Pizza Tower |OT| GOTY in 30 days or less

[Durden]

Developed by : Tour De Pizza
Platform : Steam
Price : $19.99

Pizza Tower is sharp and beautifully animated 2D platformer inspired by Wario Land. But it's hard to call it anything other than a truly groundbreaking and spectacularly constructed platformer in it's own right. The developers have worked on it for over 5 years with community involvement.

You are Peppino Spaghetti. You must stop the Pizza Tower from destroying your pizza restaurant. You are highly agile, strong, and anxious for no real reason other than the aforementioned Pizza Tower. Do it.


View: https://youtu.be/Wlq6fFOqI28

If you enjoy platformers in really any medium, you owe it to yourself, and should play, Pizza Tower.

There's much, much more to say here, and I may add on. But much of the beauty of the game is playing it for yourself. And the game deserved an OT. So I did it. It's basic.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Thanks for this! I'll have to try this out sometime.

 

[Xagarath]

I'm only four levels in, but this really feels like an all-timer. Perfect momentum and controls (like a fusion of the best bits of Wario and Sonic), superb level design, and what might be the best OST since Undertable.
If this keeps the quality up, it'll be something I mention alongside Yoshi's Island.

 

[Jawbreaker]

Finished this last night. Incredible game. There's so much dynamism to the moveset and constant forward momentum, and it's surprisingly varied. It's packed with so much detail, well-hidden secrets, Easter eggs, visual gags, that you can't help but feel how much of a labor of love this game really is.

The soundtrack? Phenomenal. In fact, I'd be shocked if this isn't my favorite still by year's end.

I'll go out on a limb and say it's one of the best 2D platformers ever made, alongside the likes of SMB3, OlliOlli World, Celeste, and Super Meat Boy. DO NOT HESITATE TO BUY THIS IF YOU'RE AT ALL INTRIGUED.

 

[Nbz]

As a huge Wario Land fan I really need to play this, hoping it is good on Steam Deck and that it gets a Switch release

 

[The Deleter]

Been interested in this ever since it showed up in the Sonic Amature Game Expo a while ago. Awesome to see it's finally finished; the world definitely needs more Wario Land-alikes like this and Anton Blast

 

[Jawbreaker]

Gustavo & Brick game when?

 

[raspberrymousse]

Such an absolute gem, already posted my thoughts in the review thread but to think that this, Hi-Fi Rush and Dead Space Remake all dropped within 2 days of each other is crazy, they'd all be top 5 GOTY contenders in most years

 

[Bananastand]

I rarely play games like this on my laptop but I had to make an exception. It rules and I love the style of it. Random frames and panels with the most fucked up expressions and faces are so funny to me. Love that cartoon shit.

I am having trouble using a controller playing this game. Can't seem to remap any buttons in the options. It's tolerable during the levels but the bosses are very hard playing with buttons in - what feels like - the wrong order.

 

[Capra]

This is probably up there as one of the best 2D platformers I've played. Granted that list isn't as exhaustive as a lot of other people's, but the sense of momentum and control is just, unparalleled.

 

[NotLiquid]

I have so many good memories of playing the Wario Land games on my GBA that a game heavily inspired by those titles wouldn't feel right to play on a non-portable platform, but man, everything about this game has me enamored from seeing it. I'll probably pick it up once I wrap up Hi-Fi Rush and Fire Emblem Engage.

 

[Doomburrito]

I absolutely need to play this game, but my laptop is dogshit. Really hoping it will eventually come to consoles

 

[SteveWinwood]

im usually okay with "ugly" things but this game really takes the cake on it. ive grown to accept it but i still don't seem to enjoy it as much as others, which is fine

wario land 4 isn't my favorite of the wario lands and this clearly takes from that the most

im still trying to wrap my head around a lot of the movement, im not very far and i just keep replaying the first few levels. its clear the skill ceiling is going to be absurdly high and if i get even remotely okay at it it seems like it will be really fun zooming around

 

[BaconHat]

I rarely play games like this on my laptop but I had to make an exception. It rules and I love the style of it. Random frames and panels with the most fucked up expressions and faces are so funny to me. Love that cartoon shit.

I am having trouble using a controller playing this game. Can't seem to remap any buttons in the options. It's tolerable during the levels but the bosses are very hard playing with buttons in - what feels like - the wrong order.

Click to shrink...

Had the same issue. Went into steam big picture mode, passed through the controller options, and it downloaded a new input file for the game that remapped the buttons correctly.

 

[Tsumami]

This is the best 2D Platformer I've ever played. Been going through the stages trying to P rank them all and its just perfect. Boss fights are the highlight and the final boss is peak

 

[Doskoi Panda]

This game is fucking amazing. Glad it's finally got an OT.

