Golf games have always been a guilty pleasure of mine. The Tiger Woods franchise on PlayStation 2, paired with the more arcadey action of Hot Shots Golf, has fueled many an afternoon for me throughout my life. After diving into the more realistic world of PGA Tour 2K23, however, I never wanted to go back. Rather than regressing, PGA Tour 2K25 is a great evolution of what made 2K23 great. It looks great, runs great, and has plenty of content. But some hits do take a bit more of a slice than I’d like them to.
It’s Hard To Believe That ‘PGA Tour 2k25’ Is Running on Unity
With two different graphics options, PGA Tour 2K25 is quite a nice game to look at. With a 30FPS Quality mode and a 60FPS Performance offering, I could swap between the two on a whim. After a while, I did settle more into the performance mode. Especially since I wanted to work on landing the perfect swing. I’m hoping that further installments do work on some of the pop-in and screen tearing issues I experienced. But, that could also be fixed with a patch.
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Otherwise? Courses are lush, green, and full of life. The lighting system has seen a significant revamp since 2K23, and character models do look quite a bit nicer. There’s still a small amount of uncanny-ness to them, but as one of my main complaints with the previous game, there is a noticeable improvement here. Pros look like themselves, and my MyPlayer was just as horrifying to look at as I wanted.
I do think it would be in the development team’s best interest, however, to move on from the Unity Engine for the next installment. With games like EA Sports PGA Tour using Frostbite to push graphical capabilities and framerates? It’s only a matter of time until “this looks fine” begins to be a little less than acceptable. But for now, PGA Tour 2K25 is still a fantastic game to look at, and it runs great to boot.
‘PGA Tour 2k25’ Is Easy To Learn and Difficult to Master, and Caters to All Playstyles
One thing that sets PGA Tour 2K25 apart from the competition, however, is its dedication to crafting a realistic golfing experience. Towing the line between accessibility and mastery, I found myself tweaking settings to my preferred expectations. And even then, I could still easily get trounced by the AI I was facing off against. And I loved that fact. I’ve spent a lot of time on virtual greens, but PGA Tour 2K25 feels fantastic to play, regardless of the control method I chose.
Almost every aspect of the experience was in my control. Choosing difficulties, wind speeds, green firmness, everything in between? Very nice, and made each round that I played in as challenging or simple as I wanted it to be. It’s not often in a sports game that I could tweak this many settings. It made every round one to remember. With PGA Tour 2K21 being one of the least approachable sports games, this has made some serious strides forward in that regard.
Regardless if I was playing as my created character Chum Lee, or if I stepped into the shoes of the professionals, I always felt like I was in perfect control of the action. Learning how to properly hit a ball and making sure I was getting the right contact, transition, and swing path was challenging. But in the end, it made me a better golfer than I could have ever imagined I would be.
The Mycareer Mode Is More ‘Top Spin 2k25’ Than ‘NBA 2k25’, and I’m Genuinely Thankful for That
PGA Tour 2K23 was a step in the right direction compared to its predecessor. But, it was also difficult to ignore how bare-bones the career options were. Taking more than a few tinges of inspiration from Top Spin 2K25 than from other 2K sports games, the career mode has finally been revamped. Picking where to start, Chum Lee decided that he was the best fit for the amateurs. As I put in the work to make it onto my first PGA Tour, I took the time to explore the newly expanded career options.
And while still not the greatest, it’s a step in the right direction. The MyCareer mode actually has things to do now, rather than just navigate through menus while aimlessly waiting for the next match to start. I could partake in interviews, and earn VC to upgrade my character, shop, and everything in between. I do hope that at least in these smaller games, VC would be easier to earn. As it can feel a bit grindy after a while. Or just let us upgrade our character stats, rather than tie them to this currency. But even with that, I could outperform my opponents as a 70 OVR, so skills do pay the bills here.
One thing that does stick out to me, sadly, is that the game is always online. Even putting PGA Tour 2K25 into Quick Resume in the background? I would lose connection to the server and need to go back through menus. This does, essentially, put specific modes on a doomsday timer for their eventual shutdown. Regardless if it’s MyCareer, Multiplayer, or anything in between, we may not be able to access specific parts of the game after the servers are turned off. And that’s a shame.
We’re About 3 Yards Away From That Perfect Hole in One at This Point
Seeing where we started at PGA Tour 2K21, we’ve been making great strides forward with each subsequent offering. With plenty of pros to pick from, a wealth of courses to play, and a course editor to make the 18 holes of our dreams, PGA Tour 2K25 is the best it’s ever been. If you’re looking for a pure golf simulator, you can’t go wrong putting your cleats down here.
Watching the gameplay and graphical evolution of the PGA Tour series has been great, and I couldn’t put my controller down once I started nailing shots. It feels great to play, offering beginner-level help for those who are unfamiliar with the game, with plenty of customization to make it feel as realistic as I wanted. I could easily have my brother or my wife join in on the fun without worrying that they’re in over their heads.
While I do wish that there were, technically, offline modes available to play, we can only hope that 2K will add that option after launch. Local multiplayer feels great, and online multiplayer is just as solid as ever. If you’ve been searching for a reason to get back on the green, there’s never been a better time than now.
Verdict: Strongly Recommended
PGA Tour 2K25 will be available on February 21, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on Xbox Series X.
