What on earth happened to the awesome Tony Hawk games? I remember losing hours to the original PlayStation titles as I ramped up ludicrous scores to the tune of a liberating punk rock soundtrack. The aesthetic and genuine thrills this series provided have been lacking in recent years. Many developers failing to recapture the nostalgic flair possessed by the original that entranced so many. OlliOlli not only grasps at this torch that has been held so high for what seems like decades, but completely sets itself apart from its contemporaries. A fast paced and almost rhythmic style of play are complemented by a stellar soundtrack. It may lack cohesion and responsiveness at times, but OlliOlli is pretty damn gnarly.
OlliOlli makes it clear from the start that it is only interested in fast, frantic fun. Accelerating with the press of a button and launching yourself into the air with a swift flick of the analog stick. Whilst airborne you can rotate the stick in a range of ways to pull off death defying tricks. These can easily be catalysed into some stellar combos, so long as don’t overstay your unwelcome encounter with gravity. Combining high flying combos with grinds, manuals and other such skatey things can result in some colossally awesome high scores. Clearing a stage perfectly can take several attempts, each failure highlighting more and more nuances within each level that you can exploit. The smug sense of satisfaction that accompanies perfecting each level is well worth the occasional grinding monotony.
The art of landing is easily the most important action you will perform, ensuring that your entire combo isn’t sacrificed due to your sloppy recovery. This effectively links together every facet of your performance. Individual tricks blend into each other as you skate through a level, which at times provide multiple paths for you to take. One path may harbour a hidden collectible whilst another could provide you with the tools needed to complete a specific objective. Replayability is encouraged and rewarding, giving you the opportunity to not only master each level, but come to terms with more advanced tricks and techniques. Another neat addition is the “Daily Grind” mode, which presents you with a brand new level and challenge every single day with only 24 hours to beat it. Those with a keen interest in competing with friends and climbing leaderboards will find a lot to love here, and additional levels are never a bad thing.
Each stage comes bundled with a list of optional objectives. You could be tasked with scrounging up collectibles or attaining a certain score, with each goal forcing you to utilise the repertoire of tricks you have learned thus far. I perhaps would have enjoyed a more comprehensive tutorial on individual tricks however. A stage may task you with pulling off a particular trick but the only way to know this is to dig through a sequence of unintuitive menus that are a chore to comprehend. The short and sweet opening levels are audacious in their ambition to throw you immediately into the fray. Although because of this frenetic pace some mechanics inevitably fall to wayside, remaining unused for the majority of my playthrough. The only time I felt obligated to reach into OlliOlli’s big bag of tricks was when I had to complete a specific objective, otherwise I stuck to the same tried and tested routine for each level.
This gradual build up of skill complemented with equal reward means you never feel overwhelmed, but the challenge of each stage remains prevalent. I felt proud of each perfected stage I managed to pull myself through, immediately spurred onto the next. The template and execution of OlliOlli’s design is undeniably more suited to portable systems, with more responsive controls and sharper visuals. The precise timing required for pulling off tricks felt natural on the vita, whilst its Xbox One counterpart struggled to compete with the deft inputs shown off by its portable cousin. Such a difference doesn’t detract from the overall experience, but perfectionists should consider their options before playing.
OlliOlli is an outrageously fun and satisfying arcade experience, somewhat let down by occasional monotonous repetition and mechanics that don’t always feel imperative to your success. The precision and speed required of you is easily attainable thanks to intuitive controls that are a breeze to pick up and play, but difficult to master. OlliOlli’s bite sized levels are still more suited to a system such as the vita, but makes the transition over to console admirably.