 

[David Sr.]

This is probably one of the most surprising, well defined, crazy and original 2D platformers I've ever played. I was expecting the art to be great and the levels to be irregular and chaotic, but the final game is beautifully crafted and inmensely good. Please, play this gem.

 

[tucah]

I've only played the first floor/world but it's incredible. Fun level design, an absolute blast of a character to move around, secrets are fun to find, love the artstyle and the music is suburb. HiFi Rush and Pizza Tower are one hell of a way to start out a year.

 

[Doskoi Panda]

I'll go out on a limb and say it's one of the best 2D platformers ever made, alongside the likes of SMB3, OlliOlli World, Celeste, and Super Meat Boy. DO NOT HESITATE TO BUY THIS IF YOU'RE AT ALL INTRIGUED.

Click to shrink...

^^ true. Straight up one of the best ever. It's like a game that pulls my favorite elements from all my favorite platformers and then makes them better. It's just plain great.

 

[Tsumami]

Oregano Desert P rank is hard as shit god damn. Just got done with wasteyard P rank and it was probably my favorite level to P rank so far, super fun stage

 

[Capndrake]

It's amazing that basically every single level introduces some new gimmick that's only used in that one level and yet there's not a single bad one in the bunch. Some levels aren't as good as others but I wouldn't call any of them anything less than really good.

I think the best ones overall are Oregano Desert, Fast Food Saloon, Gnome Forest, Deep-Dish 9, R-R-Freezerator and WAR.

 

[Tsumami]

Oregano Desert P rank is hard as shit god damn. Just got done with wasteyard P rank and it was probably my favorite level to P rank so far, super fun stage

Click to shrink...

Finally did it shortly after this post, god damn

 

[Durden]

I have so many good memories of playing the Wario Land games on my GBA that a game heavily inspired by those titles wouldn't feel right to play on a non-portable platform, but man, everything about this game has me enamored from seeing it. I'll probably pick it up once I wrap up Hi-Fi Rush and Fire Emblem Engage.

Click to shrink...

I do hope it comes to Switch and other platforms, but man it's perfect on Steam Deck for this reason.

 

[Kientin]

Absurdly good stuff. Just finished P ranking the first floor and all the boss fights.

 

[stepee]

Legitimately belongs on the top 10 2D platformers of all time list. That list is now basically a handful of Mario games, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, Diddy 2, Celeste, and this. Yes, it's even better than James Pond 2.

 

[julmirakel]

I love this game, but I am simply not good at it. It's the Sonic problem: I want to explore, but the game wants me to go fast. Still, the art and music is fantastic, and the level design is refreshing and varied. The boss fights so far has been so good.

 

[Tsumami]

I love this game, but I am simply not good at it. It's the Sonic problem: I want to explore, but the game wants me to go fast. Still, the art and music is fantastic, and the level design is refreshing and varied. The boss fights so far has been so good.

Click to shrink...

Nah the game wants you to explore. There's secrets you can only find by looking hard through the levels. Going fast is for higher ranks but you can get an A rank on every stage no matter how slow you go if you get every cage toppin. You're only required to go fast on the escapes because well, yeah.

 

[raspberrymousse]

Nah the game wants you to explore. There's secrets you can only find by looking hard through the levels. Going fast is for higher ranks but you can get an A rank on every stage no matter how slow you go if you get every cage toppin. You're only required to go fast on the escapes because well, yeah.

Click to shrink...

That's what I loved, if you want to go for perfection and speed you can once you know the level but it really encourages you to find all the secrets and explore. Escape timing is also very lenient for all the levels so even if you're not super fast you will still have tons of fun.

 

[RGamer2009]

Another plus for this game is how small and optimized it is, I got this game to run at 60 FPS on a NETBOOK with Borderless Fullscreen.

Beat the 1st world, and as all have stated this game is hella fun and worth a playthrough!!

 

[Stoze]

I love this game, but I am simply not good at it. It's the Sonic problem: I want to explore, but the game wants me to go fast. Still, the art and music is fantastic, and the level design is refreshing and varied. The boss fights so far has been so good.

Click to shrink...

The levels are designed to be replayed over and over. Usually the first play-through I bumble through with the flow of the level but look for secrets where I can. Then I go through and slowly explore and collect everything and fully grasp the level, then knowing where everything is I replay and shoot for S-Rank.

What's neat about the ranking/scoring system is it's not actually based on time or how fast you go (up until "Pizza Time!" backtrack when it very much is), but rather how well you can navigate the level and use Peppino's moveset. The combo gets extended not just when booping enemies, but also breaking blocks, rescuing toppings, and simply touching the little point toppings (i.e. coins) that are strewn about.

