OlliOlli World Reviews

Courtesy of some really great hand-drawn art, it’s hard not to adopt the game’s most excellent and bodacious attitude through osmosis. But OlliOlli World’s strength, as it has always been, is in its low barrier to entry and the fact it’s just so damn fun to pick up and play.

Republished on Wednesday, 1st February, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2023's PS Plus line up. The original text follows.

If you are thinking of getting your board out you could do far worse than having a skate around this world.  While not exactly easy, if you are prepared for a bit of frustration and try, try, try again it is a worthwhile experience.  Some of the dialogue may be a bit clunky here and there, but at least you can skip most of it.  The art style is perfectly suited to the gameplay and those of you with a ‘just one more go’ mindset could find yourselves having some very late nights ahead of you if you pick this title up.

It's been quite a long time since the latest one debuted but the indie skateboarding series is finally back with the very cool OlliOlli World.

OlliOlii World is an exhilarating and mechanical skateboarding side-scroller that consistently falls on the right side of the line between frustration and fun.

Last week, I noticed my hand was sore. I didn't think much of it, mostly because I wasn't sure why it would be hurting. On Monday, while playing OlliOlli World, I found my reason. I'm not sure there's a better way to recommend World than that; it pushed my hands to their limit.

Its approachability and poppy, colourful presentation make diving into densely packed levels and chasing high scores feel like a warm hug before the white-knuckle drop in.

I wasn’t one of those people who played OlliOlli back when it first came out almost eight years ago, but I did eventually give the franchise a try, and for the most part, I enjoyed it. I just thought it suffered a bit from a lack of focus of sorts. It wanted to be a simplified take on the skateboarding genre, but it featured some confusing controls and an annoying insistence on having to press a button to properly land your skate on the floor after performing a trick. I didn’t get the hyp...

Skateboarding games are incredibly hard to get right. Typically they take one of two routes: go heavy into the arcade or heavy into the sim. Putting a game in either camp can have varying results. There are certainly instances out there where they give it a red hot go but its landing isn’t perfect. Or, there’s your absolute juggernaut, obliterating everything else in its path. OlliOlli World, the latest skating affair from Roll7 is certainly the latter, while somehow simultaneously dipp...

From the perspective of someone who always respected but couldn’t penetrate the series, OlliOlli World feels just perfect. I was engrossed for long periods of time and absolutely ate through the title. I’m ready to move on, rather than push for completion, but I think that’s part of the beauty. There’s something for everyone, whether or not you’ve got a competitive edge or just want to reach for Gnarvana.

Players can visit Gnarvana to generate “forever levels” with certain settings for skill level and environments, while continuing to push for mastery. They can also just generate “chill” levels for that uniquely relaxing experience the game can provide too. On top of that, there are asynchronous multiplayer leagues where players can compete against others to achieve the highest score possible. This definitely leans into the more intense aspects of the game, really giving players the best of both worlds.

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.

OlliOlli World manages to build on its predecessors while also feeling like a totally new game. The art style is a deep breath of fresh air, moving away from the primitive aesthetic of the past that felt like much more of an acquired taste. The controls remain simple to grasp for anybody looking to do basic ollies through over three dozen levels, but there is also an ample amount of challenge. Beyond trying to master the harder tricks, which require some analog stick wizardry, there are numerous branching paths that each offer unique obstacle-filled layouts.

Behind the chilled out vibes of OlliOlli World's new art style, happy-go-lucky characters and eccentric customisation, this game takes Roll7's flow-state side-scrolling skating to new heights. It's a tad more welcoming for newcomers, but even OlliOlli 2 veterans will have plenty of new tricks to learn and master through its increasingly wild and challenging levels.

OlliOlli World is a BLAST to play. Roll7 did an excellent job changing up their formula while still making this feel like an OlliOlli game. While it isn’t faultless with its difficulty, OlliOlli World is welcoming for just about anyone with any skill level.

