REVIEW: OlliOlli World: VOID Riders DLC Radically Ups the Ante

OlliOlli World revolutionized what skating games could be earlier this year with its addictive gameplay, innovative track design, and explosive art direction. While exploring the diverse world of Radlandia, players made a ton of new friends, explored new places, and learned a lot of new tricks in the quest to impress the Skate Godz and become the next Skate Wizard – but now a new set of challenges has arrived. A trio of hyperpop aliens known as the VOID Riders have invaded Radlandia in a totally out-of-this-world DLC expansion that gives players a whole new way to skate while raising the stakes.

OlliOlli World: VOID Riders is the first of two planned DLC expansions – with the second one dropping this Fall – and developer Roll7 has taken everything wonderful about the base game and ramped it up to dizzying heights with this short, sweet, and delightfully challenging DLC. To first access the DLC, you have to head into Burntrock and investigate the UFO in the middle of the desert. It’s there that you meet three new alien companions – Sair’Rah, Khehvyn, and Pftangxi – known as the VOID Riders. These hilariously written aliens are on a top-secret mission to find and take “specimens of special interest” to their leader, the mighty Nebulord, who rules over the V.O.I.D. After you complete the initial UFO level, a trio of new levels open up across three of Radlandia’s districts: Burntrock, Sunshine Valley, and Cloverbrook.

Despite these additional levels taking place in existing Districts, the environments have changed, giving you a different look at these familiar places: a storm overshadows all of Burntrock, Sunshine Valley looks like it’s just been decimated by a hurricane, and Cloverbrook is completely covered in snow. The levels themselves are also far more demanding than those found in the base game, packed with difficult challenges, branching paths, and an entirely new mechanic that is a true game changer – the tractor beam. These beams are emitted from the dozens of UFOs hovering around the levels, lifting sections of the courses as well as your character!

Riding a tractor beam takes some getting used to – when you enter the purple light, you control the rate of your lift with the right joystick – but once you’ve mastered the skill it feels like you’ve unlocked a new part of your brain. Everything just makes sense in a way you would have never expected, and you wonder why such a radical mechanic was missing from the base game. It’s honestly difficult to put into words just how fun the tractor beams are in the VOID Riders DLC, but I’m so glad this mechanic exists and that it’s implemented so beautifully. After you complete the trio of DLC levels in each District, one more challenge-based level is unlocked, bringing the total number of new Radlandia-based levels up to 12. These extra levels are centered around a single goal, such as a race with no checkpoints or a timed collectathon, much like the other special levels you can unlock throughout the base game. But as you encounter and assist the VOID Riders across Radlandia, your final task is to enter the alien world known as the V.O.I.D. and skate for the mighty Nebulord to earn the title of The Hyped One.

The six new V.O.I.D. levels are by far the most challenging, requiring an incredible amount of precision. It’s not just about speed, it’s about controlling your speed and timing things just right – especially with all the tractor beams thrown in your path. It took me several attempts to find the right rhythm for completing these levels, and while it was frustrating at times, the sense of accomplishment I felt when I crossed the finish line was second to none. I also didn’t mind replaying the same section of a level over and over to master it because the game is just so fun to play and gorgeous to look at.

OlliOlli World: VOID Riders is the perfect expansion to an already amazing game. It took me around 3 hours to burn through the 18 new levels, but I wasn’t trying to complete every challenge and beat every high score, and there were plenty of paths I didn’t take while skating through the courses, so the replay value here is exponentially high. I definitely plan to dive back in and try to unlock more items and rack up even higher scores. The OlliOlli World Expansion Pass costs $14.99, and this is only half of the planned content. With how good this first DLC is, I can’t recommend it enough, and I cannot wait to see what Roll7 has up their sleeves for the second expansion this Fall.