OlliOlli World Evaluate (PS5) | Push Sq.

Republished on Wednesday, 1st February, 2023: We’re bringing this assessment again from the archives following the announcement of February 2023’s PS Plus line up. The unique textual content follows.

For a sure sort of participant, OlliOlli World is simply pure enjoyable. Let’s not beat concerning the bush right here: this side-scrolling skateboarding recreation is solely fantastic, and leagues forward of the earlier titles within the sequence. Developer Roll7 has significantly stepped issues up, bettering virtually each facet of the franchise and delivering it in attractive new wrapping.

After all, the brand new visible model is essentially the most noticeable change. Trying like one thing you’d watch on Cartoon Community, the cel-shaded artwork is spot on, and it lends the franchise a lot extra character — and that is earlier than it introduces any characters. The swap to 2.5D is not only for aesthetics, by the way in which; a brand new sense of depth is afforded to levels, that means they do not simply look higher, they really feel greater and deeper too.

The bigger ranges are a variety of enjoyable to discover, as a result of one other advantage of the shift away from 2D is the correct introduction of alternate routes. You possibly can both bounce or shift to completely different paths by way of a stage, taking you down a detour with new obstacles to beat and alternatives to drag off sick tips. The OlliOlli video games have all the time had elective challenges in every stage, however in World, they’re much more numerous, and actually play into these numerous routes to encourage you to see all the pieces.

At its core, the sport performs principally the identical as older entries. You construct pace with X and use the left stick with arrange and pull off flip tips, grinds, and manuals. In case you’re good, you possibly can chain collectively one huge combo from the beginning of a stage to the top, and nailing a run feels improbable as all the time. Nonetheless, it stays a relatively difficult recreation, and it is all too simple to immediately restart if you happen to’re not proud of the way you’re doing. Chasing that elusive excellent run and slowly climbing the leaderboards per stage is as addictive right here because it’s ever been, and the gameplay feels tremendous slick.

Nonetheless, there are some adjustments and new additions to maintain OlliOlli veterans on their toes. Seize tips are actually a factor, pulled off with the precise stick, they usually’re perfect for once you catch huge air. Vert ramps seem all through levels too, taking you in or out of the display and presenting extra alternatives to rack up factors. A giant change comes within the type of the way you land. Within the older video games, you needed to faucet X simply as your wheels hit the bottom if you happen to needed a clear touchdown; if you happen to failed, you’d get a sloppy touchdown, destroying your combo multiplier. This has been nerfed in OlliOlli World. Whereas you’ll solely get the most effective scores for touchdown completely and hitting X as typical, you are now not penalised if you happen to fail to take action.

It is only one method the sport has been opened as much as enable gamers of various talent ranges to affix the enjoyable. Rating challenges in ranges are all fairly simple to realize, the sport’s numerous mechanics are launched slowly all through the marketing campaign, and quirky groupies cheer you on all through, giving the entire recreation a pleasant tone. We’d argue that, on a elementary stage, the sport continues to be fairly robust at first, as you continue to must react rapidly and exactly, so it does not precisely remedy that accessibility difficulty. Nonetheless, it is a darn sight higher than its predecessors with a much more welcoming vibe.

Talking of vibes, presentation actually does make an enormous distinction. It is not simply the chilled out soundtrack, which is nice, it is also the wacky characters you meet as you discover the varied areas of *checks notes* Radlandia. Whether or not it is ghostly timber within the forest, strolling speaking ice lotions by the seashore, or a gaggle of skate-loving aliens within the desert, the sport is filled with uncommon sights that make it a enjoyable place to be. Not all characters are significantly memorable, and the dialogue that bookends every stage is hit or miss, however it’s an enormous enchancment over previous video games within the sequence.

The net multiplayer is asynchronous and cross-platform, which implies it is tremendous accessible and simple to play with buddies. Whereas a real-time multiplayer answer would’ve been good, what’s right here continues to be good enjoyable. In Gnarvana, you possibly can generate a stage with a handful of parameters, set a rating, after which ship that stage’s code to whomever you want to problem. It really works completely nicely, and means you will have a near-endless provide of ranges to take pleasure in. Elsewhere, Leagues pit you towards 9 similarly-skilled gamers, and also you’re given 24 hours to set your greatest rating on a specific stage. In case you end among the many prime scores, you will be promoted, and chaining promotions collectively unlocks extra customisation goodies.

And, wow, the sport has a variety of customisation happening. A posh menu — maybe just a little too crowded if something — is rammed with dozens, if not a whole bunch, of clothes objects, boards, vehicles, full physique fits, animations, and extra. You can even change your physique form, measurement, and pores and skin tone to create mainly whoever you need to be your skating avatar. It is nothing we have not seen in a recreation earlier than, however once more, it is a far cry from the one nondescript skater dude discovered within the older titles.

Conclusion

OlliOlli World is a large leap forwards for Roll7’s skating sequence. Pretty new presentation, a enjoyable location full of character, and that all-important, ever-addictive gameplay align to make for a brilliant enjoyable tackle the game. Whereas it has been made extra approachable to new gamers, it nonetheless gives fairly a stern problem, and never all of the dialogue and characters nail it. Nonetheless, any nit picks simply soften away when all of it clicks. Heaven actually is likely to be a halfpipe, in spite of everything.