OlliOlli World: Void Riders DLC Review – All Hail Nebulord!

OlliOlli World: Void Riders DLC on PC

So far in 2022, OlliOlli World has been my Game of the Year. The insanely precise and smooth skateboarding mechanics and customization, alongside the vast amount of different challenges, have kept me playing pretty consistently since its release back in February of this year. With all this in mind, it’s probably pretty obvious that my hype for the first DLC, Void Riders, was through the roof. 

The premise of OlliOlli World: Void Riders is pretty on brand with the rest of the game’s wacky world, as aliens have landed and want to see your sick moves. With these new steezy extraterrestrials comes 18 new levels and over 50 new challenges. 

These levels and challenges are spread across Cloverbrook, Sunshine Valley, and Burntrock, with each area getting three new levels apiece. Beating 2/3 of these unlocks a boss level, with each only requiring you to either race against the boss or complete the level or objective in a given amount of time. 

These boss levels used a lot of the same base mechanics as the regular game, but man, were they boatloads of fun. I especially loved the Flappy Bird-like level where you have to catch pinatas in a certain amount of time. 

The reason these bosses, and all of the new levels, in OlliOlli World: Void Riders are so fun is that the gameplay isn’t just a copy and paste of the base game. In fact, it honestly feels like an entirely new game. 

Sure, you’ve still got your same general movements, grinding, grabbing, spinning, and all that, but the terrain has changed considerably. Alongside completely new course structures, OlliOlli World: Void Riders introduces a few game-changing mechanics when it comes to traversal. 

The first fun new feature is Tractor Beams. These purple portals work as gravity-defying lifts, as they use the momentum of your jumps to float you up to higher parts of the map. The trick to activating them is that you have to be holding down a grab the entire time to be pulled up. 

While this may sound simple, it actually requires pretty precise timing, especially when you have to clear gaps and other obstacles while pulling off a grab. You can’t just grab and float on up, nor can you just hold down a grab the entire time for some of them. 

Just like with every other movement in OlliOlli World, each location that has a tractor beam requires its own measured approach. You’ve got to get used to each unique sequence of timing in order to succeed. 

Tractor Beams are made even more fun when combined with the other significant new features that make up OlliOlli World: Void Riders: UFOs, extradimensional pop-ins, and fakeouts. 

To start, UFOs are scattered throughout certain levels, using their tractor beam powers to help lift up rails and other environmental items that your skater uses or needs to avoid in order to make it to the end of the level. Thanks to these helpful little unidentified flying objects, your skater can cross areas that otherwise would be impossible. 

Extradimensional pop-ins are very similar, as the aliens will use their magic powers to pull rails, ramps, and billboards out of thin air. Much like with the Tractor Beams, each unique instance in which this mechanic is used requires you to react and even memorize their locations very quickly, all while pulling off a grab and trying to anticipate the next part of the map. 

The final Zone Boss of The V.O.I.D, Nebulord, which is unlocked after beating at least 15 previous void levels, uses all of these new traversal features in an amazing way. Despite the fact that you stick in the same general circle, using half pipes to transition back to the start, the Nubuloid Palace boss level is amazingly intricate, as it uses Tractor Beams and extradimensional pop-ins to make for one hell of a frantically fun level. 

If I did have one complaint about OlliOlli World: Void Riders, it is that I just wish it was longer. In total, it only takes about an hour or two to beat the entire DLC’s new storyline. And, yes, exploring the different paths and new challenges definitely adds some time and replayability to that, but not nearly enough, especially since I was enjoying myself so much. 

With that said, I clearly adored my time with OlliOlli World: Void Riders. New features like Tractor Beams add to the landscape so much, somehow managing to improve upon the perfect 2.5D skateboarding mechanics and momentum that the base game provides. Praise Nebulord – and Roll7 and Private Division – for this gnarly addition to an amazing game.