In the past two OlliOlli games, an engrossing gameplay loop of combo-ing impossibly long grinds and improbably extreme tricks was teamed with jarringly drab visuals. Looks aren’t everything, but with its low-rent pixel art, an otherwise stellar series struggled to stand out. With OlliOlli World, developer Roll7 has finally settled on an art style that works — so now we have Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater crossed with Adventure Time.

OlliOlli World brings the pain and misery (from getting bailed out) that is synonymous with skateboard video games to the world of platformers. However, some people might be surprised that this game is the third entry of a longstanding series of games that started life as a PlayStation Vita game.

OlliOlli World is a wonderful skateboarding game that delivers everything I could have ever wanted. Its gorgeous pastel color art, flawless optimization, and slick controls combine to create a premier indie game.

It’s hard not to be impressed, despite the lack of multiplayer features, with OlliOlli World's wonderful take on skateboarding and its creative storytelling.

A perfect evolution of the previous two OlliOlli games, OlliOlli World goes big with a uniquely appealing art style, fun character customisation, and a slew of options, without compromising what makes the series so addictive and inviting. It's good to be rad.

Almost perfect if not for the nitty-gritty. If it’s quite there but not enough to push the boundaries, it’s still an awesome game.

OlliOlli World plays just as great as its extreme sports predecessors, but its pandering presentation makes the whole package feel like a letdown.

Now I’m not sure if it’s because the transition to a 3D art style makes it easier to take in the environment to better judge jumps, or if the game’s difficulty was purposely toned down, but OlliOlli World is definitely easier to play through than its predecessors. There wasn’t really a level that I couldn’t beat in a single go; I definitely beefed it on some levels but it was always due to me just getting lazy and playing badly. I never hit a level in the campaign that actually felt properly difficult like some in OlliOlli 2 did, and I was always making sure to go down the harder routes. This isn’t a bad thing per say, as you can generate some pretty tough levels in Gnarvana, but I do wish some of the developer made levels had some of that same difficulty instead of having to rely on a level generator to churn something out. Additionally, it’s a bit of an annoyance how you have to enter a level to view its goals/rewards. From the map screen you can hover over it and see whether or not you’ve completed them, but there’s no way to actually view what they are without loading into the level and mashing through the intro conversation. Building on my issue with the boring conversations slowing you down from getting into the fun part of the game, this is another speed bump that keeps you from immediately jumping into the fun part of the game. If I want to focus on the levels that give new boards as a reward, I want to be able to quickly scan the map and see them, not go through a multistep process for what should be readily available information. At the end of the day it’s a nitpick, but a nitpick that repeatedly comes up nonetheless.

“OlliOlli World delivers beautiful, fast-paced, and captivating skateboarding fun.”

If you enjoyed Roll7’s previous OlliOlli games, it’s safe to say that you’ll love their evolution into OlliOlli World. Even if you weren’t a fan, there’s more than enough here to entice new players. The controls are accessible and easy to get to grips with, though there’s still plenty of depth for advanced players. Combine that with beautiful visuals, a kicking soundtrack and wonderfully animated characters, and what more could you possibly want? It’s never felt better to land a truly epic trick.

Ultimately, if you are a skating or platforming fan, or you just like a stiff challenge, OlliOlli World is a must-play. It’s a good game that knows what its inspirations are and doesn’t try to be more than what it is. I can see myself coming back to it for a long time and I’m excited that we are getting such a solid start to the year.

A radical refresh for the side-scrolling skater.

Roll7 has put out an impressive game, and if you're up to the challenge, you'll have a great way to spend your downtime.

OlliOlli World's platforming skateventures are skin-blisteringly good. This game may become responsible for hundreds of game pads laid low by kickflip-induced stick drift.

All in all, I loved the time I spent playing OlliOlli World. The addition of a 2.5D landscape really opens up the gameplay, which in turn creates so many new ways to play the game. And even though it does faulty just a little when it comes to its story, the crazy environments and customization elements that come along with it make everything worthwhile.

Whether OlliOlli World charms you or chafes at your patience will depend on your appetite for such whimsy.