OlliOlli World is one of those games that you would normally scroll past and not think twice about purchasing, since Skateboarding isn’t one of the cool things in 2022, and also you have games like Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1+2 on the market for around the same price that contains more content, but OlliOlli World shows that going back to basics can be fun and exciting on a good budget.
Name: OlliOlli World
Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Roll7
Publisher: Private Division
Game Type: Sports, platformer
Mode(s): Single-player
Release Date: February 8, 2022
In the OlliOlli World of Radlandia… (Story)
Unlike other skating games, OlliOlli World tries to give you a tiny story to go with all the color and fluff that it contains. The story goes that you are an inhabitant of Radlandia, a nation brought together by 5 skating gods to become the ultimate skating paradise… To the point where even the trees are skateable… And then they disappeared to Gnarvana to live in peace and happiness forever, leaving the balance of Radlandia in the hands of the Skate Wizard, a master of skateboarding who can do anything and everything to perfection. It turns out that the current Skate Wizard is going to retire, and you are the latest candidate to be seen for the position. You’ll spend your time skating through the five lands of Radlandia proving your worth to the Skate Wizard in hopes to take the role.
Skate that’s great (Gameplay)
OlliOlli World is one of those games that will take time to progress. When you start things out, you’ll only have access to basic kick and flip type moves to use as you skate down each level before unlocking more moves like rail grinds, billboard grinds, and other stuff that you expect from a skateboarding game. Doing all these tricks is very easy, using one of the face buttons or the directional sticks to do the tricks while keeping the momentum going via pressing, or holding, the A button (On Xbox).
While it is very easy to do tricks and combo from one skill to another, OlliOlli World does have some of the most pin-point hitboxes I’ve seen in a sports game ever. A lot of the time I was having a very good run destroyed by either not hitting a kickflip or something at the precise moment off a ramp, or touching the tiniest portion of the top of the set of stairs, causing the run to end with the only option I could see was to restart the whole run. There is a checkpoint system in OlliOlli World, but it doesn’t come up as an option to use… Though this could be an issue with the early review code I had access to.
2D is the new Cool (Graphics)
A lot of what makes OlliOlli World appealing is the very “bubblegum” graphical style that makes up Radlandia. For some reason, I can’t help but feel one of two ways about it: The first being that it is a graphical style that really makes everything stand out and gives you this interesting world to work with, a land where anything is possible. However, on the other side, there is sometimes a little too much going on in the world itself, and the camera is moved so far out that your player character gets lost in all the colors. Another thing that got to me was that sometimes the screen would scroll too fast, leading to my eyes going cross-eyed, thus losing focus on my character to the point where I failed runs because I couldn’t refocus fast enough.
Grind it again! (Replayability)
OlliOlli World is a game where you are going to want to go back into each level and replay it over and over again, not just for the high score, but also because some of the challenges cannot be completed in a single run. I found myself getting obsessed with going through some of the levels multiple times because I needed to collect one thing, get a perfect run, or do something else that cannot be done in one run. It’s a great way to keep players coming back and going through the levels and improving their skills while feeling like they are achieving something over time.
Simple but Complex Fun (Closing)
OlliOlli World, as I said in the opening, is one of those games where you wouldn’t think twice about buying or even having a look at it from the outside, but if you do get your hands on it, you’ll find a simple but complex and addicting game that is going to keep you coming back time and time again. OlliOlli World shows that skateboarding games can still be fun in 2022, and you don’t need to attach a big name to the title or have a huge graphical style to keep people entertained with something so simple as a wooden board and four wheels.
OlliOlli World will be released on February 8, 2022, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch, and Windows.
Review Disclosure Statement: OlliOlli World was provided to us by Private Division for review purposes. For more information on how we conduct and handle reviews here, please visit our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info. Thank you
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Summary
OlliOlli World looks like the type of game that you would find as a free-to-play mobile experience, but once you get into the grind of things, you’ll be kickflipping with excitement as you tackle challenge after challenge that will keep you coming back for more each time.
Pros
- Easy to learn controls
- A bright colorful world to explore
- Challenges keep you coming back to each level over and over again
Cons
- Progression feels too slow
- The camera can cause the player to lose focus on their character
- Very tight timing and hitboxes
