OlliOlli World

It can reach ferocious speeds, demanding dozens of inputs within a few moments of play

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Skateboarding, when it comes down to it, is about the moment of landing. A trick isn’t complete until you stick the board back to the ground with the undersides of your feet. Having a deck gyrate beneath you takes some doing, but all of the skill, precision and daring of the sport ultimately converges on the moment you reconnect with the floor.

That is something Roll7 has always understood. In asking players to press a button to land, rather than to take off, OlliOlli and its sequel defied the conventions of videogame skating. Through that simple design choice, the studio was able do something remarkable: within the constraints of the endless runner, it communicated more of the feel, physicality and flow of skateboarding than 3D works such as the Tony Hawk series ever managed.

As such, the fact that OlliOlli World deemphasises landings initially seems like a move in the wrong direction. Like its predecessors, Roll7’s latest is a side-scroller with a focus on chaining complex tricks together while maintaining momentum, largely in the pursuit of pushing your score upward. That means throwing out as many tricks as possible, linked with grinds and manuals – and, just as with the real thing, a large amount of failure and repetition. It can reach ferocious speeds, demanding dozens of inputs within a few moments of play.

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