Pizza Tower is the antithesis of what I find fun in a platformer. Linear levels with zero obstacles, mindless speed that takes zero effort to build up and little to conserve, etc. All challenge in the game relates to technical skill, but the bar is kept too low, even while P ranking. I had little fun doing it because the levels are built so linearly that there wasn't any room for strategy or path building, all of that is laid out for you, you just have to execute.
I thought the inclusion of secrets could lead to some fun exploration, but it doesn't work because the path of the level is already determined for you, there's no challenge in finding it outside of minor observation skills. Look at something platformer with good exploration and speed like Sonic CD. All the levels in that game are built for exploration; they have multiple paths which flow into each other and can be traversed both forwards and backwards. This allows for a lot of freedom in exploration, but they're also designed in such a way that no matter which way you go you'll always be facing obstacles, constantly keeping you on your toes. At the same time though, despite all these obstacles, they're still able to be designed around speed, you just actually have to earn it. Because the levels in Pizza Tower are designed around only speed running and nothing else, all the secrets, which are required for P rank, have to be placed on the main path. There's no challenge navigating to them. These secrets are actually not bad platforming challenges, but I'm not gonna give much credit when they're pretty much the only segments of platforming in the game that actually both feel like they test your movement and speed while also being somewhat challenging to do.
Another thing I was hoping could be enjoyable was the timed segments at the end of each level that force you, even in casual play, to go as fast as possible, but it suffers from a major flaw that ruins it; you're given too much time. Think about the structure of the game for a second. At the end of a level, you activate a timer that, when depleted, spawns in an obstacle that chases you, but can be dodged if you're skilled enough. To get a P rank, you have to run through the level a second time, with the timer not being reset. Therefore, the time limit is set just right to be able to beat the entire level without the timer getting to 0. See the issue? Pizza Face, despite existing as a feature that can allow skilled players to avoid death, is never utilized in the P ranking, the part of the game explicitly designed for skilled players. Pizza Face is actually pretty challenging to dodge and requires a lot of memorization of the level. One gap in speed can kill you pretty much instantly. The fix is so simple to make this feature actually enjoyable; just reduce the timer. To compensate for the causal players, I would still give some lenience on the timer, around 3/4ths the time it is now. This gives casual players the time to finish the level securely, while making Pizza Face more of a present threat, while also both adding more skill and mastery to the PERFECT rank, and adding some fun stress and thrills right at the very end. This wouldn't fix the game, but it could give some level of true mastery and reward for speed for the dull, repetitive grind P ranking is.
One feature I think takes down the game majorly is the automatic wall climb. You know how the entire point of platformers is to time and make jumps? Even the simplest of platformers understand this. Pizza Tower is the first platformer I've ever played where missing a jump results in zero punishment, since any missed jump you can just run up again. There isn't a speed punishment or anything for this, you just don't have to jump across platforms. In a platformer.
I could go on about my issues with Pizza Tower (I likely will edit this in the future to add more since I have a lot more to say), but I think you get the picture. I really can't understand what people enjoy about this game.
I thought the inclusion of secrets could lead to some fun exploration, but it doesn't work because the path of the level is already determined for you, there's no challenge in finding it outside of minor observation skills. Look at something platformer with good exploration and speed like Sonic CD. All the levels in that game are built for exploration; they have multiple paths which flow into each other and can be traversed both forwards and backwards. This allows for a lot of freedom in exploration, but they're also designed in such a way that no matter which way you go you'll always be facing obstacles, constantly keeping you on your toes. At the same time though, despite all these obstacles, they're still able to be designed around speed, you just actually have to earn it. Because the levels in Pizza Tower are designed around only speed running and nothing else, all the secrets, which are required for P rank, have to be placed on the main path. There's no challenge navigating to them. These secrets are actually not bad platforming challenges, but I'm not gonna give much credit when they're pretty much the only segments of platforming in the game that actually both feel like they test your movement and speed while also being somewhat challenging to do.
Another thing I was hoping could be enjoyable was the timed segments at the end of each level that force you, even in casual play, to go as fast as possible, but it suffers from a major flaw that ruins it; you're given too much time. Think about the structure of the game for a second. At the end of a level, you activate a timer that, when depleted, spawns in an obstacle that chases you, but can be dodged if you're skilled enough. To get a P rank, you have to run through the level a second time, with the timer not being reset. Therefore, the time limit is set just right to be able to beat the entire level without the timer getting to 0. See the issue? Pizza Face, despite existing as a feature that can allow skilled players to avoid death, is never utilized in the P ranking, the part of the game explicitly designed for skilled players. Pizza Face is actually pretty challenging to dodge and requires a lot of memorization of the level. One gap in speed can kill you pretty much instantly. The fix is so simple to make this feature actually enjoyable; just reduce the timer. To compensate for the causal players, I would still give some lenience on the timer, around 3/4ths the time it is now. This gives casual players the time to finish the level securely, while making Pizza Face more of a present threat, while also both adding more skill and mastery to the PERFECT rank, and adding some fun stress and thrills right at the very end. This wouldn't fix the game, but it could give some level of true mastery and reward for speed for the dull, repetitive grind P ranking is.
One feature I think takes down the game majorly is the automatic wall climb. You know how the entire point of platformers is to time and make jumps? Even the simplest of platformers understand this. Pizza Tower is the first platformer I've ever played where missing a jump results in zero punishment, since any missed jump you can just run up again. There isn't a speed punishment or anything for this, you just don't have to jump across platforms. In a platformer.
I could go on about my issues with Pizza Tower (I likely will edit this in the future to add more since I have a lot more to say), but I think you get the picture. I really can't understand what people enjoy about this game.