PGA TOUR 2K25 Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, & PC)

Skipping PGA Tour 2k24 to then deliver PGA Tour 2k25 was a wise choice by 2K Games. With two years of strategy and development, the newest entry in the golf sports simulator has come out bigger and better. Even when placed side by side with EA Sports PGA Tour, 2K’s entry excels by a mile. Part of that reason is the quality-of-life changes made to the swing mechanic. But also the overhaul of certain gameplay features. Not to mention the addition of more content that should give you a reason to return for more. Let’s dive into the specifics of the pros (and cons) in our PGA Tour 2k25 review below. 

On Offer

You can play PGA Tour 2k25 in nearly every which way. Locally, you can compete with three other friends or family. You can even share one controller with one another. The beauty of this mode is the freedom to play without an internet connection. That way, it’s easy to jump into for quick pass-and-play action. However, with an online connection, you can access a wealth of user-created golf courses.

Thanks to the return of Course Designer, you can design the weirdest and wackiest courses and share them with the golf community for added fun and challenge. 

Alternatively, you can start a Private Match with your online crew. You can come up with your own rules and courses. With cross-platform compatibility, it shouldn’t be a problem to share your room codes and have your friends join a private match. But you can also opt for Matchmaking. It’s quick and easy, with the tournaments and matches already set up for you. All you do is join to randomly match and compete against online players worldwide. 

Spice of Variety

Matchmaking is heaven-sent, too, thanks to the plentiful match types you can choose. They include 1v1 Head-to-Head matches, 2v2 Team matches alternating between Alternate Shot and Four-Ball formats, up to four players Wagers in Skins format, three holes Quick Matches for up to four players in Stroke Play format, nine holes Divot Derby for up to 20 players, and three holes 1v1 High Rollers in Skins format.

The formats add variety to local, private, and matchmaking rounds. Stroke Play ranks based on how many hits it takes you to win. Skins reward you with in-game currency from your opponent for every hole you win. There are a total of nine formats returning from PGA Tour 2k23, including arcade-style Top Golf, where you aim for multiple targets and try to nab as many wins as you can.

MyCAREER

Golf enthusiasts will likely spend lots of time in MyCAREER. You select from one of 11 playable golf pros or customize your own player. The playable pros have a few notable names: cover athlete Tiger Woods, Tony Finau, Max Homa, Collin Marikawa, and more. It’s quite the short list of pros with a lot of real-world athletes missing.

In any case, you’ll probably lean more toward creating your own MyPLAYER. The customization system is on point, significantly improving character models to resemble realistic representations of humans. Still, some features can look uncanny. Archetypes and Skills return, too, allowing careful consideration of strengths and weaknesses. Onward, you can level up the base stats and skill trees that marry better with your play style to unlock rewards. 

Once you have your MyPLAYER, you have leeway to start from Q-school, Korn Ferry Q School, Korn Ferry Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, or head straight to the PGA Tour championships. Newbies will probably want to wet their feet first at Korn Ferry before diving into the deep waters. Anyway, the PGA Tour 2k25 has quite some impressive major tournaments that challenge you to prove your worth.

You’ll compete in some of the biggest golf stages, including three officially licensed The U.S. Open Championship, The Open Championship, and the PGA Championship. It’s pretty impressive that PGA Tour 2k25 has been able to nab licenses for these, though I’d have loved for The Masters to feature, too. Competing for the FedExCup quickly eases the mind, though.

Soar High

MyCAREER offers a wealth of content. You’re not just swiping menus aimlessly, waiting for the next match. Rather, hunting for sponsorships or raising your MyPLAYER’s personality and popularity in the post-match interviews. Some responses can affect how you play and level up, although I’d have liked to see more impactful questions and overall engaging interviews.

Also, the freedom to play Dynamic Rounds is welcome. You essentially play a section of the 18-hole golf course, saving you precious time to climb the ranks to the PGA Tours. You can choose how many holes to play, and the rest will be simulated. The simulation works pretty well without feeling like you’re missing out on valuable content, although you can always choose to play all 18 holes. 

PGA Tour 2k fans will be aware of Online Societies. You can create your own leagues, seasons, tournaments, events, and more alongside other players. Plus, you can be part of up to ten Societies at a time. Each Society has an admin setting up regular events. But when you’re not currently competing in Societies, you can always check out 2K Ranked Tours.

It’s an incredibly flexible and accessible competitive mode. You can join tournaments at different difficulty levels. All while progressing your MyPLAYER. With each new season, you’ll climb up the ranks, earning rewards, unlocking higher-ranking tiers, and featuring on the global leaderboards. With daily and weekly seasonal events coinciding with the PGA Tour Schedule, you’ll almost always have something keeping you busy. 

Wait, There’s More

It doesn’t stop there. You also have Training mode. Here’s where you can practice, finessing your skills and swing. The swing system is one you might want to spend more time perfecting. With the overhaul of the swing system in PGA Tour 2k23 and the introduction of the new EvoSwing mechanic, newbies might get off to a rough start. But the change is all for the better, as the new mechanic is far more realistic and immersive.

Now, you have more factors to consider: contact, rhythm, transition, and swing path. How you pull the swing stick matters: pulling the right stick or mouse downward toward your target, determining how much push or pull you need, ensuring to perfectly time your transition, and then pushing the swing stick upward. 

Aspects like how much hook or slice you apply to your hit, how smooth or fast you apply your downswing, and more matter. While it can seem like a lot of aspects to work on, each shot does give you feedback on the four categories. Was your shot too long or too short? If you struggle, feel free to tweak the settings, which are PGA Tour 2k25’s way of adjusting difficulty.

It’s quite the in-depth system that lets you play exactly how you want. Or you can level up your MyPLAYER, increasing your attributes. Alternatively, there’s the “Perfect Swing” setting, which is a fancy way of saying Easy mode. It lessens external factors, allowing you to make easier swings. 

Top of the Game

Admittedly, the new EvoSwing mechanic can take a while to master. But once it kicks in, it feels damn satisfying. Each swing feels deliberate, realistically simulating real-world golf and immersing you in every hit. Combined with the in-depth customization and ways to play, PGA Tour 2k25 feels like a sports sim that can go as deep as you want it to.

It accommodates your needs, whether newbie or veteran, providing more than enough content to keep you around. All of that is further sweetened by how smoothly the game runs. Whether at 30fps Quality or 60fps Performance mode, you enjoy the seamless play. Perhaps only a few minor hiccups here and there. The commentaries can sometimes feel forced and pull you out of the moment. Some of the spectators can look grainy. 

However, PGA Tour 2k25 has definitely made huge leaps in its presentation. All 29 licensed golf courses are picturesque. They look just as realistic as on TV or in real life: lush, green, and stunning. Hitting balls in the rough or on grass responds like you would expect. Moreover, the developers have custom-created creative golf courses, although they vary in quality.

For artistic golfers out there, the Course Designer has all of the tools you need to design the course of your dreams. It has been streamlined, too, to automate repetitive processes or meticulously design every hole; it’s all up to you.

Verdict

PGA Tour 2k25 brings quality-of-life changes to the golf sports simulation genre. Most notably, EvoSwing introduces perhaps the most realistic way to play golf. Putting the club to the ball is tough to master, just like in real life. But you have the tools to dust off your game.

You can explore a wealth of content in the game’s many match types and game modes. Over time, your swing will become better, and when the swing system lands, you will truly feel like a virtual golf pro.