PGA Tour 2K25 review: Golf for everybody
Dan Nicholson
STACK Writer
In the modern age of misinformation, there are universal truths that will always apply. What goes up must come down, cold pizza is the best pizza, and a bad day golfing is still better than your best day at work. Enter ‘PGA Tour 2K25’.
It captures the essence of that truth and brings you the magic of playing as a PGA professional without the hours of brutal practice, blisters, and bank account breaking equipment.
In comparison to PGA Tour 2K23, everything is stripped back to the bare bones. It feels like the weight shedding has gone a long way to making this a more accessible experience for the uninitiated.
Gone are all the dials and guides in the interface to make you feel like you're actually stepping out onto the links for a real round. In place of all the onscreen clutter, you get a shot line for fairway shots, providing wind direction and general landing spot, and grid lines on the green to assist with putting. That’s it. The design is elegant and takes the rocket science out of what can be an otherwise mind-bendingly difficult process.
All this simplicity of function makes the learning curve in PGA Tour 2K25 a shallow one. In almost no time at all, you’ll be able to understand the simple corrections required to go from a scratch golfer to championship contender.
It’s this pick-up-and-play functionality that sets this latest edition apart from past simulators, making for an altogether much more fun time playing. All told, you won’t need to be a master of the Kentucky Bluegrass to get the most out of this game. PGA Tour 2K25 doesn’t exactly hit the ball in for you, but it gives you every possible opportunity to hit magical shots time and time again.
Even with the seemingly reduced interface, you still get a lot of data on each shot so as to understand what happened. The swing feedback feature flashes just briefly enough to give you the data you need to improve, and it doesn’t linger around to mock you with your inaccurate thumb dexterity. This reduced approach to onscreen information allows you to embrace the feeling of being on the course, focusing your attention on shot selection and swing timing.
The always enjoyable TopGolf experience is back this year, and it really gamifies golf to provide an appropriate training tool for new players. It’s also a fun multiplayer quick play for anyone looking for a five-minute challenge. Although if everyone is skipping ahead on shots, an actual 18 holes can be completed in an incredibly short amount of time, which is a huge bonus for time-poor digital golf fanatics.
There are also some features in PGA Tour 2K25 heavily borrowed from other 2K titles, such as MyPLAYER and MyCAREER, which help connect you to the game. Customisable player growth, experience earned for specific club use, and sponsorship deals on your professional career, all add character to the game and help each player feel unique.
All told, PGA Tour 2K25 is a long walk on some of the most beautiful golf courses on the planet. There’s enough here for new players to become competitive quickly, and for experienced weekend warriors to masterfully display their prowess. It’s a refreshing and relaxing way to spend some quality digital time outdoors, indoors.
PGA Tour 2K25 is out February 28.
For more on PGA Tour 2K25, check out our preview here.
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