If you miss Kirby’s Dream Course, take a look at Bulby

Pay what you want

Kirby’s Dream Course holds a special place in gaming history. Despite releasing more than 20 years ago and featuring a unique gameplay hook, it didn’t see many copycats. Sure, there have been other golf games, but nothing has been quite like the isometric miniature golf-puzzle-platformer. At least, not until Bulby Diamond Course.

Okay, so maybe this is too blatant of a ripoff. It stars a cute sphere who bops enemies until one turns into a hole. It has the same shot manipulation through chipping and spinning the ball. Heck, it’s called Bulby, which is just far enough from Kirby to avoid copyright issues.

Even so, I don’t care. It’s not like HAL Laboratory and Nintendo have done anything with Kirby’s Dream Course in all this time, so why not have indie studio Paperdog Games take a stab at a facsimile? It even has a few upgrades: three-dimensional graphics, multiplayer minigames, and a level editor. It is a bit ugly, but I can overlook that if it turns out to be fun.

Bulby Diamond Course is currently on Steam Early Access and it’s the daily deal at Indie Game Stand under a “pay what you want” pricing structure.