Walkabout Mini Golf review for PlayStation VR2

Prior to the launch of the PlayStation VR2, the VR game I have put most of my time into (via a Meta Quest 2 headset) was, without a doubt, Walkabout Mini Golf. Mighty Coconut originally launched the title back in 2020 for much less powerful VR hardware, and beyond porting it to several other platforms, the studio has continually supported it with new updates and content ever since.

So to say I was more than interested in taking on the PS VR2 version was an understatement — in spite of me already putting in dozens of hours on another platform.  Walkabout Mini Golf may look low poly and simple but thanks to some excellent physics and easy to grasp, intuitive gameplay, it is stylish and perfectly suited to the VR mini golf experience.  It’s a chill, pick-up-and-play type of VR game with just an enormous amount of content and also tons of very fairly priced add-on courses.

The Walkabout Mini Golf experience is quite enjoyable thanks to the colorful, clever and well-designed courses which feature some light additional objectives and puzzles (finding lost balls, Fox Hunt clues, etc).  The various courses range from pretty normal and grounded, to kinda creepy, to crazy/fantastical, and the creative layouts and obstacles get interesting very quickly — not to mention more difficult.  Mighty Coconut made sure to also put solid effort into the soundtracks and ambient sound effects, and every course is a unique audio/visual experience.

You’re not just stuck playing solo in Walkabout Mini Golf either as crossplay-enabled online multiplayer is a blast too. Quickly jumping into a match with other players on different platforms (optionally) is straightforward and easy, and there is thankfully the ability for matchmaking with randoms or setting up a private room for up to 8 friends/players.  What’s cool about online play is that if the host has purchased or owns additional content, the other players will get access to it as well during that session.  Also, any progress a player makes while in an online match carries over to the single player progression, including best scores, lost balls and whatnot.

The base game will only set players back $14.99 and features 8 unique 18-hole courses with unlockable “hard” night time variations.  Out of the box, Walkabout Mini Golf gives players quite a lot of putt-putt action, and for those looking for even more, there are several DLC add-on courses as well. The diverse selection of additional themed courses are comprised of original Mighty Coconut creations such as the topsy-turvy Upside Town, fantasy-style Sweetopia or Egyptian-themed Temple at Zerzura, along with licensed properties which include Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Myst… so far.

Considering the amount of work put into designing these courses, which also includes the unlockable hard variations, the optional Walkabout Mini Golf content is also quite a bargain at only $3 or $4 each.  As we’ve seen on other platforms, some content bundles may also be made available including a complete edition for those looking to get everything at once or a deal.

Walkabout Mini Golf provides for an authentic feeling experience, and within a hole or two, pretty much anyone can pick up the intuitive gameplay mechanics. Using a single VR2 Sense controller (the other should be shut off and set aside since it’s never needed), tapping a trigger button will line up your view beside the ball with the putter extending to the green automatically based on a player’s height and floor position. From there, with a natural putting motion, you can just swing away with any speed, angle or impact point you wish and watch the ball hopefully travel where it needs to be. Missing or making a tricky putt by mere pixels/centimeters is just as dramatic as in real life.  Nailing a perfect hole-in-one, or a tricky Eagle or Birdie, all of which treats players to some little fireworks, never gets old.

Being in first person VR, you need to scope out the hole layout and work the angles, which you can easily do by freely walking about via direct movement or teleportation, depending on the comfort settings and user preferences.  You are never even contained to a single hole of a course as you can literally switch to flight mode and float around the entire hole or course/world to explore at will, which is awesome and initially disorienting… but also very useful, especially when working on some optional tasks.

It’s not all about just perfecting scores on each hole in Walkabout Mini Golf as there’s a practice mode, a driving range (with a score challenge of sorts), a fun practice putting area and the ability to customize your avatar and select unlocked equipment. There also a solid selection of PlayStation Trophies to unlock (including a Platinum) for all those other completionists out there.

With enjoyable and intuitive gameplay, colorful VR visuals, convincing physics and a metric ton of content, Walkabout Mini Golf is the very definition of a must-have game for the PlayStation VR2.

Note: Mighty Coconut provided us with a Walkabout Mini Golf PS VR2 code for review purposes.