Pizza Tower (Video Game) (2024)

This page is about the game. If this is not what you are looking for, see Pizza Tower (location).

Pizza Tower is a 2D platformer developed by Tour de Pizza. It is a spiritual successor to the Wario Land series of games featuring action-packed gameplay, a unique over-exaggerated low-resolution art style akin to cartoons like Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, Cow and Chicken, I am Weasel, CatDog, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ed, Edd N Eddy and Spongebob Squarepants as well as French comics such as Concombre Masqué, and a just-as-unique 16-bit soundtrack.

Story[]

Pizza Tower mainly follows Peppino Spaghetti, a struggling Italian pizza chef climbing the titular Pizza Tower on a quest to stop Pizzaface from blowing up his pizzeria with a laser at the top of the tower. Gustavo, an adventurer, assists Peppino in his quest.

Gameplay[]

The game has the player take control of Peppino, as he navigates through multiple large levels, collecting pizza toppings of various sizes and defeating enemies to score points. Unlike many other action games of this caliber, he is immune to death, normally only losing 50 points when hit.

Small toppings and Pizza Blocks are normally worth 10 points, while large toppings and Pizza Blocks are normally worth 100.

Additionally, defeating an enemy starts a combo. This combo is maintained through collecting toppings and defeating even more enemies, the latter increasing the combo by 1. Points gained from enemies increase by 5 as it goes higher. If a combo runs out, the player is awarded points depending on the size of the combo, along with a ranking: Lame (x1); Cheesy (x5); Not Bad but Not Great Either (x10); Getting Somewhere! (x15); Nice, Good Job (x20); Cheflike (x25) Brutal! (x30); Evil (x35); Unclean (x40) Disturbing (x45); Twisted (x50); Psychotic (x55); Ill-willed (x60); Crushing (x65); Funny! (x70); or Unfunny (x75). Combos from x80 and higher repeat the rankings, but with a Very in front, so x80 is Very Lame, x85 is Very Cheesy, and so on.

His moveset consists of a jump, crouch, crawl and body slam, which can break bricks from a tall height. Peppino can also lunge forward in order to break purple bricks or grab enemies and objects. When something is in his grasp, he can carry it around as he pleases. Pressing the button again has him perform a powerful finishing blow that sends them flying forward, or upward if up is held while performing the attack. Pressing down while in midair has him perform a piledriver. He can safely drop whatever he's holding by pressing down while planted on the ground.

Peppino's signature maneuver is a continuous dash, used to smash purple bricks in his path and chip away at enemies, along with making longer jumps and running up walls. Holding down while dashing allows him to roll under tight gaps. Building up enough momentum has Peppino go at max speed, indicated by green and red afterimages following behind him. When at max speed, he can smash grey metal bricks and instantly defeat oncoming enemies, disarming themselves as he approaches. Pressing and holding up while at max speed has Peppino perform a Super Jump, which sends him flying upwards until he hits a ceiling or cancels it by pressing the Grab button.

The player can also taunt, striking a humorous pose as momentum is halted for a split second. This may seem useless at first, but charging up a big enough combo has electricity particles circle around Peppino, indicating the player can use the Super Taunt by taunting while holding up. This clears the screen of enemies instantly. Taunting is also used for parrying oncoming projectiles and enemy attacks when timed correctly.

Along with these moves, Peppino has the ability to transform from interactions with special enemies and parts of the environment, regularly used for defeating Stupid Rats. These include donning a heavy knight suit to build momentum off downward slopes, setting his mouth on fire to destroy TNT, or being pressed into a pizza box to jump almost infinitely and glide through the air. Coming in contact with a Priest lifts Peppino of the transformation, awarding him 500 points once only.

At the end of every level is a Pillar John, which starts a countdown upon being destroyed. The player must then race back to the beginning of the stage before time runs out. However, the player can run past the exit and warp back to where John was destroyed for a second lap of the escape, if they so choose. This is known as Pizza Time.

