I’ve always said, “Let the waves guide you.” At least until I found myself in this game. Welcome to Barton Lynch Pro Surfing, developed and published by Bungarra Software Pty Ltd. MKAU Gaming was given a copy to try out on Steam, so read on as I shred some gnarly waves.

Barton Lynch Pro Surfing brings a lot of cards to the table, or more appropriately, surfboards. There’s a massive career mode that will see you carving waves on exotic beaches in over 12 unique locations, and you’ll take on some of the world’s top surfers. You can also switch to challenges, earning some extra cash as you continue your world tour in style, or you can jump into the free surf mode, allowing you to chill out and enjoy the waves with no worry of losing.

The gameplay was tricky for me, being quite up and down with emotions and a massive learning curve that I needed help keeping up with. It starts with a very in-depth tutorial that tries to teach you everything you need to know, helping you to get up off the board, shred waves, and perform tricks that earn those massive scores, but I found it to be confusing.

There was an enormous amount of information to take in, but the audio didn’t match the on-screen texts, making it difficult and frustrating to understand exactly what was going on, and there may be some who would struggle more as a result.

While we tried out a Steam copy, there was no support for a mouse and keyboard. Instead, you will need a controller of some description, and Barton Lynch Pro Surfing makes use of every button to speed up, slow down, dive under waves, and perform tricks to impress the judges. Much like fighting games, you’ll use multiple button combinations to perform combo tricks, bringing a fundamentally complex aspect to the foreground for everyone to enjoy. Based purely on this, it’s no wonder there is no mouse and keyboard support.

Nothing beats riding a wave, and the thrill you experience as you cruise the tube, water splashing at your back and filling your screen immerses you completely. Barton Lynch Pro Surfing features beautifully textured water and incredibly realistic wave physics, setting a very high standard for games in the future, and the distant views of exotic beaches covered in surfing enthusiasts surrounded by buildings and trees bring everything together for an excitingly real experience.

Given it’s a game about professional surfing, as you might expect, the soundtrack featured a lot of music that can only be described as surfer music. It reminded me of Hawaii with its peaceful yet invigorating music, and it perfectly paired with the sounds of seagulls, waves crashing against the shoreline, and the spectators cheering you on. The only thing holding back the thrill of the waves was the voiced lines. There was nothing wrong with how they sounded, but they would sometimes cut off abruptly, and it was particularly frustrating when it happened mid-sentence.

With its mesmerizing views and massive waves bringing everything together in a pleasant, complex, and competitive atmosphere, Barton Lynch Pro Surfing is a fight for the top spot. It’s a fantastic game for wave seekers wanting to grab the board and dive head-first into the world of competitive surfing, but that said, the game does have its drawbacks, like issues with audio and visual texts that can impact the overall experience.

They are posting constant updates, so I hope the issues I encountered are only short-term. Overall, I enjoyed playing Barton Lynch Pro Surfing, and I look forward to seeing what it becomes.

Written by: TypicalCambieAU