An easy to learn puzzle game segmented in 10 worlds containing 9 levels + 3 additional more challenging levels each.
Each world reveals and is based on a new mechanique that the game presents to the player, often mixing newer mechanics with older ones.
The gameplay consists in levels made of square grids; the player is given a number of cards which display a movement function for the ball: the objective is obviously to putt the ball using the available cards without going out of bounds or running out of moves.
The difficulty spikes are pleasant, every new world's first levels being an easy introduction to the newly introduced mechanics.
Each world has a pleasant musical theme which vibes with the colors and overall energy of the world.
Bonus points for the easter egg after the credits screen. <3

I played through to the point I was looking up every solution, and decided to hop off this, but I liked it quite a bit as I was playing it. It is a pretty simple “amount of moves” type puzzle game with a minimal golf aesthetic. Mostly doable and it implements difficulty in waves, which I like. I hate puzzle games where it functionally contains a hard wall that takes a lot of effort to get over. This one will throw you curveballs and then soften you up with a few easier ones. Not unchallenging, but merciful. It does heighten overall towards the end but I blame

1. Getting this as part of a bundle for cheap
2. My smooth brain
3. my miles long backlog

For why I didn’t push through and just beat it. But honestly it’s worth it’s full price if you know you like this sorta thing

Golf Peaks starts off really fun and fresh, and gradually tapers off to be somewhat annoying and tedious at the end. At it's best, this unique puzzle game steadily introduces new mechanics and unique ways to solve golf puzzles and makes you feel clever and rewarded for getting them right. At it's worst, you have to count lots of squares on a zoomed out map, something that's exacerbated on the maps with conveyors and ice tiles. I ended up having to look up solutions to a good number of the puzzles, but I didn't feel bad because I was getting the "I never would have ever solved this now looking at the answer" feeling. Which isn't great.

I don't want to trash Golf Peaks though, it's a fun time if you're looking for something quick to dabble in, and I don't want to judge the game by its worst qualities. Lots of the early maps are fun and innovative - there's no puzzle game like this I can think of. And it's often really cheap on Steam or bundled with other things.

I respect it. I think it does a good job of continuously introducing new mechanics, most of which can be understood without needing tutorials. The puzzles, especially early on, lend themselves to a mentality of looking at your available moves and plotting out the route to the end before you take the first one. This is not only fun, but it's also faster than the alternative of trial and error-ing your way through the holes. However, this gets increasingly more difficult the further you get in the game, when you start dealing with larger courses with more moves, and have to do an increasingly large amount of mental math to consider things like wall bounces, conveyor belts, pushes, not to mention how hard it can be to track which things are lined up when there are elevation changes/gaps between pillars. That is to say, in my experience the game is designed as if it expects a lot of mental work from players with few resources to actually make this doable. The game would've greatly benefited from an optional grid and a Layton-esque notes overlay. Still, I think it's pretty fun if you want to kill a few hours.