The completion of these challenges helps to familiarize the player with the multitude of different commands available to whip your skater into all sorts of mid-air hysterics. As straightforward as that challenge sounds, in actuality it forces you to approach the game with a totally different frame of mind. These sorts of challenges come in the form of collecting hard to reach tokens or simply not grinding throughout a level. Each one complimented by 5 challenges, ranging from simple score-breaking, to challenges that will entirely shift your play style. These levels come in digestible, bite sized chunks. If you are unfamiliar with the original games, both centered around navigating your plank-pushing avatar down increasingly difficult, 2D skateboard-slaloms of death. No crash feels unfair, and regardless of the time put into the session, every time you go out and skate with OlliOlli you are adding to your overall ability to put together the kind of runs that this game is just begging you to perfect. There are very few titles in the Switch's current lineup that can exist as both a quick diversion at the bus stop, or a perennial couch favorite as well as OlliOlli: Switch Stance. The unique and fascinating control scheme makes a perfect centerpiece with which to focus the rest of this beautiful game around. In fact, I believe the sheer amount of content, and wealth of playability packed into this port makes it a contender for being an essential Switch must-have. Joy cons, mobile gameplay, and everything else that sold us on the Switch. If it wasn't made apparent from the name, this is a Nintendo Switch port, which means all the fun that comes with. Thankfully I held off, as we now have a best in class, fully tweaked bundle of these games on a console that feels custom made for this particular title. Upon 'Olliwoods initial release, my desire to play on the go was so strong I nearly purchased a Playstation Vita. All with an expanded set of tricks and levels, allowing us to take the OlliOlli experience one step further. No, this is OlliOlli: Switch Stance! Yes, in a master stroke of marketing, developer Roll 7 has delivered us a port of both the original OlliOlli as well as their followup title OlliOlli: Welcome to Olliwood. Olliolli THIS however, is not OlliOlli, nor it's massively well received sequel. This is exactly the idea that drew so many to the sport and subsequent games emulating it in the first place. Through gameplay, soundtrack, and design this game gives you all the tools Tony Hawk Pro Skater did in the 90's to make you feel like you are really skating a style that is your own. This is what OlliOlli shoots for, and this is what OlliOlli nails. You are somehow magically perched in an equally balanced push-pull of hyper-focus, and blissed out head nodding. When OlliOlli is doing these things together in harmony, the game seems to transcend itself and elevates you into a pure, flow-state of chill. But this involves a score multiplayer which is wiped out if you ever hit the ground, and even then you have to quickly hit the ‘X’ button as you land to bank your accumulated score.While infectious, lo-fi hip hop thumps, you are blazing downhill and all your tricks are coming together and clicking. Your primary goal is simply to get a high score by doing as many and as complex a number of tricks as possible, most activated in the manner of a Street Fighter style special move. No matter what else you’re doing the one constant in OlliOlli is to never, ever touch the ground. But although OlliOlli does feature lots of authentic tricks it really is best to think of it is as a 2D platformer more than anything else. Since the death of Activision’s Tony Hawk series and EA’s abandonment of its much-admired Skate titles there’s been no mainstream skateboarding franchise to take their place. In other words, it’s a game first and foremost, which is just as it should be. Well, maybe OlliOlli isn’t quite that abstract but it’s certainly not a simulator and worries far more about getting the feel of skating right rather than the fine details. OlliOlli is a game about skateboarding just like Trials is about motocross. And give how hard, and how enjoyable, the game is that is going to keep you busy for a very long time. It works just as well on the Switch though, and while this compilation doesn’t really contain any new features it does have both the original game and its sequel in their entireties – which means 50 levels, with over 120 tricks to master. Although it was quickly ported over to other formats it’s clear OlliOlli was always designed to be a portable game first and foremost, and it certainly felt most at home on Sony’s portable.
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