OLO Loco 4+

This game is good, but only in the ways that it is similar to the prior game and that it has better online function (though I think barely anyone’s playing anymore). I much preferred the original’s more minimalistic visuals and sound design. Also the music in the previous one was soooo much better. Also the finger animations were much nicer too. If there was an option to reskin this version with the visuals and sound of the old one it would be perfect. Also the olomojis are cool at first but get annoying quickly. And they clutter up the screen.

I wish I could give this 3.5 stars. I love OLO. I was a big fan of it, playing it with my friends, and was overjoyed to see a sequel after to many years. Strangely, this sequel seems a little lacking, and all it could take is an update or two.

To start, the new gamemodes. The classic OLO game is here, just as good as before. However, I feel like these two new gamemodes aren’t that interesting. I understand trying to stick to the OLO formula, but just adding point zones just doesn’t do much for me. A really strange design choice is that in the online multiplayer, you can only play the classic OLO game. You cannot choose what gamemode to queue for. The only way to play these modes are locally. I essentially only play the classic OLO game rules.

The online works, however I feel like it may die out quickly, sadly. It was a genius idea to have this turn based way of playing, basically you perform a turn, send it, then your opponent has 24 hours to respond. This mode can also be used as a makeshift live mode, as you see your opponents moves if you just stay in the match. I like this system a lot, however maybe there should be a way to queue for other modes if people want those, or at least when doing a private match with friends online.

The OLOmojis are exactly what they seem like: a gimmick. They are essentially those little clash royale things that you can use to show your feelings during the match. A real missed opportunity here is that on the OLO pucks, there are no faces. I feel like it could add a lot of charm if you could choose a face to send out on your OLO puck, and it stays there. It would give each piece its own little personality, and might make this more than a little gimmick.

I love OLO, and I love that it is getting new life into it. I will be playing this instead of the original OLO now, as I like the style, haptics, and I feel like there is a lot of potential here. One final thing to note is that there are no themes! The original OLO has so many themes, and they were fun to shake it up a bit. I don’t know why there are no themes in this, I really wish there were.

Overall, a better OLO, but not by much. There is so much potential here, and I hope it is capitalized on. If you haven’t played OLO, get this, OLO is a seriously fun game, that even if this had less content, it is worth the price. Over ever, if you have played OLO, you’ll be disappointed by some strange choices, and not much of an addition to the original classic.

I remember getting the original OLO when it was released in 2012 and loving the smooth modernist but colorful aesthetic and it’s simple and understandable rules but then having no one around to convince to play with me and instead just blandly play against myself; throwing dots against each other mindlessly for a few minutes and wishing there was a online mode to make the game remotely fun for me; eight years later we have that but no one is playing it so I’m as bored now as I was all that time ago. The game’s rules and aesthetics are as engaging as ever but with no one to play with this game makes me feel like I’m visiting a dead empty mall.