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Pizza Tower is a fast-paced 2D platformer that has taken the gaming world by storm. Developed by Tour de Pizza and released on January 26, 2023, Pizza Tower has received overwhelmingly positive reviews for its engaging gameplay, unique story, and retro-inspired graphics. Drawing inspiration from the classic Wario Land series, Pizza Tower offers a challenging and fun experience for players of all skill levels.
The game follows the story of Peppino Spaghetti, a pizza chef and the owner of a struggling pizzeria. His pizzeria is threatened by a sentient floating pizza named Pizzaface, who plans to destroy the establishment with a nuclear laser atop a nearby tower. Fueled by a desire to save his pizzeria and stop Pizzaface, Peppino sets out on a mission to scale the tower and defeat the villain.
The tower serves as the hub world for the game, containing five floors, each with four levels and a boss. Each level offers a unique challenge, featuring distinct themes and game mechanics. From a cemetery with surfable corpses to a Five Nights at Freddy’s homage with jump scares, Pizza Tower offers a variety of exciting levels for players to explore.
Peppino can walk, run, jump, roll, and slide, allowing for a range of movement options to navigate the tower’s obstacles. If he runs for long enough, he can dash, allowing him to run up walls and plow through enemies and objects. Defeating an enemy initiates a timed combo, and collecting items and defeating more enemies maintains it. Certain levels feature power-ups that alter Peppino’s abilities, such as guns or knight armor.
Each level also contains various secrets, including trapped pizza topping creatures that unlock boss fights, a treasure locked behind a door that can only be opened by a janitor the player must find, and three hidden rooms that provide points. At the end of most levels, the player must destroy a pillar, which activates “Pizza Time,” a phase where the player must outrun Pizzaface and return to the level’s entrance within a time limit.
Pizza Tower does not feature traditional difficulty levels, but rather the difficulty depends on what the player chooses to achieve. Finding secrets is optional, and there are no lives or health. Colliding with an obstacle lowers the player’s score, but does not harm them. The only stages where Peppino can be harmed are the boss fights.
Pizza Tower was developed over five years by Tour de Pizza, led by the pseudonymous designer and artist McPig, also known as Pizza Tower Guy. The game was initially conceived as a role-playing video game with survival horror elements similar to Resident Evil, but evolved into a platformer inspired by Nintendo’s dormant Wario Land series. The game was developed with GameMaker and features a cartoonish, high-resolution pixel art style inspired by SpongeBob SquarePants and French comics.
Critics have praised Pizza Tower for its engaging gameplay, unique story, and retro-inspired graphics. Some have even called it a rare spiritual successor that is better than its inspiration. With its fast-paced action and humorous storyline, Pizza Tower is a must-play for fans of the platformer genre.
