A game I heard about long before I played. I didn't take particular interest in it when I first saw it because it just didn't seem like my type of game. Now having played it, I think I was correct in that assumption.
For what it's worth, I did genuinely enjoy the boss encounters in this game, and as I approached the end, I was starting to like the "Pizza Time" sequence at the end of each level where you have to run back to the entrance. Unfortunately, the bulk of the game is just going through the platforming parts, and it just didn't resonate with me. It felt like the game couldn't decide how you were meant to play. You're clearly intended to schmoove through the level and try to maintain a combo and keep good movement, but also there are secrets in every level that require you to slow down and look for them. I guess if I intended to revisit every level 2 or 3 times I could've done a pass to check for hidden things? Not that it would've mattered, I don't feel like looking for secrets in this game was very fun, so I mostly ignored them. The only collectables I concerned myself with were the toppings that are necessary for progression. It's like, I'm this character that's clearly meant to go fast, and now I have to smash into every wall and corner to look for things I missed.
I do think I would've had a lot more fun if I got a better handle on the controls earlier on. I don't know if it would've improved my score, but there were definitely several instances where I was getting frustrated trying to navigate Peppino somewhere and kept messing up the inputs (skill issue, not the game's fault). But even then, running around and aimlessly bonking into things while I'm working out what to do just isn't very engaging.
Reflecting on it now, I think that part of the problem was the lack of stakes while exploring the level. I mean, sure you lose your combo if you get hit, and it felt punishing every time, but if you're looking around for things anyway, you probably don't have a massive combo to begin with. You basically just stumble through the level in a consequence-free environment, and if you do half decent in the run-back section, you can still get an A rank.
The parts of the game I mentioned liking in the 2nd paragraph are also the only parts of the game where there are stakes. You can die in a boss fight and run out of time while exiting a level. I think the pressure really adds something to the experience that just isn't there when you're exploring. Other than the bosses, my favorite part of the game is probably the final running section before the Pizza Face fight where you need to play clean enough to keep a time bomb from going off.
I brought this up multiple times while I was playing, but I just would've liked the whole game a lot more if it was a boss rush. The bosses were super fun to fight and I even tried to grind out several of them for better ranks. It's a shame there are only 5 fights in the game because I could easily see a game that's just a bunch of creative Pizza Tower bosses being an 8 or 9. I may even go back to try to improve my scores on the few boss fights there are.
Overall, a neat game with a funky art style and a fun player character. Showed me some things I liked but was mostly composed of levels I didn't care for. Still a great game for the right audience. I would recommend this game to anyone who has enough time on their hands to grind out a few levels. I do think that this is the sort of game that would be more fun on a 2nd or 3rd playthrough on the same save file, but as for the first run: