IGN - 8.6
You don’t have to be a hardcore golf fan to get hooked on Mario Golf: World Tour. It rewards good play, gives plenty to do, and is a great teacher. Its incremental approach to challenge kept me coming back to test myself, and the post-game challenges and multiplayer modes inspired me to play in new ways even after I thought I was a pro.
Destructoid - 8.5
It has been worth the wait, as Mario Golf: World Tour took that next step and brought us an outstanding online golf experience. The learning curve is steep, and there are some issues with the camera and aiming control, but working through them is worth it as the online play is outstanding.
Eurogamer - 8
he natural comparison is with Everybody's Golf - which, of course, developer Camelot was responsible for in the first instance - and while the Vita game has, by a distance, the superior single-player structure, World Tour is more than a match for it in the quality of its courses and the breadth of its options. Both play a great round of golf, because both are founded upon a game mechanic that is the Holy Grail of sports games: easy to learn, difficult to master, reliable enough to empower players while leaving room for the unpredictability of human error. Click, click, click, BOOM.
Metro - 8
The best Nintendo sports title for several years and although it offers little in terms of innovation it’s certainly not short of content or addictive fun.
GamesRadar - 4/5
Mario Golf: World Tour may lack innovation, but it provides easy-to-grasp golfing fun and a slew of unique stages. It's a solid game that will keep you coming back for more.
Gaming Age - B+
All things considered, Mario Golf: World Tour has a ton of content waiting to be unlocked. It seems that almost 70% of its courses are hidden behind completing single-player challenges in the Mario Gold mode, although they only feature 9 holes where Castle Club courses have a full 18 each. The recently-announced DLC and Season Pass also seems to offer a hefty expansion which will only add to the variety of courses and player choices (we did not have access to any of this additional content), in which case Nintendo seems intent on perpetuating the life of this Mario Golf entry in a much more comprehensive way than ever before. Not short on content, delivering a robust Mario Golf experience, and implementing the Mii character in the Castle Club mode lay down the groundwork for what could be the most complete Mario Golf experience so far. Whether or not that's your cup of 'tee' is up to you, but I've found a decent bit of distraction from my normal Hot Shots hold.
Edge - 6
This inability to decide where World Tour lies among the many paths the series has taken previously is the game’s true problem. It demonstrates both why Camelot is so trusted by Nintendo, and why it has been stuck making sporting spinoffs for so long. Camelot seems unsure of whether it would prefer to be held by the hand or simply set free, and ends up putting the player in that same awkward middle ground.
NintendoLife - no score yet (no online available at the time of reviewing)
Mario Golf: World Tour delivers, most notably right out of the box, a lengthy and involving experience. There is impressive depth not just in the level of content and diversity of options, but in the golf mechanics themselves; the catered options for beginners and stronger players are impeccably implemented. A minor quibble is that attempts at zaniness with items feel rather superfluous, while well-designed courses would have benefited from some less conventional designs. Aside from that, however, this is an excellent addition to the 3DS library, and offers a fresh experience from its contemporaries. Whether you want to settle in for a 15 minute blast around some challenges, or a longer spell carefully constructing a new record score, this satisfies either desire.
There's little doubt that this could be a long-tail game for 3DS owners. The core content and Mii customisation certainly delivers the fundamentals to deliver just that, something that regular online tournaments may, potentially, take to the next level.
some people in the OT seem to be on the fence so I figured a thread like this could help.
demo is out in NA btw. And it's great.