OS Reacts: EA Sports PGA Tour First Impressions

The EA Sports PGA Tour “free” trial started yesterday for those who have EA Play. This means on both PC and consoles, folks are getting their first look at next-gen golf from EA Sports. It’s been a long hiatus from the sport for EA, so this is certainly one of the most hotly anticipated sports titles of the year. How has the community been liking the game so far? Well, it’s obviously early days, but the community does seem to be coalescing around a couple narratives so far, so let’s get into these first 24 hours with a new game.

EA Sports PGA Tour First Impressions

The “Feel” Is Off For Some

There are two elements to this so far for folks it seems. On one hand, the swing itself feels “delayed” and that timing aspect is messing with some people. In short, the controller input and the swing on the screen are not 1:1 and it’s causing some confusion and frustration. It does not seem to have to do with the game being 30 fps, and really it just seems to be a development choice by EA to go this route rather than a technical issue.

The second component to this for some is it just does not feel like there is not enough that goes into a swing right now. OS user golfnut67 sums this aspect up:

“There’s no feeling of having anything really to do with shooting other than flicking the stick. I know it’s early but this is the kind of stuff that’s not likely to change much. You just walk up and shoot. There’s no feel to it.”

What this means is the shot types, the tempo of your swing, the lie of the ball, where you are on a slope, and so on are just are not factoring into your approach as much as some want it to. It feels more like you’re just a passenger along for the ride.

That said, not everyone thinks the “feel” of the swing is entirely without merit. OS user woody2goody sums up their thoughts:

“I quite like the swing mechanic. The ‘delay’, at least how I interpret it, is the golfer setting themselves before the backswing, and it’s not bad once you get used to it.”

The breakthrough for some actually comes via a recommendation from OS user countryboy that some of the other detractors so far have actually felt has helped:

“For those frustrated with the swing meter and sync with controller, have you tried turning it off? Did for the few holes I’m playing at Pebble Beach and enjoying it.”

The “delayed” swing has been something called out for months now, so I’m not sure if EA will decide to tweak it at all post-launch or it’s just part of the choice they’ve made with the swing mechanics overall. I do think this will be the biggest thing to watch post-launch that could impact the gameplay in a major way for some.

It Sure Is Pretty

If there’s anything that has close to 100% approval across the forum with this game, it is the visuals. Regardless of the 30 fps on console, it’s hard to say the game does not look great. From the courses to the pros to the atmosphere, everything pops off the screen on the whole and does “feel” next-gen. Of the consistent complaints with PGA 2K, one was that the graphics did feel underwhelming at times. We sort of knew going into this release that EA’s game would look better than 2K’s so this is not surprising, but it’s still worth noting the general response so far.

Is It Too Easy Or Too Hard?

This has been the most humorous aspect to things so far for me. There is a clear contingent of people who think the game is way too easy, and then there is another contingent who thinks the game is way too hard. I don’t think this just comes down to people adjusting to the “delayed” swing either. On the “it’s too easy” side, it mostly comes down to people being worried that they’re not struggling enough on day one on the hardest settings. It’s understandable that if you’re “only” playing bogey golf today that soon enough you will be blitzing every course.

On the other side of things, OS user TheBrew101 has this to say:

Not sure how everyone is saying it is so easy to hit straight. I put it on hardest difficulty and put shot shaping on and I was all over the course. I had difficulty understanding why at times however. I would hit what appeared to be straight shot only to see ball slice or hook. I need more time to figure this out. I must be doing something wrong. Even my putts were occasionally way off when I didn’t keep stick straight.

No matter what side of this argument people are on so far, they all agree that the “max score” on a hole being triple bogey is bad and should be removed.

Creation Suite Won’t Cut It

This one is the least surprising complaint to me because it’s just how EA operates with its creation suite these days. It’s just not deep and really is a weak spot in just about every sports game EA releases. It’s functional and easy enough to understand, but you don’t have enough ways to be creative. I don’t know if this is a Frostbite thing or just an EA decision, but it does really look bad when compared to 2K with things like WWE 2K out there and so on.

Bottom Line

Overall, the community is very mixed right now when it comes to EA Sports PGA Tour. I expected as much with a “new” franchise and EA clearly focusing on licensing, graphics, and hooking more of that “casual” audience as major selling points for the initial game. There is plenty of potential here and many remain hopeful. Some are already out to be sure, but it’s going to be interesting to see where people end up with their thoughts after a couple more days with the game. Feel free to continue to share your thoughts and chat with the community here.