2K25

So I played 4 9 hole rounds on the demo after getting through the “perfect perfect” round they force you through when you begin the game. I turned it to master difficulty because that what I will play on primarily and I just started to grind it out. I initially was very disappointed in the feel of this game. I’m not big on change so take it with a grain of salt but this truly felt to me like it was just so much more stiff than 2k23. ESPECIALLY while putting. Even after starting to figure it out I feel like the putting on this game is a significant step back from 2k23. Maybe they were trying to make it less easy to drain putts which I feel is fair considering on 2k23 anything inside of 15 feet probably was falling at about a 80% clip. But this just doesn’t feel smooth to me. For the golf swing I t took me awhile to get the hang of pulling the analog stick back almost sideways on the takeaway and then straight up or sideways on the down swing. My first round I was just yanking everything left over and over so dramatically. I can’t say I understand the point of that feature in this game. Chipping is much more difficult in this game than the last one. I felt like in 2k23 if I could get my approach near the green I was guaranteed a par. That is no longer the case. It feels like you really have to grind these rounds out and going super low will be extremely difficult. I think because of that this game feels a lot more realistic. The graphics are obviously great and once you get use to the gameplay I’m sure everything will flow more smoothly. I really hope I come around on the putting, I like that it’s more difficult and I think if that was the goal they did a good job of it, but for now I’m sticking with my initial opinion. Feels very clunky! But in my 4 rounds on the back 9 at TPC Scottsdale I went +11, +5, +1, and then -1. So if you’re discouraged initially, just grind it out. You’ll start to get the feel and it’ll get easier. After all, it is just a game. Have fun with it!