Pizza is arguably the perfect food. You could eat it at every meal and not taste the same thing for a very long time, depending on how it’s prepared and what the crust, base, and toppings are. 2023 already has a significant pizza focused game in Pizza Tower – is there room for another, or will the possum have to try and steal the limelight?
Pizza Possum is a very cute stealth game that tasks players with navigating a town without being caught to eat a pizza that belongs to a dog. I was pretty proud of my first attempt, as I got about 33% through the map before being captured. However, it was evident very quickly after that there was no way I’d be able to beat it without building my score and losing, as this unlocks different items for your quest. These start off small, with things like speed boosts and blockades, but smoke bombs are when it becomes borderline trivial – those are how I beat the game the first time.
Thing is, once you eat the pizza, you have to do it two more times. You get a crown that scares off the dog guards, but there’s also more of them to avoid. If you’re caught, you lose your crown and have to eat the pizza three times again. While far from impossible, especially with the addition of more items that get progressively more useful, the subsequent runs are where the challenge lies.
The game can be completed relatively quickly, especially once you’re familiar with the map and have certain items unlocked. There’s only the one location, with locked off areas that you open up by eating food and increasing your score. Once a certain threshold is hit, you acquire a key to open the lock of your choosing. The best path forward will be the areas with lots of food options and ample hiding spots. The big food items are always a good starting point, as they give your score a huge boost with limited effort.
During your trek to the pie, you’ll encounter an assortment of animals, but the only ones of concern are the dogs. At first I was avoiding everything, but only dogs are a danger to you. If you’re up to it, your possum can bring his racoon pal. I played a bit with my daughter who found the game adorable, although she thought it was more fun to just run around like a chicken with her head cutoff. The screen splits depending on distance and does a good job of indicating where to go to reach the other player. The biggest concern here is screen real estate, especially as you’re trying to avoid being seen or captured. I can definitely see the second controller being used to cheese the game as it’s almost an extra life, and you can save the captured thieves indefinitely.
I really appreciate the implementation of higher difficulty within the same level by adding guards on additional playthroughs, and I know funds can only go so far, but I’d love to see more in terms of maps – different themes, time periods, etc. My biggest complaint was being able to determine if a dog would find me hiding or not once the chase began – it was almost always a toss up, and one of the more frustrating parts of the experience.
As a bite sized, Saturday morning cartoon experience, it’s hard to beat. It’s cute, simple, and accessible to pretty much anyone. However, it feels like it ends too abruptly – I definitely foresee more food adventures ahead for the possum, unless it’s cancelled all too soon.
8 out of 10
Pizza Possum was developed by Cost Computer and published by Raw Fury. It launched on NS, PC, PS5, and XSX. The game was provided to us for review on PS5. If you’d like to see more of Pizza Possum, check out the official site.
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