OlliOlli – Nindie Spotlight – Delicious Pixelated Skating
Earlier this year, we received OlliOlli World on the Nintendo Switch, and our own Chris did an excellent review of that title. However, before there was OlliOlli World, there was the original, and it was a massive indie success when it initially released, and journalists and reviewers were surprised by its fluid gameplay and surprisingly intricate controls. Released back in 2014, the original OlliOlli launched on many platforms, but thankfully we got the Switch Stance version of the game on the Nintendo Switch in 2019.
With that said, my name is Jason, and this is your Nindie Spotlight for today: OlliOlli!
OlliOlli: Switch Stance
OlliOlli mixes addictive one-life gameplay with over 120 tricks and grinds to pull across 50 deviously crafted Levels, 250 Challenges, Spots Mode and Daily Grind. You can rack up the biggest and coolest combos along the way then time your landing to perfection to rule the online Leaderboards.
Just don’t slam on your face*. Compete across the world in all modes to get the highest scores on every Level and Spot. Daily Grind gives you 24 hours to challenge the world at a randomly selected Spot. You can practice as many times as you like, but you only get one chance to set your score.
*You will slam on your face.
Delicious Pixelation
If there is one thing that stands out tremendously in OlliOlli, it is the absolutely stunning and gorgeous pixel graphics. Many indie games over the years have taken the pixelated route, but very few have executed quite to the level that Roll7 accomplished with OlliOlli.
The skater looks great, but it is the foreground and background that I want to focus on. The foreground is the perfect amount of minimalism to help the player to know exactly where they can go and execute their tricks. Items, stairs, rails, and such all pop very wonderfully as to eliminate any confusion. But the background? Holy cow. The amount of detail in each area is incredible, and the first time I played OlliOlli, it reminded me so much of Canabalt on mobile in all the right and perfect ways. It is truly an incredibly designed world that uses minimalism to the extreme (I know that sounds ridiculous, but it is true!).
Finally, the flashes of symbols, colors, and attempted tricks on screen completes the aesthetic. Instead of having a busy user interface, the game goes a much more simple route that honestly makes it quite easy to follow how you are doing while performing tricks. For this type of game, this is the right amount of numbers and symbols to have on screen, because this is a canvas to explore your talents and you don’t want anything getting in your way, even your score.
A Challenge That is a Joy
One thing that I often heard from players of OlliOlli is that this is a challenging game that somehow slowly coaches you to betterment, and I cannot agree more. This is a title that will frustrate you at first, because this is kind of an infinite runner of sorts where timing is key. Learning about the timing and how to execute tricks takes some practice, and the early stages do a great job of easing you into the experience.
However, as you progress, OlliOlli evolves with you to continue challenging you in the right ways and push you to try harder and do greater things. If I had a game like OlliOlli when I was kid, I would absolutely have skateboarded more often and attempted many of the wild tricks in the game that I was not even aware of. As someone who was horrible at grinding, I found it incredibly pleasurable to finally pull off a trick that I could never do in real life, and a reality about OlliOlli is that much of your growth in learning the digital skating is the same kind of dedication and discipline it takes to be a real-life skater.
In some ways similar to something like a Tony Hawk game, OlliOlli takes you on a journey to many areas that are all a pleasure to skate on. It is one thing to test your skills only at a skate park, but it is an entirely different feeling when you can just skate along any area that opens itself up for you to try and execute gnarly tricks… and possibly crash on your face over and over again. This is truly a joy to learn and play.
OlliOlli is a magical pixelated skateboarding experience that is unlike anything else on the market (Well, outside of its sequel). The Nintendo Switch version is absolutely the best version of this, as OlliOlli: Switch Stance also has the hallowed ‘Tricktionary’ which expands with new specials including 540 Shove-its, Anti-Casper Flips and Darkslides. All of this with another 5 unique worlds, 50 Levels, and 250 Challenges to tear through. This is just the ultimate version of the game!
It is absolutely worth the full asking price, but just so you know, OlliOlli goes on sale frequently. Make sure to add it to your Wishlist and grab this one immediately when the price drops. You will not regret it, and you will be shredding before you know it.
There is your Nindie Spotlight on OlliOlli. Check back again next time for a look into another great Nindie title. What are some of your favorite indie games? Let us know in the comments below! Thank you for visiting Nintendo Link. Happy gaming, everyone.
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