And it’s all set to a funky, laidback electronic soundtrack that helps make the skating feel even cooler. The terrain can be dense with paths to take and planes to skate on, even looping back around to where you started via “gnarly routes”. Levels are no longer just left to right affairs but sweep back and forth, utilising quarter pipes and complex switchbacks. Courses are full of absolutely thrilling sequences, whether that's flying along an undulating networks of rails, holding long, lazy wallrides where the camera pulls way back to show the impossible scale of the trick, or launching at speed out of a grind to fly low over an arching factory rooftop and seamlessly into another grind. The OlliOlli games have always felt fast and responsive, but World cranks this right up, running at a silky 60fps on PC, with super smooth character animations and a number of dynamic elements. It's once you start skating, however, that the new presentation really starts to pop. Adding the equivalent of CTRL-Z to a character editor is so sensible it's almost painful, and makes testing out new looks a breeze. No searching for the item to re-equip it again if you realise you made a mistake. Oh, and how's this for an instant win for the character customisation system: You can try on any article of clothing and then revert back to what you were wearing before with the press of a button. (That's the character on the right in the screenshot below.) I see your moustache is as needlessly elaborate as mine. and even inserts that player's avatar into the pre-level dialogue to put a face to the name. The potential for unique creations is on display in a bunch of other ways as well, from seeing your friends on the loading screens to the rival system, which challenges you to beat other players' on each level. The breadth of options here is truly impressive, letting you adjust everything from your physique and clothes to (almost) every component of your skateboard and even some of your animations. The approach certainly works for me, and the insane level of character customisation available helped me realise my own oddball character to add to the world. That board would be ideal for shove(l) its. It’s also similar in its effervescent and eccentric personality but thankfully doesn’t feel derivative, striking out on its own with a world populated by endearingly offbeat characters and a story that doesn't take itself seriously, yet is enjoyably earnest at the same time. Whether we're talking about your character's skate wizard guide Chiffon, the ice cream-headed denizens of Sunshine Valley, the smiling trees of Cloverbrook, or the many “Skate Godz” that you're tricking across Radlandia to meet, there are too many homages to miss the inspiration. OlliOlli World's colourful, cartoony look and character-centric approach is the first thing that had me saying "ooo" – not just because it’s very pretty in its own right, but because it’s also very reminiscent of one of my favourite cartoon locations, Adventure Time's Kingdom of Ooo. And on top of all that, it goes out of its way to be more welcoming to players of all stripes, putting forth a host of changes that ensure just about anyone can have a good time without losing the fiercely high skill ceiling the series is known for. At the same time, it builds significantly on Olliwood's technical gameplay by layering grabs, wall rides, and more atop the flip tricks, grinds, and manuals that were its foundation. Seven years later, OlliOlli World has all those things going for it, too, but it also takes a huge step forward for the series by shifting into 3D, giving its skating a better sense of scale, speed, and dynamism without sacrificing the 2D perspective. Its stylised art, intense level design, and challenging trick system all helped it stand out. The last OlliOlli game, 2015’s OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood, was a breath of fresh air for the skating genre.
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