frustrating, and in order to unlock them all without winning all holes in a row, you have to pay a dollar; but those users fond of retro arcade challenges, will feel at home. The music and sound effects are just OK, and fit the overall atmosphere of the levels, but the tracks here are nothing you’ll want to listen outside of the game. It’s also worth mentioning that this game is translated to 4 languages, so more people will be able to fully enjoy it and understand its mechanics.

Value for your Money. 86%Monogolf is free on Google Play. There is some advertising, and you can win a continue and orange points by watching video ads, but that’s to be expected. It does come with the level editor, but in order to unlock all elements to use, you’ll have to pay a dollar, and the same applies if you want to play all levels without unlocking them in arcade mode. Since you always have to make a hole in one, the gameplay is basic, but the level design makes it quite hard to guess exactly where to make you the ball bounce and at what strenght. It can get pretty addictive, and with 100 holes to play besides the user generated content, you’re sure to have fun for quite a while. ProsSimple Controls with addictive gameplay and nice level designThe music and sound effects are relaxing and fit the game perfectlyConsThe graphics may seem way too simple and boring compared to other mobile golf titles.