''WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE''
Developed: Tour De Pizza
Published: Tour De Pizza
Genre: 2D Platformer
Release Date: August 27th, 2024
Platforms: Switch/PC
*PRODUCT PROVIDED TO ME BY NINTENDO
Pizza Tower is a whacky and crazy Wario-Like title that is developed and published by Tour De Pizza. With the this title already wow'ing people on PC last year, it is now time for Nintendo Switch users to get their own slice of the big ol pie. But does this game fill the void in Nintendo fans hearts that yearn for more Wario games? or does it come up short and end up more a homage act instead? only one way to find out, so ITS PIZZA TIME.
''YOU GO FIRST PEPPINO''
GAMEPLAY:
Now off the bat, I just want to say, I've never been a HUGE Wario enthusiast. I know, that's blasphemy. Before you get angry and start beating me with bars of soap rolled up in socks, let me explain. What I mean by this is that I've played nearly all Wario game that I can think of, from titles like Wario Land to Wario Ware, and while I did enjoy those titles, it didnt make me get hyped and pull a D.J. Khaled ''ANOTHER ONE'' and want another game immediately. To me they're just fun in the moment games filled with tons of funny antics and amazing fart powers from Wario, who'm we all strive to fart like... or is that just me?. My Legend Of Wario: Farts Of The Kingdom fantasies aside, Pizza Tower since its 2023 release, has been lauded as a complete spiritual successor to the Wario franchise itself, which is pretty high praise if you ask me, and here in Pizza Tower, you take on the role of Peppino Spaghetti in a platformer game style that aims to keep the player on their toes with insane, chaotic or even silly end level sequences that seemingly reminded me of the antics that took place in Rayman Legends. When you boot up Pizza Tower for the first time, it becomes blatantly obvious that this is going to be a Wario like game just as you thought it would be if you've only ever just have seen the trailers for the game, but more than that, after playing the first level itself, you realize this is actually a straight up bonified platformer at heart in general, homages or call backs to Wario aside, this is a true platformer above all else at heart. While yes, you'll get obvious thrown backs, nods and even references from games like Donkey Kong, Sonic, Rayman and even some Mario thrown in there here and there, the variety of new, interesting or creative incentives used to the lure player in, in my opinion, overshadows just references and nostalgia overload - because Pizza Tower itself is all about the quick rapid fire platforming that goes zero to one hundred from start to finish. To beat some of these levels, you better be on time with your platformer skills with your pizza game or else end up 30 minutes late and being stiffed out of payment by Michaelangelo. That jerk never pays for pizza anymore.
For an indie title, the presentation of the game is pretty dang spectacular. I know its a bit of a taboo to use the phrase ''for an indie title'' but even though I just used it, I don't really like to if I'm going to be honest. Why? well because you kind of downplay the creators work by saying ''for an indie title'' because its like saying ''well she looks pretty, i mean, for an ugly person''. Its a backhanded compliment because indie games and their developers have come so far with their craft, so much to the point that A LOT of indie games are more enjoyable nowadays and more creative than half the industries Triple A games if I'm going to be honest. To all the critics out there who downplay the hard work of indie games, I just have to say, You SICK sons of snitches, you walk in here on your two legs all fat and cocky looking at me with my indies, and you tell ME that all their games are bad? I HOPE ALL OF YOU HAVE SONS, HANDSOME, BEAUTIFUL, ARTICULATE SONS, WHO ARE TALENTED AND STAR ATHLETES AND THEY HAVE THEIR LEGS TAKEN AWAY, I PRAY YOU KNOW THAT PAIN AND THAT HURT. Ok ok, I went a little too Ricky Bobby with that one, but you know what they say, if you aint first you're last. Shake and bake!. Pizza Tower has extremely smooth animations intertwined with dynamic sprites and a visual style that makes it seem like a constant case of anxiety like you would see from characters in an old 1990s cartoon or even from something like Ed Edd and Eddy with how dramatic some of the models and animations can get - its like Peppino is about to have a nervous breakdown and snap at any moment, which makes him an extremely funny character to play as. Hopefully he doesn't become self aware however and end up getting mad at you for ordering pizza from his restaurant 5 minutes before they close, forcing them to stay open later to accommodate, which turns him into Jack from The Shining and leads him on a horror filled frenzy. Because like the Magic Man says, now you see me aaand now you dont. Ninja Vanish!.
''WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON!?''
Movement in Pizza Tower feels intuitive and responsive, it excels at exactly what you hope and wish for in a platforming title with no amount of input delay to impede on your enjoyment of your movements and speed itself. As Peppino, you will use momentum based movement as you navigate through intricate levels in this roughly 6 to 7 hour game with abilities like dashing for an extra speed boost with just enough freedom to control changing direction, ala 2D Mario games where you can re-direct your jumping or running at the drop of a hat. Thankfully this game isn't in 3D, otherwise it would end up just like a 3D Mario game for me, with myself bonking my head against a wall 500 times because I miss time my jumps all the time like the clumsy person I am. As stated momentum is the name of the game here and this title really wants you to be as crazy and chaotic as possible, just as the game was designed, and it wants you to maintain your high speed platforming so that you may plow through obstacles and send them flying like you are Shredder making some turtle soup. The intensity is ever showing in itself when you arrive at the standard ''escape sequences'' that platformers tend to have with an enemy giving chase to you that you cant fight and instead you must pull a Sonic and Go Fast and speed your way through sequences that have you running at top speeds to avoid being destroyed, which is both intense and thrilling and allows you to experiment with both your momentum based movements, as well as figuring out different combination moves to pull off an even faster completion time the more skilled you get as you play. These are some of the only times you can actually die in the game to be honest. Yes, that's kind of weird right? you can only die in escape missions and boss fights, everything else in the game, for basic levels, its basically Kirby's Epic Yard, ''THATS A BABYS TOY''. While that may seem like a negative side of POYO for this game, which I can understand for some people - it however still doesn't negate the sheer amount of creativity the actual level design brings to you by itself, outside escape missions and boss fights, which never feel lazily put together just for the sake of there being more levels, which a lot of games tend to do sometimes for padding.
Honestly that's the only real critique of the game I have overall to be transparent about everything, its the difficulty level for regular mission offering a fun time, yes, but not what I wanted out of a platformer game exactly, but instead got what I wanted in Escape missions and boss fights, and Pizza Time sequences. Pizza time sequences? like Turtles In Time picking up a Pizza Box and proclaiming ''PIZZA TIME!'' only to get extremely angry at your friend, who sucks at the game and keeps dying, because they STOLE the pizza you needed because you're on only 2 bars of health left and now you two are going to get a GAME OVER!?. No? ok just my anger issues with PTSD? I figured as much. No, what I'm referring to is what takes place at the end of levels where you must race backwards through the whole level, if you remember the way before time runs out, which can be both frustrating ,angering and get your adrenaline going because they're filled with obstacles and enemies in your way that make you lean forward in your chair activating ''serious mode'' in the hopes of surviving, so you do not have to repeat the escape sequence all over again. If this is sounding familiar, then yes, you are correct and you deserve a cookie, but I don't have any, so, uh, go ask my personal chef for one, he might have one for you. Ehhh... on second thought, maybe not. This mechanic is of course a clear nod to titles like Wario Land 4 or even more modern platformer titles in recent memory. Creativity and utilization of different mechanics is what makes this game so dang addicting, especially when using transformations and mechanics that are unique and special to each level, which allows player to stay immersed and never feel like the same design, structure or challenge of a level feels copy and pasted, because one minute you can be sliding to avoid stuff, next you're rolling, becoming a different character, making a skilled jump, getting lucky in a boss fight and pulling off a clutch win. Its all just so unhinged and frantic the entire time that after you hit the title screen, you'll be left telling yourself ''What the heck did I even just play?', but even asking that, you will know that had a great time and that its going to be awhile before you play another platformer as good as Pizza Tower was, confusing or not. Beating Pizza Tower was a treat, but, its like eating a spoonful of Draino, sure it will clean you out, but it will leave you hollow inside - and that's how completing this title felt for the platforming genre.
''ILL BE YOUR HUCKLEBERRY''
OVERALL:
At the end of the day, Pizza Tower was an absolute blast from start to finish. Usually this is the part where I go through pros and cons, but really my only gripe was the difficult level during regular missions as my only real complaint as there was no frame drops, no cheapness, no unnecessary padding, no glitches, it was just a fun platformer that showed that indies, alongside Nintendo with Mario, are still the heart and soul of the Platforming genre and that they're here to stay for a long time to come - with Pizza Tower leading the charge on that front. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW
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