Okay, so I’m just scrolling, minding my own business, and suddenly Netflix decides to drop a whole-ass Happy Gilmore video game alongside the new movie. In the year of our lord 2025. My brain legit short-circuited. Is this a psyop? A weirdly specific marketing gag? Let's get into it, because not me actually enjoying this.
The game is called “Happy Gilmore: Golf Mayhem '98 Demo,” and it’s exactly the kind of chaotic, unhinged energy you'd expect. The vibe is a total 90s fever dream, with chunky 3D graphics that scream "Nintendo 64 clone." The gameplay is less "quiet on the green" and more "Mortal Kombat with a 9-iron." You can literally throw down with your opponents, causing absolute mayhem on the course. It’s the kind of unhinged "extreme sports" energy that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater practically invented.
Let’s be real, this isn’t going to be your new main game. It’s a "gag game," a fun little 15-minute distraction designed to get you hyped for the movie. But honestly? For what it is, it absolutely ate. For a freebie tie-in that you can play directly from your Netflix app on a TV or web browser, it has no right to be this entertaining. It's a perfect slice of nostalgia that respects your time. No notes.
Not Netflix Entering its Gamer Era, For Real This Time
But here's the tea: this isn't just some random joke. This is part of Netflix's Big Brain Plan™ to actually get a foothold in gaming. They’ve been buying up studios and pushing their "crawl, walk, run" strategy, which is corporate-speak for "please play our games, we're begging you." By tying games to massive IPs like Happy Gilmore, they're leveraging stuff you already love to get you hooked. It’s smart, I’ll give them that.
And they're not playing around. They hired Amber, a serious global game development agency that’s worked with giants like Disney and Warner Bros. That’s some rich-kid energy to spend on what is essentially a playable meme. It shows they’re putting real money into making these tie-ins not suck, which is a vibe shift I can get behind.
The Verdict: A Hole-in-One or Just a Glitch in the Matrix?
Honestly? It’s a hole-in-one. A weird, short, and deeply chaotic one, but a win is a win. Happy Gilmore: Golf Mayhem '98 is the perfect example of a movie tie-in game done right: it’s fun, it’s free (with your subscription, obvi), and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It's a goofy, nostalgic experiment that perfectly showcases Netflix's quiet but serious ambition to own yet another part of your screen time. I’m not mad at it. For now. 🙃