The original Super Stickman Golf was a revelatory mobile experience for me. It was perhaps the first iOS game I couldn’t put down and when I eventually did I could not wait to jump back into. It offered terrifically balanced puzzle platform single player courses and sometimes just plain harsh multiplayer matches that tested your ability with speed based matches. For good reason the original was a success and they didn’t mess with the formula too much using the same basic gameplay mechanics while adding brand new inspired courses, the ability to customize your stickman, and kept the multiplayer just as fun.
Obviously Super Stickman Golf 2 isn’t your average golf game. On the surface it looks simple with basic shapes making up most of the environments and little more than what the name suggest a skinny little stickman who never shows emotion. Players will soon realize that it’s not about the sport of golf but rather solving puzzles with a club and ball as nearly every hole has you using your brain as how to approach each hole with the best possible method. The game begins at a good pace as nearly all of the first few nine hole courses are light on environmental hazards allowing you to settle into things a little more comfortably before it soon tosses coloured coded portals, lasers that turn your shot into dust, and magnets that move your perfectly lined shot off course into the pot. At times it can become frustrating but in that sort of old retro gaming way that keeps us coming back for more no matter how many times we scream curse words out loud to ourselves in public places. The player must make choices as to which power ups they will need to complete the twenty courses – some more useful than others. Most from the original make a return such as the ability to freeze a pond preventing the dreaded water hazard, with a few new ones thrown into the mix.
The single player game is reason enough to pick up Super Stickman Golf 2 alone, but the developers brought back the beloved hectic multiplayer mode as well suitably titled “race mode” this time. It doesn’t matter if it’s the four player online, or new eight player local wireless mode players will franticly be battling it out with speed and precision adding almost a party feel to the gameplay when played with a group of friends.
However it doesn’t stop there, as not everyone is into or has time to group together to speed battle, and some gamers want to relax and plan each shot. For those there is the new turned based mode which lets you swap swings whenever you have a free moment during your day allowing some games to span a week or more for completion not unlike a game of Draw Something. It’s for this reason that Super Stickman Golf 2 shines as one of the ultimate mobile gaming experiences as it caters to everyone’s different unique lifestyle.
Super Stickman Golf 2 could have easily been just the same experience with a few new courses and it would have worked, it is much more than that however it’s an improvement a much sleeker package then before. From the redefined courses, glossier environments, added animations and it’s addictive chiptune soundtrack that harkens back to gaming’s golden age. It’s not all sunshine though as the fault of the near seamless experience can be found in it’s downright bizarre choice of in app purchases such as the ability to buy new equipment for your golfer that essentially upsets the competitive balance on the multiplayer side of things. Regardless it is a must download for those who are fans of puzzle games that don’t take a traditional approach whether you’re into single player, multiplayer, and no matter what your lifestyle – it’s fitted for you.