Table of Contents

Intro

In the past years, I’ve seen the OlliOlli games multiple times and every time I felt they wouldn’t satisfy my Tony Hawk-like skateboarding urges. However, I really wanted some kind of skateboarding game on my Nintendo Switch so I got this game on sale.

Gameplay

Nothing like Tony Hawk

First, let’s get this out of the way: OlliOlli is nothing like Tony Hawk. OlliOlli is a fast-paced pixelated/cartoony side-scrolling game where Tony Hawk is, well, Tony Hawk. That’s a lot of Tony Hawk in two sentences. Tony Hawk.

Unreal trick combos

There are some similarities, though. In both skateboarding games, you try to chain the most difficult tricks together to get your high score as high as possible. Also, both games are far from realistic if it comes to trick combos. But that’s what makes these games so fun. You 360 hardflip on a rail, boardslide, 360 flip to a roof or something, maybe add a 180 or 360 spin, bluntslide kickflip crooked and do a 540 inward heelflip out. Not gonna happen in real life.

Bailing

Expect to bail a lot. OlliOlli is all about timing and more than not, your timing is off causing you to smack your face into the ground. And if you think this will happen less when you get better at the controls, think again. The better you get, the more difficult combos you’ll try, causing you to bail even more. Luckily, there are no loading screens so with a simple button press you’ll spawn at the beginning of the stage.

Two games in one

OlliOlli: Switch Stance contains two games: OlliOlli and OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood. Both games have the same gameplay, where OlliOlli 2 added the manual as a trick to combine other tricks.

Levels

Both games contain five levels with each level consisting of five amateur stages and five pro stages. A pro stage unlocks after you fully clear an amateur stage and are fully optional to progress in the game.

Each stage gives you goals. Achieving one goal is enough to unlock the second amateur stage. These goals mostly consist of reaching a certain high score, collect some things along the stage or perform a certain trick or combo.

Controls

The controls are really easy making the game easy to learn but hard to master. You gain speed by pressing A, do any trick by holding the left stick in a certain position and release it and press B at the moment you hit the ground to successfully land your trick/combo. That last part is the hardest and most punishing. If you forget to press B or press it too late, you land awkward and lose most of your trick/combo score.

Grinds are also done with the left stick, just hold it in any direction when approaching a grindable spot in mid-air. Release the stick to ollie/trick out of the grind. You can rotate in the air by holding the L or R triggers. Grabs or not present in both games. The manual is only available in OlliOlli 2 and can be done by holding left or right when pressing the land button (B).

Missing the B button causes you most of the time to press the X button. This button instantly spawns you back at the start of the stage.

Gameplay rating: 8

Graphics

OlliOlli 1 has a charming NES-like pixelated graphics style. OlliOlli 2 notches up the graphics to look more SNES-like. The character doesn’t have a lot of details but that’s okay because this game is about skateboarding. The combination of character + skateboard does the job really well. The movements are fluent and the tricks are all very recognizable and distinguished.

OlliOlli 2 looks better than OlliOlli 1 in my opinion. The Hollywood theme is very well designed and really suits the cartoony graphics style.

Graphics rating: 7

Audio

The “klak!” of your board popping off the ground, the “swiiiishhh” of your trucks sliding over a rail, all recognizable sounds for a skateboarder and really well integrated into OlliOlli.

The goal of the background music is not to distract you from skateboarding. It has a relaxing electronic vibe which can get a bit monotonous but it sure does the trick (pun intended).

Audio rating: 6

Memorable

OlliOlli has its own unique style and has that one-more-go vibe. It’s easy to pick up and especially OlliOlli 2 takes it to another level if it comes to craziness. I’ll definitely keep this game on my Nintendo Switch for a quick play so now and then.

Memorable rating: 8

Conclusion

If you’re into skateboarding this game is great for a quick play while on the train. Or at home on your couch. The Nintendo Switch is the perfect platform for this game. In handheld mode, that is. I wouldn’t recommend it to play on the TV. Just don’t expect it to be Tony Hawk.

Played on the Nintendo Switch in handheld mode.