FunnyPizzaLand 2 Reviews

I played this and completed it in the same night I played and completed its 2002-borne predecessor, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2100790/FunnyPizzaLand/]FunnyPizzaLand[/url]. Playing them back-to-back, this is unarguably the superior [i]game[/i], as it has actual gameplay elements, owing true to its description as a "point & click adventure;" however, it's also moderately less surreal and has a [i]different[/i]—not to be confused with "lesser"—charm to FPL. This has a double-edged sword effect of being both easier to follow and parse, but also, on the surface, being less fascinating as a game. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed the quick sojourn through 17th-century PIZZALAND, and the nature of this as an actual video game, rather than a linear fever dream like its antecedent, made it more rewarding to play through. Roman has been candid about his artistic inspirations (and as with the first game, he has included a zip file within the local game directory that you can unpack and enjoy many of his beautiful and charming works), and with this game they are imminently evident. Grotesque, whimsical, absurd, and inexplicable, the art in this game is by far the greatest part of it, with the cranium-scratching dialogue, of which there is a plethora, easily sitting passenger. The puzzles in this game, on the other hand, suffer both from the art, as mundane-but-important objects become utterly benign when flanked by an environment and decor that ups the gambit of ridiculousness consistently, and the dialogue, which inadvertently makes the through line of logic a bit more abstruse. Besides the very frustrating bounding box for items constantly fighting your abilities, there were a handful of sections that were extremely finnicky by being time-based and unclear about their intention, or one solution that just bordered on classic adventure game nonsense logic that was only clear [i]after[/i] the puzzle was completed. Everything else was very par-for-the-course for this type of game, however: wandering, haplessly and hopelessly trying literally everything, object hunting, more wandering, and every little advancement feeling like miles. The game is very short, but thanks to the presentation, I deeply relished the less-than-two hours it took. However, much like point-and-click adventures of old (minor spoilers): [spoiler]the ending just sucks, and feels extremely unrewarding. You don't even get to finally make the pizza that incentivizes the entire adventure![/spoiler] Other than that, I was very satisfied with the clear effort and talent that went into such a small game. It's not as unique as the first, but it's just as entertaining. I sincerely hope to one day see more of PIZZALAND and its inhabitants, it's fast become one of my favorite little worlds. I just pray that if indeed there is another in the future, I don't have to see that protagonist's ass and balls from behind in that one too.