Reviewed by Joe Rino
The 90’s called, and they want the OlliOlli series developed by Roll7 and published by Private Division to be added to the legendary mix of Skate Games that came out back then. Skateboarding has not been a shy gaming genre in the past. The OlliOlli Series has been putting some unique twists to the genre, blending arcade gameplay, with endless runner type mechanics.
For fans of the skate genre, is there a small learning curve to adjust to, yes? Is it difficult to master? Totally. Is it endless fun? Find out in this review as the OlliOlli series gets a big makeover and content overhaul in OlliOlli World, it’s most ambitious release yet.
OlliOlli Details
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC
Reviewed on: PS5
Developer: Roll7
Publisher: Private Division
Genre(s): Action Platformer
Mode(s): Single-player, Asynchronous Multiplayer
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)
Flipping Through Radlandia
OlliOlli World self proclaims itself as a bold skating action platformer. This is true in many ways as players will find themselves flipping and flowing through the vibrant skating world of Radlandia. At the beginning of the game, players are introduced to the story. Chiffon, the magical Skate Wizard is retiring and looking for a replacement to achieve Gnarvana by uniting themselves in Radness with Skate Gods across Rasdlandia to take their place as the new Wizard of Skate.
Through traversing the levels and worlds within the map of Radlandia, players will discover hidden pathways, new customization items, and characters leading them on their righteous path. Those familiar with OlliOlli world won’t be uncomfortable with the gameplay mechanics immediately presented to players in the game. In case you are new to the series though, the first levels play out as a tutorial to all of the controls. The best part though, is that the tutorial is completely optional to go through and dialogue is all able to be skipped by saying “awesome, I’m gonna skate.”
This is great as OlliOlli World can be that perfect game to blitz through on a break, or a storyline you can really sink your teeth into. The dialogue is worth sitting through, as the characters that help you on your path with Chiffon are all unique and fun to listen to. While the dialogue isn’t fully voiced, it’s mumbled much like LEGO games from the past or Animal Crossing.
This is very charming to listen to and read along with. After a brief conversation between levels, players take the pavement in many diverse levels. Every time I found myself thinking of taking a break, I’d be presented with a new twist on level design like half pipes that change direction, wall rides that gain speed or a new customization option that changes the animation of my skater at the start of a line. This kept the game feeling fresh every run.
The rag doll animations also helped my bails feel less crushing, as falling down is always fun to watch in Skateboarding games. Regardless of a fantastic tutorial, the controls do take some getting used to and while they feel accurate, it’s definitely a learning curve. The left stick is pushed down and released for Ollie’s and depending on your curve after releasing it from down, depends on your flip tricks. Grabs are performed with the right stick, and various other controls are done with buttons, including spinning with the triggers, transferring to alternative paths, and more.
This is a lot to remember, and a ton to get used to. Thankfully, most of it isn’t ever required to pass through each level in the game. If you want to chill vibe to the fantastic soundtrack and just free skate through a level, you can. Afterwards you can go back to try to beat the high scores of other players.
Gnarly Graphics
Presentation is so important to talk about here. The animation here is a hyper improvement to the first two titles in the series. The textures are fun, and the frame rate is stable when traversing through the worlds. A game with this much precision, has to be smooth and thankfully I can say after playing the PS5 version, that it certainly lives up to the smooth vibes it promises.
The animations of the characters are fun, and very unique. The overall feel is that of a skate utopian dream. The amount of customization available to the player is almost overwhelming, there truly is a skater for everybody.
I myself chose to rock Swish clothes as it spoke to me and reminded me of a cross between Element and Birdhouse from the THPS gaming days. The other note here is that while there are echoes of skating games of the past, OlliOlli World unapologetically has its own identity.
Skating With The Bros
Multiplayer in this game is Asynchronous meaning you aren’t playing concurrently, but via share states. This means there’s always a high score to beat. After every line, I would be greeted by stats from other players (this was all through early access, so there weren't that many scores yet, but it did give me a taste of what to expect). Seeing these gave me a drive to go back immediately.
There are also various objectives to hit, like never using a checkpoint, popping balloons, taking a different path to find an item, side quests, etc. Replayability with arcade games like this is essential, and I can tell you now, while the main game could be breezed through in just over 10 hours or 15 if you take your time, you can essentially play this for infinite hours. Mastering the game is difficult, and worth it for the rewards, cosmetics, and multiplayer pride that comes with seeing your name on the leaderboard. I’m not really sure what the minimum time to beat the title is, as even in my first run I kept redoing levels.
The only issue with gameplay I ran into were rare sputters and complete freezes. This will likely be fixed with a patch, but it’s important to mention here. I was halfway through a line, and the game just froze. After resetting, I merely had to replay the level. This wasn’t a big deal to me, but I could imagine if I was achieving my best score yet, and this happened, it would have been less than rad…
Final Verdict
OlliOlli World takes what made the first two games in the series great, and instead makes them absolutely gnarly. The precise controls, graphical makeover, and fun storyline really help send it into a place of total Gnarvana. The multiplayer score-beating aspect keeps players on their toes for goals and the optional tutorial for new players welcomes all to Radlandia with open arms.
If you are looking for a game to play with the option for chill vibes or a radical challenge, this game suits you in both scenarios. While February is packed for game releases, I think everyone should find some time to take a break in Radlandia and flip, grind, and kick back and enjoy the ice cream decorated pavement.
Pros:
- Dialogue is radtastic
- Gameplay and controls are tight
Cons:
- Steep learning curve at times
- Deeper multiplayer could be desired
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