Quietly positioning itself as one of the best games of 2021, OlliOlli World taps into that ‘one more try’ mentality of classic videogames that has been lost in the modern blockbuster. As games shift to open-world 100-hour epics, the very thing that got us all to fall in love with gaming has almost been left behind. That’s not necessarily a dig at the undisputed game of 2022 – hello, Elden Ring – but OlliOlli World has positioned itself as an almost perfect amuse-bouche to the open-world epic.
I say almost perfect, because there was just one thing missing: aliens. And not just any extra-terrestrials, but aliens with names like Sair’Rah, Khehvyn and Pftangxi. You might say this is a niche criticism, but thanks to the VOID Riders DLC for OlliOlli World, that missing piece has been filled. And in all honesty, I am struggling to find a criticism.
To access this new set of levels you need to have progressed past Route 666 in Burntrock, approximately just over halfway through the main game. Make it that far, and the spaceship in the same area will spring to life with a new level tutorial, introducing you to tractor beams.
These are the major new additions that come with the DLC and are a fantastic new tool to use. As you are flying down these new VOID levels, you will encounter purple beams of light dropping from the sky. In these, you need to perform a grab trick for the tractor beam to then pull you upwards in a moment of anti-gravity. The tutorial will show you how they can be used to get some extra airtime, but these aren’t an optional tool for you to use; many jumps and gaps in the DLC will require you to use these to make it safely across.
After this tutorial, the first part of the DLC opens up. New levels can now be found in Sunshine Valley, Cloverbrook and Burntrock. Found in groups of three, each of these is associated with one of the three aforementioned aliens. They have been sent from their home planet V.O.I.D. by Nebulord to find skate specimens to bring back to their homeworld. It might sound like they are trying to abduct you, but they’re actually quite friendly.
These levels can be completed in any order. Complete any two out of a group of three and you will unlock a fourth mission that acts similar to the sidequest levels of the main game. That is, with no additional challenges, just simply a requirement to finish the level. Manage to complete one of these however, and things get really interesting.
You have proven yourself worthy for abduction and must travel to the planet V.O.I.D. to partake in some skating there. A new area opens up to the left of the main map with five more levels in it. Now, four of these need to be completed before you are granted an audience with Nebulord. Achieve this, and one final level is unlocked where you skate quite literally in front of Nebulord in his palace. Most of the DLC shouldn’t give you too much of a headache, but there are peaks and troughs in difficulty as there is no real set path with which to undertake these new levels. However, this final level is one of the trickiest in the entire game. It needs to be completed in one run as there are no checkpoints, with much of it criss-crossing over a giant pool of pinkish liquid. Needless to say, landing in it is not a good idea.
Manage to complete this though and the VOID Riders DLC then offers you Nebulord’s challenges. Much like the Radysus challenges in the main game, these offer you the best rewards and a chance to return to some of the levels.
With such a huge emphasis on customising the way you look in the main game, it is great to note that VOID Riders also comes with plenty of new options too. If you like any of the particular masks the aliens are wearing, beat their individual challenges and you can wear them too. There is even an achievement associated with doing so.
Aside from the new tractor beams, the VOID Riders DLC for OlliOlli World doesn’t really change much. But when the foundations are so much fun, nothing really needs to be changed. Best of all, there is yet more to come, with another piece of DLC due before the year is out. And whilst there is more than enough content in the base game, this DLC is a fantastic new addition to an already fantastic game.
