''OlliOlli'' is a side-scrolling

skateboarding Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

developed and published by

Roll7 Rollingmedia Limited (trade name: Roll7) is a British video game developer based in London. Founded in 2008 by Simon Bennett, Tom Hegarty, and John Ribbins, the company initially developed educational games on a contract basis before shifting t ...

. It was released for

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international terri ...

on 21 January 2014 in North America, and on 22 January 2014 in Europe. The game received a port for

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OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...

and

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, whi ...

, developed by General Arcade and published by Devolver Digital, a port for

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and

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 i ...

, developed by

BlitWorks BlitWorks is a Spanish video game developer based in Barcelona, Spain. Founded in 2012, the company is best known for porting several games such as ''Fez'', ''Sonic CD'', ''Jet Set Radio'', '' Super Meat Boy'', ''Bastion'', ''Spelunky'' and ...

and again published by

, a port for

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, and

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, developed by

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon ma ...

and published by

Curve Digital Curve Games Limited (formerly Curve Digital Limited and Curve Studios Limited) is a British video game publisher based in London, founded in 2005 by Jason Perkins. History In 2013, Curve Digital announced that they would begin publishing game ...

, and a port for Android, developed by

and published by Devolver Digital. A collection of both games released for Nintendo Switch on 14 February 2019, titled ''OlliOlli: Switch Stance''. A sequel, '' OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood'', was announced for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 on 25 September 2014, and was released on 3 March 2015 in North America, and on 4 March 2015 in Europe. On 9 April 2016, it was announced that Roll7 cooperated with Spanish publisher and distributor Badland Games to bring ''OlliOlli'' and ''OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood'' to retail stores, delivered as ''OlliOlli: Epic Combo Edition'' for PlayStation 4.

Gameplay

''OlliOlli'' features two-dimensional levels and a very basic control scheme, using only the "X" button, shoulder buttons, and left analog stick. The player combines tricks performed with attempting to land perfectly, and failing to do so results in the game awarding only a fraction of the points that would have been earned with a perfect landing. Each level has 5 achievements to perform, and once complete unlocks a harder level. Falling at any point in a level forces the player to reattempt the level.

Development

''OlliOlli'' was developed by Roll7 and was originally intended to be released for iOS devices. In an interview with

Gamasutra ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...

, Roll7 founder John Ribbins cites a conversation with James Marsden, creator of ''

Velocity Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity i ...

'' as the reason he took the game to

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

. After pitching the game to Shahid Ahmad, Senior Business Development Manager for

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...

(SCEE), Ribbins decided to drop iOS and develop ''OlliOlli'' exclusively for the PlayStation Vita. The use of physical controls over touch-screen controls allowed Roll7 to add additional mechanics to the gameplay, including the perfect landing system and the unlockable "RAD" mode. The game was delayed from its planned December 2013 release into 2014 due to an issue with the "Daily Grind" system.

Reception

''OlliOlli'' received "generally favorable" reviews, according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. Writing for ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ...

'', Ian Bonds gave the game a 9.5/10, and praised "the sweetspot of "simple to control" and "just difficult enough" to keep you playing without tearing your hair out". On ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...

'', reviewer Simon Parkin rated the game a 9/10, and wrote "Elegant, understated and yet with the capacity for wild showboating, OlliOlli is a Twitch classic" '' The Escapist'' reviewer Jim Sterling was more critical of the game, giving it a 3/5 and noting their frustration at times, writing "While playing this sidescrolling skateboard game, I was tempted to crack the Vita over my knee on multiple occasions". ''OlliOlli'' won ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

''s inaugural Game of the Month award in January 2014. It was also nominated for GameSpot's 2015 PlayStation Vita Game of the Year. At the 2014 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards ''OlliOlli'' won ''Game, Original Sports'' and was nominated for ''Control Design, 2D or Limited 3D''.

References

External links

* {{OlliOlli series 2014 video games BAFTA winners (video games) BlitWorks games Curve Games games Devolver Digital games Indie games Linux games MacOS games Nintendo 3DS eShop games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Vita games Retro-style video games Roll7 games Single-player video games Skateboarding video games Take-Two Interactive franchises Video games developed in the United Kingdom Wii U eShop games Windows games Xbox Live Arcade games Xbox One games