With a title like Pizza Titan Ultra, you’ll already be able to guess what you’re in for. The whole premise is to complete chapters involving different objectives. It’s very time based, meaning you’ll need to collect time pickups as well as deliver pizzas to gain even more time. The time you gain is all based on how far you traveled. It’s similar to Crazy Taxi. Story-wise, there doesn’t seem to be much going on. With a fairly basic concept, it actually evolves beautifully at the end where it almost pokes fun at time travel and the way most media gets it all wrong and causes a paradox to happen. It’s entertaining enough, though it might not be something you seek out to play.

Here’s what I liked:

Craziness —  The main theme of this game is absolute nonsense. Delivering a pizza in a mech is one thing, but punching a hole in the building to deliver it means the customer not only pays for a pizza but also has to pay to repair all damages done. Yet they’re all still very happy! These customers themselves are based on people you may know. From Bob Ross to Inspector Gadget, some of the entertainment is seeing who you’ll be delivering to next. There is even a theme song, with lyrics and a bouncing ball for you to sing along with.

Balance — Chapters, challenges, customized mechs, this game is fantastic with how it balances itself. While quite a simple concept, it takes what little it has and expands on it with full force. You never feel things are too difficult or overwhelming. As you do the challenge missions, they become harder as more enemies start to appear. Gold trophies can be pretty easy to obtain, but if you’re looking at it with gaining the highest score possible, you are treated with increasingly difficult situations.

Elevation — Within each level, some platforms and areas require you to jump and hover. Instead of just running around flat areas, you are given multiple heights to reach. Besides just movement, this actually affects your ability to fight. You can easily stomp enemies on the ground, but then there are flying enemies you can only defeat by jumping and attacking. The same is even for certain ground-based enemies that require a specific move to obliterate them. With a timer, this makes the importance of knowing which attacks defeat certain enemies extremely important.

Here’s what I didn’t like:

No Multipliers — Defeating enemies net you cash, but there is no form of multiplier in place. You can defeat many foes in rapid succession, but only gain the same amount of money as killing them by themselves. Not all enemies will reward you the same amount, and it doesn’t always make sense. One of the most annoying enemies, a robot that stuns you, will give you less cash than most enemies. This unbalanced earning could have benefited from multipliers.  In fact, it would have even made sense.

No Direction — There are times you’ll be scratching your head. Ultra moves are unlocked by purchasing costume parts from the garage. This isn’t immediately obvious while playing. You will have a chapter where you must kill turtle-like robots that shoot missiles. However, never are you told how they can be defeated. They can only be vanquished with the chest laser. If you haven’t unlocked it, you can’t even complete the mission. Nowhere will the game let you know this is something you need to complete the chapter. I figured I would need this weapon after multiple failures, but again I had no clue how to unlock the ultra ability. I don’t feel this secret adds anything to the game, and think of it as more of an oversight. It makes sense on how it unlocks, but you are never offered this solution. It caused me to search online with literally no luck. I finally figured it out, but it took too much time to realize the end solution.

Wrap-up

Originality is rare with all types of media. Music, movies and gaming usually borrow ideas and themes to make their own “better version.” I feel Pizza Titan Ultra does borrow from many things but produces over the top results that can be humorous. The whole theme stays very consistent, and while being ridiculous actually does deliver (and not just pizza). No, it’s not an amazing new franchise you’ll desire more of. You will, however, enjoy what you experience. There’s a happy medium of enjoyment without becoming something you’ll want to play all the time. If you’re looking for something creative that doesn’t take itself too seriously, then maybe Pizza Titan Ultra is something you can have fun with but not take too seriously.

Score: Reader’s Choice

Pizza Titan Ultra was published and developed by Breakfall on Xbox One. It was released on September 26, 2018, for $11.99. A copy was provided by the publisher for review purposes.