OlliOlli was a great success on the PS Vita (and later porter to a variety of other devices), so it comes as no surprise the sequel came out so fast. But does this second game in the series live up to its legacy? Does it bring anything new to the table? Is it going to kill your hands again? Do you need to love skating to enjoy this? We’ll find out all those things and more in this OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood checkup!
Welcome to skating
OlliOlli was the first game since a long time to capture the spirit of skating. OlliOlli is not all about insane tricks and stunts, which never would be possible in real life. Just like in that real life we’re talking about, OlliOlli brings the difficulty. Skating isn’t easy, neither is OlliOlli 2. It’s also no Bloodborne, so don’t get scared away by the difficulty. The difficulty is largely fair and the great thing is that after you die, you can get back in the action within seconds. No loading times, just an odd button combination you have to press. This is a big gripe, it clearly should have been one button press and it’s two. You’ll be pressing those buttons a lot. OlliOlli 2 in general is a game which isn’t all that great about preserving your buttons and sticks of your PlayStation Vita, but it’s a price I’ll gladly pay.
Suprisingly deep story of OlliOlli 2
There is no story in OlliOlli2. There is a theme though, which is all about movie sets. We go to the West, we go to theme parks, we go the future and so forth. These settings bring a nice variety of scenery, but is largely just a visual skin which largely doesn’t affect any of the gameplay. Of course there are some exceptions, like the broken rollercoasters which form an integral part of the experience. The various settings don’t overstay their welcome, right when you’re getting sick of a particular style things get changed up drastically. The Hollywood movie theme is a great choice, since this allows them vary the backgrounds often. It is unfortunate that besides the different environments, not much else has changed. Olli Olli 2 feels more like a level pack, than a full fledged sequel, which is a shame.
OlliOlli 2 gameplay
The basic gameplay is very simple, you skate from left to right. Grinding and tricks are part of the experience, but don’t expect to be doing 720’s within the first hour of playing. It’s a more realistic approach and a lot of the more advance tricks you won’t need throughout the game, only if you want to attack high scores these come in to play. OlliOlli 2 controlls very well. The gameplay is super tight, whenever you die in OlliOlli 2, it’s because of you. No excuses will be tolerated, the game is very fair. What is a bit of a head turner is the difficulty spikes. There were a lot of times where I was breezing through levels and all of a sudden came to an abrupt stop and had to stay with a particular level for over 10 turns to complete it. It would be nice if Roll7 can make the difficulty of the levels more steadily inclining in the next game.
OlliOlli2 checkup
Welcome to the same
OlliOlli 2 Welcome to Olliwood is more of the same. It brings not much new to the table, it's basically a level pack for OlliOlli. That does not mean it's not a good game, because it really is a good game. If you have played OlliOlli and liked it, there is plenty to like in OlliOlli 2 as well. It's just is a lot more of the same. It would have been nice if Roll7 at least put in one innovation or major improvement, but as is, it's still better than a lot of other games on the PlayStation Store.
