Flowzone takes OlliOlli World into the clouds

OlliOlli World’s last DLC brought in aliens and anti-gravity beams and made me think of the Mario Galaxy games, particularly in the way that its levels seemed to push at the edges of what a platforming or skating level could be. These were high-wire acts, some of them dauntingly sparse. And yet once you came to understand what was demanded of you, there turned out to be ample room for showboating, points-hording, and self-expression, the last element being the thing that OlliOlli World is really all about.

OlliOlli World: Finding the FlowzonePublisher: Private DivisionDeveloper: Roll7Platform: Played on PCAvailability: Out on PC, Switch, Xbox and PS on 2nd November

The new DLC made me think of Mario too, but a much earlier incarnation. I can still remember the time I reached Sky Land, or World 5, in Super Mario 3. I explored the map and then swooped up into the air, where I found the second half of the world’s challenges nestled within clouds.

This is Finding the Flowzone. It takes OlliOlli World and thrusts you up into the clouds. There’s even a new overworld map that sits above the original one. I absolutely believe that some kind of folk memory of Mario 3 was in play when this all came together. It feels new and exciting, but it also feels like coming home. Flowzone – spoilers – is completely rad.

Alongside a new boss, a bunch of new levels, trickier routes and all that jazz, the big addition here is the wind. Gust patches, each labeled clearly with an arrow displaying the direction of flow, are scattered across the map. They can give you an almighty boost if you race through them and you’re already going in that direction. They can lift you up into the sky if they’re coming in from below. But the game’s best use of gusts is to point them in the opposing direction. Weird, but it works.