OlliOlli World

Its approachability and poppy, colourful presentation make diving into densely packed levels and chasing high scores feel like a warm hug before the white-knuckle drop in.

In truth, though, this game's probably a perfect glimpse of any activity where there is the cheerful business of learning involved, and where there are many stages of competence to move through, many new things to notice and explore and experiment with as you go. Like writing, yes. Like skating, I imagine. And that's it: I love this game because it's about learning and trying things out. And maybe learning never has to end, and maybe we can try new things out forever.

From the perspective of someone who always respected but couldn’t penetrate the series, OlliOlli World feels just perfect. I was engrossed for long periods of time and absolutely ate through the title. I’m ready to move on, rather than push for completion, but I think that’s part of the beauty. There’s something for everyone, whether or not you’ve got a competitive edge or just want to reach for Gnarvana.

Behind the chilled out vibes of OlliOlli World's new art style, happy-go-lucky characters and eccentric customisation, this game takes Roll7's flow-state side-scrolling skating to new heights. It's a tad more welcoming for newcomers, but even OlliOlli 2 veterans will have plenty of new tricks to learn and master through its increasingly wild and challenging levels.

Its controls feel great, its art style is gorgeous, and its characters are light and fun. It's a game that will push you to be the most ridiculously skilled skater you can be, or just let you spend some time in its world for a bit. Either way, it's easy for hours to evaporate as you rattle off tricks and snag sick grinds. That seems like a perfect conception of skateboarding to me.

Rollercoaster-like courses and a wealth of moves make OlliOlli World a huge amount of fun to play, whether you’re just cruising or out to become a true skate god.

OlliOlli World is a beautiful game, but the gameplay gets very frustrating after the first few worlds.

There's even a silly story tied in about searching for the mythical skate gods of "Gnarvana" in the world of "Radlandia." It's sufficiently dumb in an endearing way and entirely skippable if you're not interested – which I wasn't after an hour or so. Despite some headaches thrown in the mix, I welcomed all of OlliOlli World's challenges, even when they came at the detriment of my own hands.