Pizza
Tower

Pizza Tower (2023) is a fast-paced running and jumping game where you play an overweight yet agile Italian, reminiscent of the whacky-yet-appealing Wario Land games. You traverse each level on a mission to destroy the Pizza Tower that threatens to undermine your own pizza shop. It's a game that stands out not just for the sentimental updating of a classic, but for how every inch of the experience is like a Tom and Jerry or Nickelodeon cartoon.

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Like those Wario Land games, Pizza Tower takes the Mario formula but focuses on movement, exploration and score attack. You rush around the levels, barrelling into enemies and obstacles to get to the top and claim victory. Along the way, you need to find the pizza toppings and collect items to enable you to claim strange power-ups.

As you progress you learn how to use your character's key ability: his momentum. The faster you travel the safer you are from enemies. But this speed needs to be built up and maintained as you move through the level. Once you have grasped how to change direction, climb walls and bash through obstacles at top speed the game transforms into a Sonic-like platformer.

The result is a highly stylized cartoon, clearly inspired by shows from the 90s. Getting to the top of the tower always feels like an achievement, progress that's rewarded with even more bizarre levels like the golfing, stealth and shooting stages. It's a rush of bombastic encounters that look simple but require a deep understanding of the mechanics and level design.

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Our examiner, Jo Robertson, first checked Pizza Tower 13 months ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 7 months ago.