The main issue for PGA 2K23 is that 2K21 exists. The newer game struggles to be clearly superior to its older sibling. The differences (although many) between the two games are superficial at best.

THE GOOD

• The three button control method has been added - I could be wrong, but I do not recall this being a feature within 2K21? This is akin to the golf games of old - the likes of Links 386 Pro and PGA Tour 486, making the game controls more accessible and usable to novice gamers and newcomers to the genre.
  
  
• Way more customisation of both your player and kit, should that be your thing. Sponsorship's and kit options are aplenty, with the series now including female players, this time around.
  
  
• Multiplayer access pretty much fell off a cliff with 2K21 - making it virtually impossible to partake in a MP game without joining some form of chat group beforehand. Not so much with 2K23 - there still appears to be an active MP community.
  
  
• The music. Just wow - I thought they had set the bar high with some of the orchestrations within 2K21 - but this is another level up. Often I slide the music volume down a fair bit on most games, but with 2K23 I'm spending longer in the menus and customising my gear, simply to listen to it in the background.

THE NOT SO GOOD

• As has been said by many other reviewers - the number of adverts and store offerings is oppressive to say the least. You cannot even start the game without closing down at least one window of microstransactions. Some in-game tokens are valid as far into the future as the 31st December 2027 - which I interpret as either being generous to the player - or wishful thinking on behalf of HB Studios.
  
  
• The whole skills and upgrade paths are not that clear in terms of UI as to what you should do. Those could be simplified a lot more.
  
  
• Often - the crowd at the edges of your screen are not even looking anywhere near your swing or ball travel. Like a bunch of semi-autonomous mannequins out on day release.
  
  
• The excellent commentary can sometimes get a bit disconnected from what is happening. Having a rivalry with a selected player is all well and good. But entering the 17th hole with a 12 shot lead realistically puts them nowhere near catching you. Yet still they mention them as being a 'threat' or potentially being in contention.
  
  
• Class this game more as 2K21 v1.5 rather than a standout, standalone game in its own right.
  
  
• weird G-sync issue for those running at 144hz. It's very jerky - especially when following the ball in flight. If you drop your refresh rate to half on the main screen @72hz - it plays very smoothly indeed.

In summary - if you liked 2K21 and see this in the sale, I would recommend it without question. It fills that nice gaming void at the end of the day when something like an FPS or strategy game is just too much to be dealing with and having a quick round on here is rather relaxing. It does not revolutionise the golf game genre, but merely adds to what already is available and is probably all the better for it.

Just if 2K25 comes around - hows about easing off on the ads, eh?

7.5/10

The main issue for PGA 2K23 is that 2K21 exists. The newer game struggles to be clearly superior to its older sibling. The differences (although many) between the two games are superficial at best. THE GOOD [list] [*] The three button control method has been added - I could be wrong, but I do not recall this being a feature within 2K21? This is akin to the golf games of old - the likes of Links 386 Pro and PGA Tour 486, making the game controls more accessible and usable to novice gamers and newcomers to the genre. [*] Way more customisation of both your player and kit, should that be your thing. Sponsorship's and kit options are aplenty, with the series now including female players, this time around. [*] Multiplayer access pretty much fell off a cliff with 2K21 - making it virtually impossible to partake in a MP game without joining some form of chat group beforehand. Not so much with 2K23 - there still appears to be an active MP community. [*] The music. Just wow - I thought they had set the bar high with some of the orchestrations within 2K21 - but this is another level up. Often I slide the music volume down a fair bit on most games, but with 2K23 I'm spending longer in the menus and customising my gear, simply to listen to it in the background. [/list] THE NOT SO GOOD [list] [*] As has been said by many other reviewers - the number of adverts and store offerings is oppressive to say the least. You cannot even start the game without closing down at least one window of microstransactions. Some in-game tokens are valid as far into the future as the 31st December 2027 - which I interpret as either being generous to the player - or wishful thinking on behalf of HB Studios. [*] The whole skills and upgrade paths are not that clear in terms of UI as to what you should do. Those could be simplified a lot more. [*] Often - the crowd at the edges of your screen are not even looking anywhere near your swing or ball travel. Like a bunch of semi-autonomous mannequins out on day release. [*] The excellent commentary can sometimes get a bit disconnected from what is happening. Having a rivalry with a selected player is all well and good. But entering the 17th hole with a 12 shot lead realistically puts them nowhere near catching you. Yet still they mention them as being a 'threat' or potentially being in contention. [*] Class this game more as 2K21 v1.5 rather than a standout, standalone game in its own right. [*] weird G-sync issue for those running at 144hz. It's very jerky - especially when following the ball in flight. If you drop your refresh rate to half on the main screen @72hz - it plays very smoothly indeed. [/list] In summary - if you liked 2K21 and see this in the sale, I would recommend it without question. It fills that nice gaming void at the end of the day when something like an FPS or strategy game is just too much to be dealing with and having a quick round on here is rather relaxing. It does not revolutionise the golf game genre, but merely adds to what already is available and is probably all the better for it. Just if 2K25 comes around - hows about easing off on the ads, eh? 7.5/10