4/5 ★ – GG's review of OlliOlli World.

A good sequel iterates on its predecessor while introducing something new to the formula. OlliOlli 2 did this by taking the first game and building on its pixelated foundations with bigger and better levels. Still, OlliOlli World takes it even further by expanding its scope in new and exciting ways. As a result, the developers at Roll7 have landed on something truly special. Right off the bat, the most significant change is its visual style. The first two games were simplistic in their pixelated presentation. OlliOlli World instead opts for 3D graphics and a vivid color palette that brings the lush backgrounds to life. The art style gives off shades of Adventure Time mixed with Jet Set Radio, and I think it works well. It’s a stunning game to look at, while the switch to 3D brings the added benefit of a more dynamic camera for all of those sick jumps and grinds you’ll be doing. The customization in this game is equally as rich and expressive as the art direction. There are a metric ton of cosmetics to unlock throughout the campaign, thanks to the various challenges accompanying each level. It may not seem like much of an incentive, but I found myself switching my skater’s outfit every few levels just because of how much this game gives you. It’s a solid enough reward that got me to clear a fair number of the game’s challenges, but I’ll elaborate on those later. OlliOlli 1&2 were games that I enjoyed for their pick-up-and-play design ethos and hypnotic “just one more run” gameplay loop. Although they’re skateboarding games, they operate closer to something like Bit.Trip Runner where the player is constantly moving and maintaining your momentum is critical to progression. OlliOlli World is an all-around refinement of those mechanics and a more inviting experience. You can still flip, grab, grind, and manual like before, but it feels smoother. You can also wall-ride now, giving you yet another tool to chain together ridiculous combos that stretch across the entire length of a level. You’re also no longer skating exclusively from left to right either. There are quarter-pipes in some levels that allow for a smooth transition to the foreground or background, which adds a lot of depth that I felt was missing from the previous games. The most crucial change for me, however, is how landing works. Previously, landing properly required a timed button press, and failing to do so could end your run with a bail. In OlliOlli World, you lose a little speed and your combo breaks. It’s a small change that goes a long way towards making runs less frustrating. Couple that with some good checkpoint placement, and suddenly things feel a lot more relaxed this time around. If you stick to the main path and allow yourself to make mistakes, you’ll do just fine. Of course, the game isn’t a total cakewalk. There are all sorts of optional challenges to partake in, like popping inflatable cat balloons or high-fiving someone mid-course. You can beat the game by just finishing the levels. However, I highly recommend doing some optional challenges as they incentivize exploring more thoroughly. New to OlliOlli World are branching paths that let you access different parts of a level. Often, a more challenging route comes with more opportunities to rack up a higher score. This makes replaying levels so much more fun and adds a dash of variety that I greatly appreciate in a game that emphasizes optimizing your runs. Some of the optional routes, dubbed “Gnarly Routes,” live up to their name and offer some of the most nail-biting segments of the whole game. Finishing one of these routes without making a single mistake is so cathartic. The only thing that didn’t stick out for me was the story. Don’t get me wrong, it serves its purpose well, and it’s properly silly, which I appreciate. Still, a lot of the pre-course dialogue wears out its welcome. I eventually found myself wanting to skip it all entirely (which I ended up not doing for the sake of giving this a proper review). Your goal is to become the next skate wizard of Radlandia and meet the mystical skate gods to reach Gnarvana. Obviously, it knows exactly what kind of story it is, and it’s all pretty inconsequential. Plus, they give you an option to skip all of the preambles with the press of a button so you can jump right in when revisiting levels. Despite my minor nitpicks, I can’t help but love everything else about OlliOlli World. The music perfectly suits the vibe the game’s going for, and the difficulty lands right in that “easy to learn, difficult to master” sweet spot. It’s one that I could see myself often revisiting, especially with the daily challenges and level generator. It’s not every day that we get an interesting skateboarding IP that doesn’t have Tony Hawk’s name on it, but OlliOlli World grinds out a lane of its own. — Reviewed by @jarsh [A review code was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.]