PGA TOUR 2K23 Review – Hitting the Greens in Regulation

2K Sports and HB Studios are ready for you to hit the links in its latest addition to the PGA Tour 2k series. Does PGA TOUR 2K23 warrant another purchase, or is it just a retread of their previous releases?

Read on to find out

 

 

HB Studios has been in and around games development on multiple platforms since 2000, with its first title being Cricket 2002 for PC and the original PlayStation and the PlayStation 2. They went on to partner with different publishers like EA and 505 Games and created titles for the Wii as well as the PC, PlayStation Portable, and consoles. They are also well known for their golfing prowess when it comes to video games and first released The Golf Club back in 2014, followed by The Golf Club 2 in 2017.

Both were pretty good golf games and received better than average review scores but neither could use actual PGA Tour likenesses. Publisher 2K Sports saw that as an opening for them to acquire the developer and gave them the reigns to the PGA Tour 2K series. Building off of their previous releases, they had successfully released two more games with 2K Sports behind them, and now PGA TOUR 2K23 is their third installment in the series, and fifth golf game overall.

PGA TOUR 2K23 Review – The Courses

PGA TOUR 2K23 boasts twenty unique and well known golf courses for you to tee off at. Including all of the PGA Tour courses, with the exception of the Augusta National Golf Club due to EA Sports gaining exclusive rights to it. From coast to coast though, PGA Tour 2K23 still has you covered. From TPC Sawgrass in Florida, to TPC Scottsdale in Arizona, over to Pebble Beach (coming in DLC form) up to TPC Twin Cities, and even more places in between.

The golf courses are highly detailed with impressive graphics and true to life dimensions. Whether your on the fairway, the green, or a bunker in between, the game never fails to impress. HB Studios has done an incredible job of recreating all of these courses in-game, and if you ever find yourself wanting more, you can either create your own or go download one from the endless supply found online that other people have created in easy-to-use in-game course creator.

 

PGA TOUR 2K23 Review – The Gear

PGA TOUR 2K23 brings with it an entirely new gear system to improve your clubs and gives you a large selection of golf balls to choose from, each with their own pros and cons and item level. Whether it’s a new fitting for a club or a golf ball, there are five levels for each type of item: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and of course Legendary. Golf balls can have much better stats in spin, flight, bounce, and roll and can add quite a bit of drive and control to your game. Some of these balls will be given to you as rewards, but some will need to be refilled at the Pro Shop. The game doesn’t tell you when you are out of the type you are using though, so be sure to check your golf bag before starting a round. You’ll want to experiment to see which balls best suit your game style, as this new system just might be a game changer for you.

Balls aren’t the only thing that can be a game changer, as the new club system can also enhance your gameplay. Also new for PGA TOUR 2K23 is the ability to add three fittings per club that can improve your power, your timing, and even your shaping of shots. Each club has a fitting spot for the grip, the shaft, and the head and fitting use the same level types that the balls use. Earning those legendary fittings will take some work, but there are plenty of opportunities  to do so.

PGA TOUR 2K23 Review – Your Golfer

Another new addition to the series is the ability to choose your basic type of golfer, or your Archetype. There five to choose from, each with their own pros and cons. You can be a master of the greens as a Greensman, while maybe not being so great from the rough, or be a Powerhouse that can drive the ball over 350 yards, but maybe not be so great with the accuracy of your drive. It’s an interesting system in that it can be hard to be a true all-around master, while excelling in only certain aspects. There is a second skill system, though, that can offset your archetype and improve your areas of weakness.

The MyPlayer skill trees for PGA TOUR 2K23 is an RPG like system that you can use to improve in areas that your archetype might not be all that great at. As you play through the game you’ll be earning XP that will level you up and earn you skill points. These points can then be used to unlock varying bonuses through the skill tree. It’s an in-depth system that should help you to be a much better golfer at the harder difficulties.

PGA TOUR 2K23 Review – Topgolf

Topgolf makes its debut in PGA TOUR 2K23, challenging players to take on their friends, test their skills – and use more than a little finesse – to earn high scores and claim bragging rights. Featuring a true-to-life reproduction of the flagship Topgolf Las Vegas location, players will hit ten balls into a series of highlighted targets of different sizes and distances, earning points and MyPLAYER XP along the way. Every ball counts, so club selection and control are essential to maximize scoring. Players can take on the Topgolf challenge alone or compete in groups of up to four in couch play or online multiplayer, including private matches and matchmaking, and an online leaderboard will show their standing against other competitors around the globe.

PGA TOUR 2K23 Review – Conclusion

We already knew that developer HB Studios could build a successful golf game, but what we didn’t know was how much they could improve on it to make it better. From the highly detailed and fast loading famous golf courses, to the never ending stream of name brand gear, to the famous faces like Tiger, Steph Curry, or even Michael Jordan, they continue to create impressive graphics and gameplay that continues to get better with every new release. Add in the smooth multiplayer modes and smooth animations and you end up with one of the best golfing game to date.

9


PGA TOUR 2K23 review code provided by publisher and played on a PS5 and a PS4 Pro. For more information on scoring, please read What our review scores really mean.

Louis Edwards

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