Praise be to the skate gods

I had heard of OlliOlli before but have never actually played any of the games. I had known they were a trials kind of game mixed with a combo system a bit like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. So, when asked to check out OlliOlli World, I figured, why not? I liked the old skateboarding games of yesteryear. Let’s give it a shot.

OlliOlli World is a 2D level-based skateboarding game that has players creating their own unique skater who is thrown into the world of Radlandia, a place that runs almost solely on skateboarding. In fact, the land itself was created by skate gods that created lands based around both their features and their skating prowess. The player is an up-and-coming skater that could very well be on the road to Gnarvana with the skate gods.

Platforms: Xbox, PS, Switch, PC
MSRP: $29.99
Price I’d pay: $29.99

Players take on a level on a 2D plane, but at times, they can both cross up their traversal by taking branching paths or hitting a half pipe that will send them on a different direction. These all come into play due to the special challenges that are presented. Some are straightforward like getting a certain number of points or grinding several times, but others will force the player to take a different route in order to do special things that can only be found on a different route.

What really makes OlliOlli stand out is the simplicity of the controls. For the most part, every move is done via the left or right analog sticks. Players can initiate a jump with the left stick, move it towards a direction to do a flip trick, use the right stick in the air to do a grab trick, and when coming up on a grind or wall ride, use the left stick to start grinding. It’s all simple on paper, but once players get into the later levels, they will be using all these moves in order to not only get the higher scores, but to even finish a level.

Luckily, the game has checkpoints thrown into the levels so even if I missed a jump or bailed on a grab, I wasn’t sent back to the very beginning. That’s not to say this game is overly easy. There were some levels that I had to redo numerous times just to complete it. That’s not even thinking about beating the three challenges presented in the level, and honestly, I would be lying if I said I didn’t get frustrated with the game at these times. It felt like the game was presented in a trial-and-error format, but after trying the same area for ten times and still not understanding what I was doing wrong, it started to get to me a bit.

Beating the challenges and getting the highest score than the local heroes in a level would net me some new cosmetic items I could wear on my created skater. And when I say there’s a lot of items to collect, I mean it. This game boasts a robust character creator as well as the accessories to add to them.

Along with the full campaign mode, players can also join in on daily challenge pools where other players’ score are pitted to each other in a single level and gain promotions through placing higher. There is also a level editor mode where players can generate a level and share them with other players to see who can make the best levels and hit the highest scores.

The art style is of a hand drawn nature that really adds a lot of color and personality to the game. It feels like a stylized game with a nice pastel palette to go along with it. The soundtrack is also a standout with some nice chill tracks that fit right in with the overall feel of the game.

Even when I was beating my head against a wall on a certain level, I was still having a fun time with OlliOlli World. The simple controls kept me engaged, the progression was as difficult as I wanted it to be, and the style really sold the entire experience, I think fans of the Trials or Joe Danger games should really give this one a shot and fans of skating games can have a lot of fun here as well.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Great style
  • Simple concepts
  • Tons of unlockables
  • Nice challenge
Bad
  • Some trial and error issues
  • Repeating levels is a must to get some challenges
8.5
Great
Written by
Drew is the Community Manager here at ZTGD and his accent simply woos the ladies. His rage is only surpassed by the great one himself and no one should stand between him and his Twizzlers.