While I probably don’t look like it, I am a massive fan of golf games. Maybe it’s because I’m useless at golf in real life, but I’ve been sinking birdies and the occasional eagle for years – and once upon a time, even a hole in one! 2K and HB Studios returning with another entry in their golf series is a welcome sight to behold, especially as PGA Tour 2K25 is an all-round improvement on the last.
The two year gap that this series maintains has paid off once again. Everything looks better; the character models, the course, even the balls look good! The polish doesn’t end there, however. Gameplay overall feels that little bit smoother and with three different types of swing options, the sky’s the limit.
The swing system once again comes in multiple flavours, with the new EvoSwing providing a very realistic feel to smacking your balls [Phrasing? – Ed]. EvoSwing uses your own rhythm and dexterity to better simulate the feeling of swinging a golf club when using Swing Stick, which is neat. For a more laid back experience, you can opt for the new Perfect Swing difficulty setting, which reduces the material impact of external factors on your swing, allowing newer players to get used to the mechanics of golfing without worrying about all the complex stuff. If all else fails, you can revert back to my favourite, the 3-Click Swing. There’s options for all players, which is great.
I got a tad frustrated with chip shots which often felt a little weird trying to get the ball on the green. I have fond memories of being able to chip the ball and getting it real close to the hole in previous game, but I struggled to get this right in 2K25. I’m not going to blame the game here as this is likely user error on my part, but something definitely feels different with it that I’ve yet to master.
That being said, being able to change your tee position, which doesn’t seem like a big deal, (but was a major annoyance in 2K23), combined with the ability of now being able to choose your hazard drop shot, gives you a level of control you didn’t have before.
The first port of call for almost all players will be MyCareer. One thing I really appreciate is a game that respects my time, and 2K25 absolutely does that, letting you choose how much of each course you want to play. If you only have time for a quick blast, you can play just 6 holes of an 18 hole course and let the sim do the rest. Even the simming can be balanced how you want, with the AI version of your player being as good or as bad as you want them to be.
The goal in MyCareer is, of course, to compete for points in tournaments, trying hard to qualify for the FedExCup. Instead of just dropping you off at each holes, before each event, you can partake in training and minigames as a way to earn stat buffs and get the lay of the land. Earning stat buffs is crucial for later in the game, as that extra few meters on a drive will come in handy when you need to get closer to the hole. It’s easy to dismiss this as simple padding, but there’s a rhyme and reason for it.
MyCareer and the building of MyPlayer feels a bit more of an RPG this time around. You can unlock specific shots in the skill tree, as well as stats buffs for helping with your shots. There are six trees in total, and I went for the Powerhouse character, focusing on smashing the ball as far down the fairway as I could.
In addition to levelling up your player, you can also level up your clubs using tokens to enhance stats in certain areas, before using EvoTools to unlock a higher potential, shaping your equipment to match and enhance your style of play.
There’s also a popularity mechanic which is nothing new, but adds a little flavour to the overall experience. Off the course, you can spend time influencing fans during interviews, with your answers coming across as bold or subdued. It’s like the paragon or renegade sliders from Mass Effect, just without a meaningful effect. Yes, the number on screen was going up over time and I gained more social media followers, but this really didn’t have a massive impact on anything on the course, so I failed to see the benefit of engaging with the system too much. It could have tied in with the sponsorships system, but really the game just boils down to playing good golf to get branding and unlock cosmetics.
The rivals feature still feels a little lacklustre. I got to the end of a tournament and the game told me I’d beaten my rival. I didn’t even know I had one! All I did was score better than him. If they just made a bit more of a fuss about the rivalries and gave some sort of payoff for beating a difficult opponent, I might be more invested. As it stands, this is a bit of a non-feature.
Outside of MyCareer, the online modes from 2K23 have returned. Naturally, I’m a fan of Divot Derby, which is a fast and chaotic mode in which up to 20 players tee off at the same time and race to the hole in a unique golf ‘battle-royale’ style jamboree of madness. In short, it’s a lot of fun. Topgolf is also back again and is an arcade-style game mode in which you’ll take aim at a series of targets and attempt to score as many points as you can. It was introduced last year and was super popular so it naturally deserved a returning spot.
Ranked Tours is a new feature for 2K25 which contains daily and weekly seasonal events and follows the PGA schedule while the real PGA TOUR season is in full swing which is pretty cool.
If you’re feeling creative, you can once again create your own course and share them for the world to see. It’s always good to see everyones creations and attempt to become the master of each hole.
The Clubhouse Pass is back but this time it doesn’t expire, coming in line with a lot of other recent titles. There’s a free version and a Premium track but thankfully, that and the other microtransactions on offer are mostly cosmetic based. Of course you can spend real world bucks to upgrade your stats immediately, but you can do it almost as fast from simply playing the game, so it’s not too egregious bad. Also, the stats don’t have a patch on simply having skill in this game, when compared to the NBA 2K games where the stat buffs are really felt.
