PGA Tour 2K23 Hands-On Preview: Pick Up and Play

ign.com:

I’ve played plenty of video game golf over the years, from Links 386 Pro on my first family PC (yes, I’m old) to Links 2004 on the original Xbox to Tiger Woods PGA Tour in the Xbox 360 days. A good golf sim has always been as chill and enjoyable with friends as the real-life sport is. But my virtual set of clubs, just like the real-life set sitting in my garage, have been gathering dust for years. So the fact that I was able to jump right into PGA Tour 2K23 and feel at home with both its three-click swing and swing stick control options during my two-hour hands-on session, then, was a testament to developer HB Studios: it’s really easy to pick up and have fun with even if you haven’t played the video game version of the sport in a while.

This isn’t to say that PGA Tour 2K23 is an easy game – or an arcade-y one. Sure, you can customize the experience however you like, turning assists and difficulties up and down to suit your taste. But it’s got everything you’d want here to enhance realism, from shot shaping on the links to character customization in the locker room to skill upgrades for your custom MyPlayer.

I started with a quick round of Top Golf, the video game version of the real-life driving range game that, in fact, does feel like it was cribbed from a video game. This gave me a feel for 2K23’s default three-click swing system. Aside from the 10mph wind affecting the ball more than I’d expected, it served as a good way to get acclimated with this year’s game. After that it was off to try and recreate my nerdy self in MyPlayer, and despite feeling rushed due to my limited time with the game, MyPlayer did an amicable job of creating a quick and dirty version of my real-life radio face. The player creator lets you tweak