Of all the indie games that have come out over the past few years, nothing has captured my attention quite like 2023’s Pizza Tower. The game is the commercial debut of Tour De Pizza, whose creative lead wanted to make a spiritual successor to Nintendo’s long dormant Wario Land series. As someone who never played Wario Land I saw an opportunity for a novel experience in this wacky new platformer. After finishing the game I waited for KMax to write a review because he really loves Wario Land, but his review never materialized so I’m more than willing to take up the task in his place.

The main protagonist of Pizza Tower is Pepino Spaghetti, an Italian pizza chef who’s struggling pizzeria has been threatened with destruction by Pizzaface, the sinister master of the titular pizza tower. Enraged by his adversary’s scheming, Pepino must climb the pizza tower to save his restaurant. The game doesn’t actually have proper dialogue so to say Pizza Tower is light on story would be an understatement, but I wouldn’t say it’s to the game’s detriment either. The lack of cutscenes keeps the fast paced gameplay moving at all times and in a setting this wacky any serious drama would most like create tonal whiplash.

Speaking of tone, nothing sets the tone of a game quite like the visuals and oh boy are Pizza Tower’s visuals set one heck of a tone. The game’s art style and animation is very reminiscent of cartoons created in the 1990s with bizarrely proportioned characters and monsters with a heavy dose of overacted pantomiming. While this approach might be somewhat crude on a technical level, it oozes personality in a way that games on the cutting edge graphics could only dream of. The cherry on top is the soundtrack whose driving beats, catchy melodies, and variety based in complimenting the wide array of level environments only serves to enhance the game’s tone and the moment to moment gameplay.

Pizza Tower isn’t your standard 2D platformer by any stretch of the imagination. Finding pizza toppings and other secrets are vital to the game’s progression beyond simply reaching the end of a level, but don’t let the prospect of exploring fool you into thinking this is a slow paced game. Pepino’s run builds momentum into a blisteringly fast sprint that can barrel through just about anything that isn’t a solid wall, but controlling Pepino at such high speeds is very challenging and requires a lot of practice. Each level also includes unique gimmicks that mess with the way Pepino controls, one level he turns into a flying ghost and in another level he gets stuck rolling around in a wooden barrel so always expect the unexpected. In short, Pizza Tower is a 2D platformer where adaptability is just as important as mastery.

From the Catholic perspective there isn’t much to say about Pizza Tower as the lightweight story and borderline incomprehensible world don’t offer that much room for spiritual reflection. There is one connection worth mentioning however, that being the role of the pizza priest. The pizza priest is a character who shows up in almost every level and helps Pepino by cleansing him of whatever wacky new form he takes on when it’s no longer needed. It’s a pretty obvious parallel to the sacrament of confession. Just as Penpino can’t finish a level without being cleansed of his gimmicky forms, we can’t move forward in our own lives if our souls are burdened by sin. So if you take anything away from this article, I encourage you to seek out a confession if you haven’t in a while.

If you don’t need a confession, then I hope your takeaway is that Pizza Tower is an amazing game. I can’t guarantee it’ll be everyone’s cup of tea, but if it’s cartoonish sensibilities or fast-paced platforming speaks to you I can’t recommend it enough. Even if I never get the chance to play a proper Wario Land game, I’m glad a successor like Pizza Tower exists for us to enjoy for years to come. Just be sure you’ve got some pizza in the fridge before you start playing, you’ll definitely be in the mood for a pie by the time you’re finished.

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