Really good. Sad I played OO: World first because this is also an awesome game. It did take me a LOT of getting used to because the game is super shit at explaining mechanics at times (the worst one being that the game has each trick last a different amount of time, and you often need to police yourself on tricks or mis-inputs before you fall over.)

Outside of that, great, if a little short, with good replayability. This is a great game if you want to really feel yourself getting better with every run.

"completed" here meaning beating all of the amateur levels and unlocking a decent portion of the pro levels, since there's no way I can continue to want to play this given how difficult it's getting. it's a neat idea to combine a precision platformer with skateboarding mechanics, but players interested more in the former than the latter will quickly run out of reasons to continue playing. after simply finishing all the amateur levels all objectives are score-based, and learning to maximize scoring via mid-air spins, revert-manuals, etc. requires an extra level of muscle memory with truly diminishing returns for actually enjoying the game. I don't have any issue with how its all implemented, but at a certain point I have to question if I wanna dedicate hours to practicing this or just moving on to other titles. another reason: this game is extremely precise, to the point that even a couple frames of lag will likely be noticable. my gf noticed this on the main tv I play on (with game mode on!) after playing it on vita for a while, and when I compared it to vita it was night and day. it would really suit these games to have lag config built in.

as for the level designs, there's again sort of a push-pull between the precision platformer and the score-based skateboarding design philosophies at play here. it's difficult to create true playground-esque environments outside of a 3D environment, and the closest that roll7 can approximate is branching paths or joint rail/floor sections. these sections are nice, but they're alternated with linear areas that require precise jumps or mandatory perfect grinds to maintain speed, and these can become grating. level-long combos in this game can often be quite long, and when it comes down to missing the small window on a boost ramp towards the end and having to restart from the beginning repeatedly certain levels can feel like a drag to clear. my strategy generally involved doing the simplest tricks and manuals possible to try to focus on the platforming, but once the levels are finished this avenue really falls flat. this is my ultimate takeaway from the game: the avenue for mid-level players is so short as to feel pointless. if you aren't willing to dedicate yourself to high-level play, you'll finish the main set of stages and then maybe dick around with challenges until you get bored and put it down, and considering that the pro challenges and eventual RAD mode are a good chunk of the game, it feels like an incomplete experience. considering that only 2% of players on ps4 actually have finished the amateur mode, it seems like many people bailed before even I did. in short, a neat 2D skateboarding concept with surprisingly niche appeal.

Skateboarding games have always been one of my favorite genres. They’re intense, require an insane amount of skills and coordination, and are just so much fun to play. I started all the way back to the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and ended at Skate 3. From there the genre pretty much died, but OlliOlli revived the series a bit and I fell in love with the first game.

The second is no different, and that’s both good and bad. On the plus side, the game feels smoother, there are more tricks, the entire game is more responsive, and there are more modes and new levels and themes. The downside is that it’s pretty much the same game with no real evolution of the series.

Career mode is where you will spend most of your time. Here you have six different goals varying in tricks, scores, and special spots. Using the left analog stick you can push down and then up to pop the board up and flick it around to do tricks. Holding it down over a rail will allow you to grind. To properly land a trick you must press X right before landing or they will all be sloppy. This trick system is similar to Skate’s and is a great evolution of the button combo system.

Sadly, you can’t do grabs and there’s no vert skating. Half-pipe rounds would have been fun and it’s sad that the sequel doesn’t really add all that much. There are two other modes which are trick spot and just a leaderboard tracker. They’re fun but aren’t different from the career mode really.

The game looks nice with fun music, awesome 2D sprites, a great Hollywood/Los Angeles theme and it’s just super smooth. With all that said, OlliOlli2 is a great entry for newcomers and veterans will find enough new stuff in the career mode to consider a purchase.

Now I think I should've started with the first one 😅 anyway, at first I was frustrated. I had a hard time picking up the controls but when I got it the game got so fun! I wasn't doing the challenges, I was just focused on having fun and completing the stages. Then I got frustrated again when the last five of the stages kicked in. Those stages would clock at barely even a minute but it took me hours just to beat. But I'm extremely proud that I kept at it. A very "easy to learn, hard to master" kind of game.