Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

True Golf Classics: Wicked 18 embraces a straightforward yet addictive control scheme that makes it easy for newcomers to pick up and play, while still offering enough nuance for seasoned golf enthusiasts. Players initiate each shot by clicking once to bring up a swing meter, clicking a second time to set the angle, and a third time to determine shot power. Executed correctly, this timing-based system feels intuitive and delivers satisfying feedback, especially when you nail special shots at the very end of the meter.

The game’s signature twist comes from its course design. You won’t just be negotiating the usual water hazards and bunkers; Wicked 18 throws in lava pits, greens perched atop craggy mountain peaks, and even a volcanic crater that threatens to swallow errant shots. These fantastical elements ramp up the challenge and inject a welcome dose of whimsy, forcing you to adapt your strategy and club selection on the fly.

Each hole offers multiple routes to the pin, whether it’s a long 450-yard drive across a canyon or a carefully judged layup to avoid molten lava. While there are no licensed pros or real-world courses to pad out the roster, the diversity of hazards—ancient ruins, dizzying cliffs, and subterranean caverns—ensures that no two rounds feel the same. Replay value is high as you look to shave strokes off your personal bests on every exotic green.

Graphics

Visually, Wicked 18 strikes a fine balance between realism and cartoonish exaggeration. The basic fairway layouts are clean and easy to read, but it’s the more outlandish environments—molten lava flows glowing beneath stone bridges, jagged mountain peaks dusted with snow, and crumbling temple ruins—that steal the show. The bright color palette helps hazards stand out, so you don’t accidentally tee off toward a bubbling lava pit.

Though the game doesn’t boast photorealistic textures, its sprite-based graphics are sharp and expressive. Every swing is accompanied by a satisfying animation, from the golfer’s wind-up to the follow-through, and the ball’s flight path is depicted with clear trajectory arcs. The dynamic camera angles on long drives or perilous chip shots add a cinematic flair, highlighting the scale of drops and the depth of water hazards.

Transitions between holes are smooth, and you’ll appreciate small details like animated wildlife scampering across the greens or puffs of steam rising from volcanic fissures. Weather effects—light rain, gusty winds, even sudden gusts of volcanic steam—are subtle but impactful, occasionally forcing you to recalibrate your aim. Overall, the presentation remains clean and polished without ever feeling stale.

Story

True Golf Classics: Wicked 18 forgoes a traditional narrative in favor of a more thematic approach. There’s no caddie banter or long-winded backstory about rival tournaments; instead, each course feels like a standalone challenge you’ve entered purely to prove your mettle against nature’s extremes. This minimal story focus keeps the pace brisk and centers the experience firmly on gameplay.

Despite the lack of cutscenes or character arcs, the game subtly weaves a sense of progression through its escalating difficulty curve. You start on relatively tame courses—long fairways with standard bunkers and wide water hazards—but by the back nine you’re dodging molten rock and navigating stone temples perched on volcano rims. The implied narrative is one of a rising champion, earning bragging rights one treacherous green at a time.

The absence of real-world golfers means there’s no celebrity cameo to distract from the core experience, but it also frees the designers to dream up hazards that defy physics. Whether you view the course designs as a lighthearted twist or a glorified mini-game, there’s an unspoken tale of man versus elemental fury driving each stroke you take.

Overall Experience

True Golf Classics: Wicked 18 offers a refreshingly imaginative take on the golf genre, blending easy-to-learn controls with outlandish course designs that keep every round feeling fresh. Its learning curve is gentle, yet mastery demands precise timing and strategic club selection, especially when navigating lava pits or mountain-top greens.

While purists looking for licensed PGA players or hyper-realistic courses may feel underserved, fans open to fantastical settings will find plenty to love. The game’s replay value is significant: chasing par times on each of the 18 diabolical holes can become an obsession, and the lack of a strict storyline means you can dive straight into the action whenever you like.

From the lush fairways of the opening holes to the fiery depths of its volcanic finale, Wicked 18 delivers a compelling package for anyone seeking a golf game with a twist. With its crisp presentation, varied hazards, and rewarding shot mechanics, it stands out as a memorable entry in the True Golf Classics line.

Retro Replay Score

7.2/10