OlliOlli 2: 2 Dimensional Tony Hawk Nostalgia

OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood is a 2D skateboarding indie title currently out for the PS4 and Vita. It’s easily the most fun I’ve had playing a skateboarding game since the Tony Hawk series when I was younger. It was also free for North American PS+ members in March 2015, so there’s that.

The core gameplay in OlliOlli 2 centers on traversing through themed stages, each of which is littered with various grinds and hazards. Seemingly, the core objective is to arrive at the end of the stage without falling off your board. Doing so forces you to restart. But really, much of the joy is derived from completing optional objectives for each stage, each of which forces the player to learn new trick combos, or else pushes them to perfect the manner in which they collect points. And really, if you aren’t playing the game to maniacally improve your score, then you probably don’t know how to have fun.

OlliOlli 2 revels in a “just once more” feeling, one that had me playing for extended periods, when I had initially told myself I just wanted to put five minutes into the game before turning it off. In these moments, OlliOlli shines. The joy you feel is so pure, and the compulsive need to spontaneously perform all manner of aerial tricks, grinds and combo extensions is so blissful and organic that you’d swear you’d created a child.

OlliOlli 2 is perhaps inconsequential. Likely once I’ve stopped playing it one day, I may never return to it. I don’t long to play it. But I certainly find myself turning to it habitually when I have some free time. And you will too, if you find it in your heart to relive the excellence of the Tony Hawk series in two dimensions.