 

[Durden]

I love this game, but I am simply not good at it. It's the Sonic problem: I want to explore, but the game wants me to go fast. Still, the art and music is fantastic, and the level design is refreshing and varied. The boss fights so far has been so good.

Click to shrink...

Know you're getting dogpiled a bit but just wanna throw in my two cents. I think the collectibles in the game are brilliant because they're marked in the world, but not too hard. Like don't think you have to explore every single wall. But look for the walls that are telling you something.

The game is fantastic for keeping momentum going while also giving incentive to explore. I'm super compulsive about completionist shit and I think this game nails it.

 

[Ginger Hail]

Been enjoying this one a lot, albeit a bit slowly due to being sick. The gameplay is real slick and everything about the presentation really hit a chord with me.

 

[Tab]

Bought it on a whim. I'm total shit at it and my hands were cramping after just a half hour, but the art style and music are fantastic.

 

[Mg.]

This game knows exactly what it is and is proud of it. Placing a "lap 2" portal at the start is such a silly but fun gimmick (yes I know it's required for p rank). The game is literally daring you.

This has to pop up at the next GDQ. No way it doesn't.

 

[Son of Liberty]

This is a really fun game and it's a shame that it doesn't seem to be getting a lot of attention from what I can tell.
I'm assuming the eventual GDQ speedruns and console ports will bring more awareness to this gem.

 

[MagnusGman]

Picked it up after seeing a few videos in my YouTube feed and hearing nothing but amazing things from other places. Played through the first few levels and boy this game just has a vibe that I really love. I guess that vibe is called Warioland.

 

[MoosetheMark]

This is a really fun game and it's a shame that it doesn't seem to be getting a lot of attention from what I can tell.
I'm assuming the eventual GDQ speedruns and console ports will bring more awareness to this gem.

Click to shrink...

I think the game seems to be doing pretty good! It's got 2,800 reviews on Steam already. One of the biggest threads in the Steam forum is "why is this game doing so well?" I think it has had a big cult following during it's long development. It certainly flew below my radar but obviously there were a lot of people pumped on this game. I remember reading in Jason Schrier's book about how Stardew Valley, a similar one-dev opus, grew a big community over the course of its creation, long before most people had heard of the game, which helped make it a success when it launched.

On top of that, word of mouth is also going to be big, I've recommended this game to two people so far, one wish listed it and one bought it already. I'm sure the YouTubers and podcasters will get to it sooner or later, Dunkey, Jeff Gertsmann, etc. If the dev can get this on Switch they will probably become a millionaire.

Has anyone playing on Steam Deck figured out a way to get rid of the weird occasional but inevitable slowdowns? I've moved it to internal storage with no luck, maybe I'll try Proton-GE next. Also, is there a reason to turn Texture Filtering off? The option was added in a patch, it looks atrocious with it off but I'm not sure if that's closer to the authorial intent lol

I keep trying to put my finger on why this game's visuals hit so hard for me. It's a little bit Boogerman for sure, with some 'What-a-Cartoon Show' thrown in but when I first saw it my brain immediately thought of The Incredible Toon Machine/Sid and Al's Incredible Toons.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-7LgrEUOL4

 

[Kientin]

World 2 Boss:

Spoiler

What the heck? I was just messing around and fighting him for fun. I held down the fire button and... I didn't know you could charge up the pistol? Would have probably helped on my P rank runs.

 

[SteveWinwood]

This is a really fun game and it's a shame that it doesn't seem to be getting a lot of attention from what I can tell.
I'm assuming the eventual GDQ speedruns and console ports will bring more awareness to this gem.

Click to shrink...

It seems to be doing pretty well on steam, 2600 reviews is nothing to scoff at (especially when the devs told a bunch of regions not to buy the game). What do they say nowadays 30x reviews for sales? Super rough estimate of course.

And it's reviewing really well. Looks like the second highest rated game of the year (with steam db's math), above Hi Fi Rush in third and right below... I think a Chinese porn visual novel.

And it's a indie Wario Land 4. I had no idea there would be any demand for it at all to be honest.

 

[Son of Liberty]

I think the game seems to be doing pretty good! It's got 2,800 reviews on Steam already. One of the biggest threads in the Steam forum is "why is this game doing so well?" I think it has had a big cult following during it's long development. It certainly flew below my radar but obviously there were a lot of people pumped on this game. I remember reading in Jason Schrier's book about how Stardew Valley, a similar one-dev opus, grew a big community over the course of its creation, long before most people had heard of the game, which helped make it a success when it launched.

