PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

[lowpaiddonkey10]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

I'm with you on this. The demo is fine, but the experience seems pretty shallow and it seems like something I'd play for a few weeks and then bail on pretty quickly. I have no interest in accumulating XP and working my way through a skill tree like I was building my character in 'Dragon Age' or something. I somewhat understand the approach, but it seems to me this is like playing franchise mode in Madden and needing to grind your way through games to 'unlock' the ability to throw a screen pass. It's non-sensical to me, and is basically a continuation of video games being unable (or unwilling) to treat golf with the seriousness or respect it should be treated with as a sport.

Also, it bugs me that the galleries are basically 'ghost' galleries, and the ball doesn't ricochet off of people when you hit them. It was perhaps a bit over-done in the last EA golf game (you could basically use the people as a backstop or bumper rails on some holes, and the galleries stood WAY too close to the greens), but at least the people would somewhat realistically deflect and alter your ball if you sent one into the galleries. Seems like that would be a baseline expectation in the year 2025.

I am liking the game a lot with my 65 OVR character think the game will be much too easy with all the special shot types unless they up the difficulty which can be done by tightening the tolerances. I know Scottsdale is flat with no wind but don't want an overpowered character. I am fine with shooting par.

[Maxflier]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

Boosts, fittings, consumable balls...I miss the good old days without all that nonsense.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

I have no interest in accumulating XP and working my way through a skill tree like I was building my character in 'Dragon Age' or something. I somewhat understand the approach, but it seems to me this is like playing franchise mode in Madden and needing to grind your way through games to 'unlock' the ability to throw a screen pass. It's non-sensical to me, and is basically a continuation of video games being unable (or unwilling) to treat golf with the seriousness or respect it should be treated with as a sport.

The most egregious part in all this for 2K25 is that VC is now used to add attributes to your player. I long for a new golf game where progression is organic - have training games and your actual performance cause you to level up and get better.

Spend time at the driving range hitting drives over 300 yards with a certain amount of accuracy? Your driving skill goes up. Make 10 putts in a row on the practice green? Your putting skills increase. Get up and down 3 times in a round, and your bunker skills increase. Wanna learn the "super flop" shot type? You have to successfully pull it off 7/10 times at the practice facility to unlock it.

Instead, we have to pay 150 fake coins to increase a skill by 1 point...the same coins we use to buy polos and golf shoes in the store?!?! Or use another brand of currency to buy our "skills" and shot types - and then you have to pay 500 VC if you wanna change anything up?!?! Like you said, it seems non-sensical.

I know they do it to increase the profit potential of their game, but some kind of natural progression in at least career mode would be nice.

[AlanBer]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

The most egregious part in all this for 2K25 is that VC is now used to add attributes to your player. I long for a new golf game where progression is organic - have training games and your actual performance cause you to level up and get better.

Spend time at the driving range hitting drives over 300 yards with a certain amount of accuracy? Your driving skill goes up. Make 10 putts in a row on the practice green? Your putting skills increase. Get up and down 3 times in a round, and your bunker skills increase. Wanna learn the "super flop" shot type? You have to successfully pull it off 7/10 times at the practice facility to unlock it.

Instead, we have to pay 150 fake coins to increase a skill by 1 point...the same coins we use to buy polos and golf shoes in the store?!?! Or use another brand of currency to buy our "skills" and shot types - and then you have to pay 500 VC if you wanna change anything up?!?! Like you said, it seems non-sensical.

I know they do it to increase the profit potential of their game, but some kind of natural progression in at least career mode would be nice.

I agree totally. At 9 VC a round (9 holes), it takes 14 rounds to get one single skill point. Once a player gets to level 10, anything you gain is lost.

Looks about like +3 in skill increases will raise your OVR one level. That'll cost 375 VC per level. To get to 70 you'll need 1875 VC, which is a lot of rounds at 9 per clip.

I know some of the locker codes give some VC.

As far as quests go, I've finished 2 so far and am stuck on the third, something about attaching a fitting (or whatever) to a ball that I've yet to figure out how to finish. I have no idea how to get this EVO tool, either.

I've deleted players and added new ones, but you don't gain any VP.

The Demo is fun, with nothing really startingly new graphically.

I've heard complaints about once a player levels up the game will be too easy. The question I have then, is, why level up then?

I'd like to see a filter with societies and multiplayer where you can pair up with those of similar or range of OVRs. The ability to be able to delete or add characters is a nice feature, so one can keep a created player's OVR down and make things more challenging when the time comes.

[pietasterp]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

Spend time at the driving range hitting drives over 300 yards with a certain amount of accuracy? Your driving skill goes up. Make 10 putts in a row on the practice green? Your putting skills increase. Get up and down 3 times in a round, and your bunker skills increase. Wanna learn the "super flop" shot type? You have to successfully pull it off 7/10 times at the practice facility to unlock it.

This would be really cool. Which is probably why we'll never see it.

Just because everyone else seems to accept ruthless monetization of every aspect of modern gaming doesn't mean we have to like it. Now it's not even enough to have 1 form of 'virtual currency', there are multiple forms of currency required to accomplish even basic things like adding 1 bar to your 'power' stat. Accumulate XP, accumulate VC, and if you want to tune your clubs, apparently you have to accumulate the club-specific currency...etc etc etc ad nauseum.

Sometimes, Links 2003 seems like the best option to just play a round of golf.

[bigkev]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

Try Legend bias swing. Feels nothing like 23 to me.

Nothing to do with difficulty. Unless I missed something, there is exactly one swing animation for male golfer and it has been the same one since the original The Golf Club. And hitting fairways and greens still feel the same as the original game to me. Some people love that, it bores me in no time. That's why I have never played these games much for years. And since I don't play these games much, why should I pay big money for them?

