For many, the Wario Land games can feel like something of a fever dream today. It's been almost 15 years since the last title in the series, Wario Land: Shake It!, came to the Wii and now the thought of Nintendo's treasure-obsessed anti-hero getting another platformer of his own seems about as likely as us getting any news on Metroid Prime 4.
However, the fading memories of the series have not stopped developers Tour De Pizza (a fantastic name, we might point out), as it has this week released its debut title Pizza Tower, a 2D platformer inspired by the Wario Land games!
Right out the gates, we'll make this clear: the game is currently only on PC and there has been no news of a planned Switch release. However, that doesn't stop us from dreaming...
One glance at the Pizza Tower Steam page and we were sold. This is a game with all the fast-paced wackiness of Wario Land 4 (an unlikely protagonist, smooth movements, score attacks) and it is visualised through a style instantly reminiscent of 1990s cartoons. Check out the following screenshots and you'll be able to see what we mean.
In short, it looks brilliant and the critics seem to agree. Scott McCrae wrote a glowing review over on PC Gamer, where he described the game as "one of the best and most satisfying platformers out there today" — high praise indeed.
The game only came out this week (26th Jan, to be precise) but with positive reviews like this quickly entering circulation, we can only see this dough expanding. Of course nothing has been announced just yet, but the unabashed Wario Land inspiration running throughout the title would make it a prime fit for a Nintendo console (in our slightly bias view, at least)!
Until then, we will just have to get our Wario Land-esque fix from the PC. Pizza Tower is now available on Steam for £16.75, and you can bet that it's going to inspire us to get booting up the GBA again.
What do you make of Pizza Tower? Want to see it come to Switch? Let us know in the comments!
[source store.steampowered.com]
Comments 26
I've seen this a few times, it's kind of charming how it all comes together even with such a crude artstyle.
Though when it comes to Wario Land-likes I'm way more hyped for Antonblast, which I loved the demo so much I ended up backing it.
Now that calls for a Wario Land Shake It remaster on Switch in glorious widescreen!
Hey, if Nintendo doesn't feel like making a new Wario Land game, then it's up to the indies to provide us with new games with similar vibes instead. This one looks particularly crazy, I'm very intrigued.
This feels like a stretch to be considered “Nintendo news” lol
The style reminds me a bit of Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure on the Snes.
Also, yesterday I saw a boxed copy of Wario Land 3 at a used game shop for $500(CAD), crazy.
@Waluigi451 I'm genuinely surprised that people are still acting like Nintendolife hasn't reported on non-nintendo related stuff in the past.
Did... Did we just see a reference to the Domino's old mascot The Noid with "The Noise"?!
@Chunkboi79 Just because they have in the past doesn’t mean they should. But hey, it’s their call what content to publish, guess it’s working for them to post non-Nintendo stuff if they keep doing it.
@Waluigi451 I've got no problem with them reporting on a game that takes inspiration from a series Nintendo fans haven't seen in 15 years. It's not like they're posting "Hey, this PS5 game looks kinda like Mario."
Vibes? It looks like a blatant ripoff.... it even has the same powerups and moves ... Pizza box = flat Wario, there's a bubble Wario, there's a burning Wario, the shoulder dash move, etc. etc.
Having said that.... I'm genuinely interested because it all looks crazy, hyperactive and bizarre. Putting it on my radar.
For those who are wondering, it's made in Game Maker Studio, like Undertale, Hotline Miami, etc. So it's quite easy for it to be ported over. That being said, Pizza Tower Guy/McPig/Tour De Pizza, has no current plans for a port for Switch or any other systems outside of Steam.
@EarthboundBenjy I recommend looking up AntonBlast, it's MUCH more in line with Wario Land (Especially 4). While it isn't out yet, it has been confirmed for a Switch release in 2023.
@DimBeau Yes. He's the boss of the third world.
I absolutely love the Wario Land games, especially 4, so I certainly hope this game comes to Switch. It looks fun.
@JimNorman you are a poetic genius with the title and subtitle of this article. 😂
@YoshiF2 Honestly it looks like a genuine evolution of the Wario series. Actually really excited to break out the steam deck for it.
The screenshots don't do the game justice in my opinion. I can tell the art team is very talented but I wasn't very much feeling the blocky backgrounds against the very loose lines of objects.
Now, after watching the trailer you can see it all comes together oddly perfect
God this music is terrible
mamma mia I love a da pizza
Wow, that game looks great!!
it Kinda gives me Old 90s Cartoon Vibes as well. (more so Ed, Edd n Eddy.)
pretty cool. i'll indeed buy this. once i have the chance to.
@NatiaAdamo This was made in GAME MAKER?! I've been (very) casually following the development of this game for years and didn't know that hahaha
@Waluigi451 Wouldn’t be the first time.
@Bret You weren't following closely enough. I was a Patron supporter and I was able to get some builds for it
Been playing it since release and it's absolutely incredible. I'd honestly dare to say it's better than the series it's clearly inspired by and will end up being one of the best indie games released this year. It plays like a dream, Peppino has so many more moves and movement options than Wario and they all come together flawlessly.
While it shares a lot of the same DNA with Wario Land it's a pretty different kind of game though. This has a super heavy focus on speedrunning, every level is designed for you to keep going as fast as possible and string together combos to try and get a high score/best time after replaying it a bunch of times and figuring out all the optimal routes and moves to use. If you're just going to try and clear each level once I don't think it'll be particularly interesting. Powerups/transformations also tend to be limited to a single level which means every level has its own exclusive gimmick.
Oh and also, the soundtrack is fantastic.
Good to see at least spiritual successors to Wario Land between this and even more so Antonblast (happy that @Expa0 and @NatiaAdamo have already mentioned it) since unlike this game that's coming to Switch, too!
This looks like a mobile game. Awesome. This game is awesome. Very beautiful. I want to check it.
I did my review for PC Gamer entirely on the Steam Deck so I can definitely agree it would be great for Switch!
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