If the player fails to escape in time, Pizzaface will appear to chase the player, if they are caught, they are booted out of the stage, losing all of their current level progress. Otherwise, reaching the exit takes the player to a results screen, revealing their final rank for the level based on the number of points accumulated: D (Awful), C (Bad), B (OK), A (Nice) or S (Perfect). Collecting enough points for an S rank, completing all of the Secret Eye bonus rooms, obtaining the level's respective secret item and completing Lap 2 all while maintaining one long combo throughout the entire stage awards the player with a P rank instead. This rank is needed for 101% completion.

Each level features three additional tasks outside of finishing the level normally. In need of rescuing are the five Toppins, small pizza topping creatures trapped inside cages usually placed slightly off the beaten path. Each Toppin saved awards the player 1000 points. Three Secret Eyes are well-hidden throughout the stage, warping Peppino to a bonus room where the player can complete light platforming puzzles to score even more points. Gerome the janitor is also hidden somewhere and will follow the player when found, required for unlocking the door to the Tower Secret Treasure.

Each floor of the tower features a maximum of four levels and a boss fight, where Peppino has to face off against a dangerous adversary in a small arena. Unlike the regular levels, he is given six hit points, more akin to a regular action game. Losing all six immediately kicks the player out of the battle, forcing them to try again from the beginning. If the player successfully defeats the boss, they are awarded with a Giant Key, unlocking access to the next floor.

updates[]

Pizza Tower has had not many updates (as of writing this) since launch (excluding bug patches).

Halloween update[]

The Halloween update is an update that added an event that happened from October 23, 2023 to November 13, 2023. This event introduced 2 new levels 1 exclusive to the event and 1 being permanent, and new hub decorations exclusive to the event.

The update introduced a new controls screen, as well as a new pause menu with a Chef Tasks section, meant to make it easier to know the amount of achievements left on a level. It also included reworks for Gnome Forest, Oh sh*t!, Peppibot Factory, and Pizzascare, in order to make P Ranking those stages easier on parts that were difficult to keep the combo at. Secrets Of The World, a randomized combination of all the 57 secrets, and Tricky Treat, a Halloween-themed level that can only be accessed upon collecting each pumpkin on every level, are also added on this update.

One day before the update, McPig started a live on Twitch and stated that as soon as he finished Donkey Kong 64, Pizza Tower would be updated.

It released on October 23, 2023.

The Noise update[]

The Noise Update is a major free update of Pizza Tower. Its main feature is The Noise being added as a playable character, offering a unique moveset and some minor changes in a few levels and bosses.

It also contains a good amount of new content, such as extra save files for playing with The Noise, new clothes that can be unlocked for him, new music, etc.

The update would've been released if McPig and other people finished Ancient Aliens in DOOM. He played as PTG in the stream. There were some late comers such as Maurice, Homer Simpson and The Real Doise.

It released on March 11, 2024, and it was stated to be a “New Game+” on the Pizza Tower official twitter account.

Development[]

Before the idea of Pizza Tower came to be, lead designer Geoffroy "McPig" Lanctôt (known as "Pizza Tower Guy" until May 21, 2021) had thought of making a horror comic series about a deranged chef fighting pizza demons in his own restaurant.^[1] This idea didn't get past sketches, though the concept and main character were eventually reused for a 2D horror-themed RPG possibly titled "Pizza Massacre,"^[2] which slowly but surely provided the base for Pizza Tower.^[3]

Pizza Tower began development March 2018.

On March 14, 2018, McPig made a post on his Tumblr page discussing a game concept he's been working on titled "The Leaning Tower of Pizza," giving the first glimpse of Pizza Tower to the world.^[4] The game was described as a mix between the puzzle solving of Wario Land 2 and the rush mechanic of Wario Land 4 with aiding, but at the same time hindering transformations. Alongside this description was a series of concept art showing several different mechanics and designs. Due to this new project, Pizza Tower Guy decided to halt his progress on his first game, Wieners Don't Use Drugs, of which was the main focus of his Tumblr page before this point.

Later that day, McPig posted the first look at Pizza Tower's gameplay in a very early state,^[5] commencing what's known as the Preearlytestbuild. He would continue to send more gameplay footage, sprites, and answer questions on his Tumblr page, with his last post regarding Pizza Tower being posted on January 13, 2019.^[6] Before then, on June 17, 2018, he had created the official Pizza Tower Discord.^[7]

Pizza Tower's first public demo, the Halloween Demo, was posted on October 31, 2018^[8] along with a Hard Mode at 5:22 PM of the same day. In these early builds, there were no set composers, so they used a commissioned song from Dim Widdy^[9] in the form of "Funiculi Funicula", the current game's Tutorial theme, as well as unrelated video game rips.