[pietasterp]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

I don't think the "chip" shot type works very well in the game, outside of being on the fringe within a few feet of the hole. It's too short/languid of a stroke to map well to the controller stick, and the game seems designed only to properly input quick 'down-up' max movement strokes.

[lowpaiddonkey10]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

I agree totally. At 9 VC a round (9 holes), it takes 14 rounds to get one single skill point. Once a player gets to level 10, anything you gain is lost.

Looks about like +3 in skill increases will raise your OVR one level. That'll cost 375 VC per level. To get to 70 you'll need 1875 VC, which is a lot of rounds at 9 per clip.

I know some of the locker codes give some VC.

As far as quests go, I've finished 2 so far and am stuck on the third, something about attaching a fitting (or whatever) to a ball that I've yet to figure out how to finish. I have no idea how to get this EVO tool, either.

I've deleted players and added new ones, but you don't gain any VP.

The Demo is fun, with nothing really startingly new graphically.

I've heard complaints about once a player levels up the game will be too easy. The question I have then, is, why level up then?

I'd like to see a filter with societies and multiplayer where you can pair up with those of similar or range of OVRs. The ability to be able to delete or add characters is a nice feature, so one can keep a created player's OVR down and make things more challenging when the time comes.

You get 9 VC in the demo more in the actual game.

[lowpaiddonkey10]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

Nothing to do with difficulty. Unless I missed something, there is exactly one swing animation for male golfer and it has been the same one since the original The Golf Club. And hitting fairways and greens still feel the same as the original game to me. Some people love that, it bores me in no time. That's why I have never played these games much for years. And since I don't play these games much, why should I pay big money for them?

You hit every fairway and green with Legend bias swing? Fine try Powerhouse and tell me what you think. You can make it as hard or as easy as you want.

[crimsondog4]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

Chip shots works better out of the rough. You really need to use the shot shaper to put loft on the club and get a nice backswing to get the ball higher into the air. In 2k25, I've noticed that every club acts differently based on the lie, like in real life.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

Apparently they patched the demo again:

https://x.com/PGATOUR2K/status/1890192511408513253?t=F5AgK62D4SVPzB2uKva77g&s=19

�� Patch Notes 2.13 ��
- Miscellaneous Quest fixes;
- Addressed concerns related to teleporting balls (the ball will suddenly go to a location it was not hit towards);
- Addressed concerns related to aim marker, where the shot preview would be incorrect;
- Addressed Swing Stick concerns relating to getting perfect Swing Path when the player's input wasn't perfect.
- Addressed concerns allowing players to take shots from inside the WM Phoenix Open stands geometry on hole #16.

Sounds like this patch also fixed the "J" swing exploit, where you could swing in a looping motion and still hit perfect at the contact point.

[RIFRIG]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

Still really enjoying the gameplay considering the same holes are played on repeat. That’s testament to the swing mechanics and that hasn’t been the case in a golf game since TW14 which I still have the demo for on 360 & PS3 played the hell out of that before release.
I’m thankful to HB for doing this & will continue playing it until the 28th.
Visually the game just does not impress only on a few holes do get that immersion of actually being on course. It’s either the horrible bunkers, zombie patrons or the poor lighting taking me out of the game. Although I will say I dropped back into EA golf since playing 2K25 & it doesn’t look great so 2K/HB have upped the visuals albeit with a low impact.
Fingers crossed the demo isn’t locked to push purchases on legend & deluxe, that’d be a bit rough.
Credit to Respawn with his content on the game, he gives an honest opinion and does not make the game sound better than it is like many of the other nextmaker team. Some are shills plane & simple SMH.

[jbd345]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

Still really enjoying the gameplay considering the same holes are played on repeat. That’s testament to the swing mechanics and that hasn’t been the case in a golf game since TW14 which I still have the demo for on 360 & PS3 played the hell out of that before release.
I’m thankful to HB for doing this & will continue playing it until the 28th.
Visually the game just does not impress only on a few holes do get that immersion of actually being on course. It’s either the horrible bunkers, zombie patrons or the poor lighting taking me out of the game. Although I will say I dropped back into EA golf since playing 2K25 & it doesn’t look great so 2K/HB have upped the visuals albeit with a low impact.
Fingers crossed the demo isn’t locked to push purchases on legend & deluxe, that’d be a bit rough.
Credit to Respawn with his content on the game, he gives an honest opinion and does not make the game sound better than it is like many of the other nextmaker team. Some are shills plane & simple SMH.

Apex and Respawn I feel are the og’s. At least respawn was around during the golf club I believe. Both will give criticism when it’s warranted. Really the only two I’ll listen to their impressions of.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

Collin Morikawa's putting attributes in 2K25:

[johneric8]

Re: PGA Tour 2K25 Demo Available Today, Post Your Impressions

Apex and Respawn I feel are the og’s. At least respawn was around during the golf club I believe. Both will give criticism when it’s warranted. Really the only two I’ll listen to their impressions of.

I was one of the original beta testers for early Golf Club titles as well and one of HB's biggest fans but even I jumped off the bandwagon for 2k23 because I just didn't think they did enough to move the game and it's engine into the next generation. Funny fact, back in the day I won the contest to name one of their new landscapes for the designer which was "Delta"... So when I see delta in the new game I smile knowing that I actually came up with that!

I still talk to anthony kyne and he is out there doing great and proud of HB... My take is that HB has made the game more accessible for most people and that is a good thing... I do miss how everyone had the same clubs and and swing in a way because I loved the concept of skills winning out. All in all I believe that the swing in 2k25 is one of the most realistic I've ever played and that is a good thing so I'm excited to play the actual release..