On top of that, word of mouth is also going to be big, I've recommended this game to two people so far, one wish listed it and one bought it already. I'm sure the YouTubers and podcasters will get to it sooner or later, Dunkey, Jeff Gertsmann, etc. If the dev can get this on Switch they will probably become a millionaire.

Click to shrink...

It seems to be doing pretty well on steam, 2600 reviews is nothing to scoff at (especially when the devs told a bunch of regions not to buy the game). What do they say nowadays 30x reviews for sales? Super rough estimate of course.

And it's reviewing really well. Looks like the second highest rated game of the year (with steam db's math), above Hi Fi Rush in third and right below... I think a Chinese porn visual novel.

And it's a indie Wario Land 4. I had no idea there would be any demand for it at all to be honest.

Click to shrink...

Oh interesting! Thank you both for that context.
Admittedly, I only knew about Pizza Tower because I saw it release on Steam back in January and was reminded of it's existence by this OT. I also didn't notice the impressive amount of Steam reviews at first.

Regardless, I am happy to hear that there was a big community supporting the development of this game, I hope word-of-mouth continues to grow and I'll definitely pick up a Switch copy if they decide to release it there as well.

 

[Bigg]

I think the game seems to be doing pretty good! It's got 2,800 reviews on Steam already. One of the biggest threads in the Steam forum is "why is this game doing so well?" I think it has had a big cult following during it's long development. It certainly flew below my radar but obviously there were a lot of people pumped on this game. I remember reading in Jason Schrier's book about how Stardew Valley, a similar one-dev opus, grew a big community over the course of its creation, long before most people had heard of the game, which helped make it a success when it launched.

Click to shrink...

Admittedly, I only knew about Pizza Tower because I saw it release on Steam back in January and was reminded of it's existence by this OT. I also didn't notice the impressive amount of Steam reviews at first.

Regardless, I am happy to hear that there was a big community supporting the development of this game, I hope word-of-mouth continues to grow and I'll definitely pick up a Switch copy if they decide to release it there as well.

Click to shrink...

I can say personally I've known about this game for a while because it's been promoted through multiple demos. The lead dev released a demo during SAGE (Sonic Amateur Games Expo, basically an online expo to show off both Sonic fangames and games very heavily influenced by Sonic and similar games) a few years ago and it got a ton of positive response through word of mouth. I believe the dev used the momentum from the demos to fund a patreon for the game's development. So positive buzz and word of mouth has done a lot for this game and I imagine it'll continue to do well as more people play it. As others have said, 2,600 steam reviews for a self published indie game from a first-time developer is really good, actually.

And yeah, I picked this up last night and while I'm definitely never gonna get good enough at it to get S or P ranks, I'm really impressed at how good the movement/traversal feels. This feels like the sort of game where the dev constantly tweaked the physics until movement felt "just right."

 

[AnimeJesus]

Game seems pretty great…tons of personality. I never played the Wario games but now I'm very interested.

Only gripe is that the Steam Deck has been out for almost a year and games are still releasing with no 16:10 support, this one included.

 

[Tsumami]

View: https://youtu.be/gI4CydeLRJE

 

[Host Samurai]

Game is amazing. These animations are super dope with loads of personality. I am also super nostalgic for 90's era gross out Saturday morning cartoons and games. It really reminds me of a bit of Boogerman, Eathworm Jim, Wario and what you would see on a Saturday morning cartoon with a mix of MTV's adult animation like The Brothers Grunt. I'd love to see more devs tackle this kind of look.

 

[Tsumami]

Game gives me Courage the Cowardly Dog mixed with Rocko's and a dash of Ed Edd n Eddy

 

[Capra]

View: https://youtu.be/gI4CydeLRJE

Click to shrink...

Nice review but even with the spoiler warning later on I feel like he showed way too much of the game. I guess YMMV but when he was listing off the level themes I was like, "WAIT NO DON'T TELL THEM ABOUT GOLF!!"

 

[Neiteio]

Any word on this coming to Switch?

 

[Tsumami]

Any word on this coming to Switch?

Click to shrink...

Nothing on console release as of yet

Nice review but even with the spoiler warning later on I feel like he showed way too much of the game. I guess YMMV but when he was listing off the level themes I was like, "WAIT NO DON'T TELL THEM ABOUT GOLF!!"

Click to shrink...

I agree but if I was making a vid about the game I would struggle to not gush about everything too LOL

 

[Tendo]

Ya'll need to play this. I can't stress it enough. Its so wild and cool and a joy to play. I am in love with the art style. For me its an easy GOTY contender.

 

[Stencil]

Man I never play PC games but this one may be worth it. Will it run okay on a 2017 macbook?