Some time around November, 2018,^[10] Mr. Sauceman sent McPig the first version of "It's Pizza Time!". McPig immediately loved it, hiring Mr. Sauceman as a full-on composer for Pizza Tower.^[11] Mr. Sauceman's music would first be heard in-game on December 5, 2018, when the second public demo, Demo 2, released.^[12] Some time after, ClascyJitto was hired as a second composer after posting several promising remixes in the Discord.

At an unknown time, an earlier build from prior to the Halloween Demo dating back to September 16, 2018 was also released publicly in the form of the Earlytestbuild.

On December 13, 2018, McPig had created the Pizza Tower Patreon.^[13] This is where most future builds were posted, only being given to Patreon supporters who pay $5 or more monthly. These builds would include new levels and mechanics for the supporters to test out and critique.

On January 12, 2019, the January Patreon Build was posted, introducing early versions of Oregano Desert, Oh sh*t!, and Peppibot Factory. On March 7, 2019, the March Patreon Build was posted, allowing supporters to play as The Noise in an early version of Refridgerator-Refrigerador-Freezererator. On April 1, 2019, the GOLF demo was released publicly, jokingly showcasing an early version of Greaseball in a custom level. On May 25, 2019, the Hub Room Test Build was posted for Patrons only, adding an outdoor section to Mansion.

On September 29, 2019, the SAGE 2019 Demo was released publicly for the Sonic Amateur Games Expo of that year. It brought many new players in, boosting Pizza Tower's popularity greatly. This was followed by another public demo in the form of Noise's Hardoween on October 30, 2019, which starred The Noise as the only playable character in an earlier version of Pizzascare.

On December 13, 2019, the December Patreon Build was posted, introducing an early version of John Gutter. This was followed by the final public demo, Peppino's Xmas Break on December 30, 2019, which had Peppino venturing through an earlier version of Strongcold. On January 8, 9, and 10, 2020, three Patreon builds focusing on The Noise's new moveset were posted. On February 2, 2020, two Patreon builds were posted showcasing an earlier version of Dragon Lair.

On February 7, 2020, the first Level Editor Build was posted with the aid of a Patron named Sertif. This was followed on February 24, 2020 by a build showcasing an updated Oregano Desert, which itself was followed by a quickly removed build showcasing The Wasteyard. The Level Editor Build 2.0 was then posted at an unknown time after.

On April 25, 27, and 30, 2020, three builds were posted focusing on the levels of the Western District and the addition of The Vigilante as a playable character. The Level Editor Build 3.0 was then posted on May 13, 2020.

On July 7 and 11, 2020, two builds were posted revealing Crust Cove (Known at the time as Pineapple Beach) and Gnome Forest, marking Sertif as official co-programmer of the game. This is followed by the Level Editor Build 4.3 on August 30, 2020.

On April 3rd, 2021, a new build was released that contained every planned level in the game, but in an early state with most missing tilesets and/or backgrounds and many assets using placeholder sprites. This build was announced a month earlier.

McPig and Sertif are continuously working on the game as Tour de Pizza, the former showing his progress through Twitch streams.

On June 13, 2022, the final build for the game was released, nicknamed the "Eggplant Build", which features 19 levels from the main game, but it doesn't include the Tutorial level, any of the boss fights or the final level that happens after the final boss, plus the levels in this build only have an Eggplant rank. The full game was originally planned to be released in the third quarter of 2022, but it missed it's launch window due to McPig currently polishing up the levels and tweaking them by adding details to those levels on his Twitch.

On December 2, 2022, the Steam page for Pizza Tower was put up, along with a trailer. This also confirmed the game's release date, which was on January 26, 2023. You can see the trailer here.

Reception[]

Pizza Tower received overwhelmingly positive reviews according to the game's Steam reviews.

Music[]

See also: Soundtrack

Pizza Tower has a soundtrack created by many composers, with a large number of songs composed by ClascyJitto and Mr. Sauceman.

References[]