Would I recommend Hole in Won? Sadly no. I completed it, and while puzzle games usually aren't replayed, I also don't have fond memories of it. The core idea is solid, but the execution is rough around the edges, with selective realism in the physics and a few easily bypassed challenges. It has its own repository of user-built levels, but that one isn't enough to draw me back in. It's good for an hour or two, and then wanders to the shelf to collect dust.
I have a love for minimalist puzzle games, and Hole in Won isn't even the first minigolf-themed one I tried out. But sadly, this one didn't convince me, with the main reason being inconsistency.
What are the first things you expect of a puzzle game? Clear rules, and an intuitive way to figure out the solution. And Hole in Won delivers, for the most part. When a new aspect (like guard rails or ramps) is introduced, it happens through a series of 2 or 3 levels where the placement of the new element can easily be guessed. Then follow a few levels challenging that new understanding, and even mixing it up with some of the previous elements. That on its own is great, and I appreciate the thought put into the level design from that side.
Though in the later levels, cracks start to show. For one, I barely had any instance where I was truly stumped by a level, as most were either easy to solve, or would go down to a short session of trial-and-error. The only level I looked up the solution for was the final one, because it in my eyes drove the trial-and-error to its peak, without enough hints to guide towards the correct solution.
Speaking of 'correct solution': It happened several times that I found a solution that was clearly not intended. The most obvious giveaways were not using up all tiles I could place, or not using all pre-placed elements on the smaller levels. Some of the alternative solutions made me think: "How did they not see this shortcut?", while others were just brute-force directing the ball to the goal without regard for any sophisticated approach. That latter method was greatly helped by the surprisingly accurate physics this game uses.
One part of the 'clear rules' aspect of good puzzle games is an easy and predictable physics simulation. Either the game is arcade-y, with very restrictive and less realistic movements, which are easy to learn due to their simplicity, or it goes for a realistic approach to call upon experiences from real life and other realistic games. Hole in Won however tries a mix of both. Collisions are calculated accurately, which shows especially on the round peg obstacles, and will lead to greatly increased possibilities due to the Butterfly Effect. At the same time, the ball's spin and its friction against rails it is following are seemingly ignored, giving perfect bounces from walls and perfectly straight exits from railed sections. But that doesn't mean there isn't friction at all. The ball is always subtly slowing down, too little to notice on the smaller levels. There is even one level playing on that aspect, where the ball has to do two laps around the course to finish, because on the first time it jumps over the goal, just to roll the entire lap again to do the same jump at a sliiiightly lower speed and finally finish. All in all, the physics are frustrating to work with, where if you deviate a little from the intended path you end up with more of a pinball machine than a minigolf course.
One finaly point I want to shed light on is UI and controls. The UI clearly looks mobile-friendly, with buttons that on my monitor are as big as the palm of my hand, all with this generic, bubbly look and typeface. It is honestly so forgettable that I am already questioning whether I remember it correctly. The one thing I do remember is the fullscreen popup about unlocking a new cosmetic, coming up literally every 5 levels, as you unlock something every 5 levels.
About the controls, while the video on the store page shows controller bindings at the bottom, all the screenshots have mouse and keyboard controls on them. Kudos for allowing both. I myself played with mouse and keyboard, and was a little surprised that I actually needed both mouse and keyboard for this game, especially after seeing the mobile-y UI. You need a mouse to place tiles, but then you also need to hit the spacebar to try your solution. The big button below the tile stack is a stand-in for the undo key, but I didn't find a replacement for hitting space to start. I would've wished for mouse-only play being possible, and I am not sure if I overlooked something in that regard.
In the end, I needed a good 80 minutes to just about 100% this game. All 100 official levels have been solved, 10 user levels have been added on top, and I just refrained from making my own level for that final achievement. I had my eye on this game for a while, and playing it left me a little disappointed. It was short, challenging at times, and frustrating at others. A good idea, with quite a few cracks here and there. It doesn't make me think fondly of what it is, but mourn over what it could have been.
