It recently occurred to me: I’ve got a Steam Deck, I’ve got a comfy couch… why the heck aren’t I playing golf? I couldn’t find a whole lot of Deck-friendly golf games that didn’t require an emulator or weren’t some sort of golf variation like What the Golf?, but I eventually stumbled upon Super Video Golf. It’s chill but still challenging, and perfect for the Steam Deck with undemanding low-fi ’90s looks and support for 8 players in local or online PvP.
Plus, it’s Workshop-friendly so there’s lots of player-made customization options. I mean, don’t you want to golf as RoboCop? Don’t you want to do that right now?
Super Video Golf launched just over a year ago but it keeps getting better, and the 1.16 update that arrived today introduces a bunch of welcome changes, the highlight being a much-needed career mode.
Career mode involves your “progression across 6 leagues, each of which have a season lasting for 6 rounds,” developer Trederia says. “These rounds are split across all 12 courses available in Super Video Golf—with two rounds on the front 9, two rounds on the back 9 and two rounds of 18 holes, played over two different courses per league.”
Only the first league is accessible when you start your career, and you’ll need to finish in the top three to unlock the next league. (You’re not competing with humans, your competitors “are created from a set of pseudo random stats, generated at the beginning of the season, which are then used to generate a fantasy football style league.”)
There are also rewards, like “a new ball for 3rd place or better, a new piece of headwear for 2nd place or better, and finishing first will unlock a new player avatar.”
Super Video Golf’s 1.16 update also includes an overhauled profile editor, adjustable crowd density, customizable golf ball colors, and more tweaks and an online leaderboard for the global league feature added last year so you can see how your scores match up against other golfers. You’ll find Super Video Golf on Steam or Itch for a mere nine bucks.