Pizza Tower

Pizza Tower is a platform game in which the player controls Peppino Spaghetti as he traverses a tower. Gameplay places emphasis on Peppino's fast movement and ability to do parkour-like maneuvers, which the player must use to complete levels quickly.

To defeat enemies, Peppino can either Body Slam from above (which can also destroy obstacles), or perform a Grab Dash to hold the enemy and throw them at other enemies or towards a wall. Like Wario Land 4's Dash Attack, Peppino can do a Mach Run, which greatly increases his speed and allows him to run up walls, defeat enemies, and destroy metal blocks by running into them. While in this state, he can also do a Super Jump, which is similar to a Shinespark in Super Metroid, where Peppino vaults straight up, destroying any obstacles in his path until he hits a ceiling or dashes out of it. There are other moves not featured in the tutorial, like the Parry, which is performed by taunting right before an attack hits Peppino.

The tower has five floors, each of which contains four levels and a boss. In each level, there are three secret rooms, five trapped Toppins (small creatures resembling pizza toppings), and a hidden treasure. To acquire the treasure, Peppino must first find the janitor Gerome, who holds the key to a certain door. Defeating an enemy begins a combo: the player must defeat more enemies or pick up collectibles to keep this combo going; getting hit tightens the window to continue the combo, as opposed to hurting Peppino. All of the game's levels are designed to be possible to complete in one combo.

At the end of each level is a Pillar John, a large moai-like entity that Peppino must destroy. When he is destroyed, the "It's Pizza Time" phase starts, in which Peppino must return to the beginning of the level to escape before a timer runs out.[1] During this phase, some blocks that were previously greyed out solidify (and vice versa), and more enemies spawn. After beating a level once, an optional "2nd Lap" near the beginning will open up, which returns the player to the Pillar John and increases their score upon successful completion. The timer running out does not automatically mean defeat; rather, Pizzaface will arrive to chase Peppino through the stage, killing him on contact.

After completing each level, the player is ranked based on their performance, including secrets found, completion time, and max combo. The player is also awarded money for finding Toppins in the level. This money is used to unlock the boss stage, which is mandatory for moving on to the next floor.

Peppino Spaghetti is the owner of Peppino Pizza, a failing pizzeria. One day, Peppino is approached by Pizzaface, an evil floating pizza who explains that a tower has just appeared next to the pizzeria, and that if Peppino does not hurry and climb the tower, Pizzaface will vaporize Peppino Pizza with an explosive nuclear laser. Peppino speeds over to the tower's entrance, determined to defeat Pizzaface and save his failing business. Another chef, Gustavo, also enters the tower, and later becomes playable along with his pet rat Brick.

Before Pizza Tower was conceptualized, "McPig", one of the developers from Tour De Pizza, thought about making a horror-themed comic series about a deranged chef who fought pizza demons in his own restaurant, citing Courage the Cowardly Dog as inspiration.[2]

Pizza Tower was the debut project of the indie developer Tour De Pizza, which developed it for around five years.[3]

Featured in the level "Fun Farm" is Mort, a chicken that is the protagonist of the 2000 PlayStation game Mort the Chicken. Ed Annunziata, the creator of the character, gave Tour De Pizza permission for Mort to be used in the game.

Scott McCrae of PC Gamer gave the game a 90 out of 100%, praising its Wario Land-inspired level design, soundtrack, and wacky, absurd nature, writing "Pizza Tower is an unashamed ode to Wario Land—but in my eyes it has eclipsed it."[4] Will Nelson of PCGamesN commented "It’s a platform game that immediately a-salts the senses with a bopping soundtrack, bright visuals, an average Italian man fighting an assortment of enemies, and mushrooms – but it’s about as far from the overall-wearing plumber as you can get, and it’s already shot up to the top of my must-play list."[5] Matthew Byrd of Den of Geek said that it has a "90s Nickelodeon-style visuals and humor".[6] NintendoLife and Rock Paper Shotgun also gave positive reviews.[7][8]