Pizza Tower

I fell in love with Pizza Tower pretty much as soon as I saw it. This is a game that has a very 90s style to it and that right away appealed to me. This game is a classic 2D platformer and one of the surprise hits of early 2023 for me. It is the kind of game that when you see a gameplay video trailer of, looks rather simple, but there is so much fun in its simplicity that you will end up wanting to play through this over and over again, especially as there is an addictive high score mechanic at play here.

Peppino Taking Matters Into His Own Hands

The developer is not shy about admitting that Pizza Tower is inspired by the Wario Land series and our “hero” Peppino is very similar to Wario. He is fat, Italian and he loves food. He also has a restaurant that is under threat from the Leaning Tower Of Pizza so he is out to destroy it before it destroys his restaurant. It is fun stuff and exactly the kind of premise you could imagine being in a Wario Land game.

Nicktoons, Only On Nick, Nicktoons!

I used to love Nicktoons back in the 90s and Pizza Tower is a game that feels like it could be based on a classic Nickelodeon TV series from the 90s in the same style as something like Rocko’s Modern Life or Ren & Stimpy for example. It is bright, crazy, and completely over the top and I love it. It is also packed with crazy colors, lighting effects, and characters too. It reminds me of the Wario Land Shake game that came out for the Nintendo Wii back in the day. I just love the whole zany style of this game and it appealed to me the moment I saw it.

Breaking Through The Walls!

The gameplay of Pizza Tower is very similar to the Wario Land games and that is to be expected as they are the main inspiration. We control Peppino and he is very quick and nimble for such a fat dude. He can do a bash like move similar to Wario and he can punch and use various special abilities as well. He feels great to control and the whole game just has a very responsive feel about it and anyone that loves 2D platformers is going to have a great deal of fun with this. You can just try and blast your way through each floor of the Leaning Tower Of Pizza which has multiple levels per floor. Or you can try and find all the secrets, explore, and get as high a score as you can. It is fun stuff and very addictive.

Pros:

• This game is inspired by the Wario Land series and that is awesome
• Peppino controls great and has a ton of personality
• I like the whole 90s Nicktoons style the show has
• The gameplay is very addictive

Cons:

• If the Wario Land games did not do it for you, this may not be as appealing
• I do wonder how much content the final build of the game will have

Pizza Tower is one hell of a wild ride. You play as Peppino Spaghetti, a super-athletic Italian chef on a rampage to destroy the nefarious Pizza Tower threatening his restaurant. The vibrant pixel art evokes a vivid 90s cartoon aesthetic, and the high-octane soundtrack perfectly complements the frenetic action.

From the moment I first fired it up, I was utterly charmed by Pizza Tower's irreverent spirit and challenging but addictive platforming. It was also clear from the very first moment that this game aims to revive the lost charm of the sadly forgotten Wario Land series, down to its wacky fast-paced platforming action.

At a time when games like Palworld prove that some classic Nintendo ideas are worth revisiting in a new light, indie developers deliver these quirky classics like Pizza Tower to show just how meaningful the Big N's influence has been for an entire generation of gamers and developers.

Navigating Madness

The level design is a true marvel, deftly blending tight jumping sequences with wide open spaces for exploration and gleeful destruction. One moment you'll be evading a swarm of tomatoes while pursuing pizza ingredients, the next you're a human wrecking ball smashing everything in sight as you careen down a vertigo-inducing shaft.

It's purely controlled chaos, like Wario Land cranked up to 11. Yet the controls are tight and responsive, letting you nail those make-or-break jumps. And checkpoints are frequent, so a missed leap is never unfairly punishing à la Super Meat Boy.

Unique Visuals

what truly brings Pizza Tower's zany world to life is the insane attention to detail in the animation and audio design. Every impact, every smashed crate, every squashed enemy has an immensely meaty and satisfying crunch.

Peppino himself moves with an overabundance of hilarious character, from his exaggerated run cycle to the way he gleefully lobs projectiles. It's a smorgasbord of meticulously crafted chaos. And the pounding, transitional soundtrack is a perfect complement, matching the shifting intensity of the action beat-for-beat.

If you're anything like me and grew up playing classic Flash games on Newgrounds, you'll know exactly the kind of humor to expect from Pizza Tower. The vivid 2D animation and zany character design alone more than make up the cost of admission for this title.

Retro Score Hunt

For score-chasers yearning for that sweet, sweet high-score accomplishment, Pizza Tower scratches that nostalgic itch brilliantly. While smashing up the scenery is inherently rewarding, the game also doles out points for kills, combos, speed, and more high-risk high-reward feats.

So do you take the dangerous path for that juicy bundle of bonus points? Or play it cautiously to preserve your multiplier? Mastering that compelling risk-reward dynamic gives Pizza Tower an absurd amount of replayability reminiscent of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games. Yes, really.

Pros

• Tight, responsive controls
• Endlessly creative, varied level design
• Outstanding animation/audio craftsmanship

Cons

• Difficulty may be too intense for casual players
• The main campaign is relatively short if not chasing scores
• The controls can sometimes be unwieldy in confined spaces