Good Pizza Great Pizza

Title: Good Pizza Great Pizza
Publisher: TapBlaze
Developer: TapBlaze
Release Date: June 5, 2018
Genres: Cooking, Indie, Casual
Platform: macOS, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, PC, Steam
Where to Find It: Website
Rating:

Ever wanted to know what it feels like to run your own Pizza shop? Do your best to fulfill pizza orders from customers while making enough money to keep your shop open. Upgrade your shop with new toppings and equipment to compete against your pizza rival, Alicante!

GOOD PIZZA, GREAT PIZZA has been downloaded over 40 million times and is now available for Steam! This is a premium version of the game with new game balancing and no in-app purchases.

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Review

I have a special soft spot for management sims, and especially ones that involve cooking. Once in a while, a cooking game comes around that steals my heart and I find myself addicted. Good Pizza Great Pizza has been my latest obsession, starting off on mobile, the only time I put my phone down was when my phone died. When I went to search for it online to look for a review, I actually screamed when I saw that it had been ported to PC and Switch. I immediately went to Steam and bought it without any hesitation.

What I love about this game is that it was just so funny. It has a charming art style and cute and diverse characters that are then elevated to greatness by the dialogue and sound design. The character speech sounds are reminiscent of Animal Crossing with an abundance of witty one-liners. I enjoyed the variety not just with the types of orders, but the way that customers request them. The slapping sound when you place a topping quite frankly sounded lewd, which tickled an immature part of my brain.

As noted earlier, I played both the mobile and Steam versions of the game so I can comment on the differences between the two. The PC port is quite decent, the adjustment is surprisingly smooth and I actually found it easier to complete tasks with a mouse rather than with the touch screen on my phone. There is free DLC with Christmas holiday decorations which are a welcome add-on and I really enjoyed that there were surprisingly more decoration options in general.

The one thing that keeps this game from being perfect is the fact that this game used to be a mobile game, and all of the horrible mobile game money practices. I’m so glad that the developers decided not only to port the game but to rebalance the currency to remove the cash shop because I loathed the microtransactions and advertisement-heavy aspects of the mobile game. The game is so charming and then an obnoxious ad takes all of the joy out of it.

To explain, there are two types of currency. Regular money you make through daily sales, and on mobile, once per day by watching an ad. These are used for some upgrades, more toppings, and most decorations. The other currency is the premium diamonds, which are used for helper upgrades and certain decorations. The game is fairly generous with diamonds early on and at least one helper can be purchased early, which is both helpful but also takes away some of the challenges of every order.

All of the helper upgrades were converted to regular money and are extremely expensive. On one end it’s nice because people have to work hard for those upgrades, but I felt constantly strapped for money and couldn’t afford anything during the early game. Late game those upgrades are a lifesaver with how busy the game gets. You definitely feel the need for every upgrade and each one feels hard won.

There is a story mode, but once the story is finished it just becomes an endless mode. Both versions of the game are also kept fresh with periodic holiday events to get some special decorations. I think the balancing is good if a little punishing compared to the mobile version.

Even with my gripes with the mobile version, it’s a solid game and one I can easily recommend for its quirky humor. If you’re unsure, you could give the mobile version a try to see if it’s the right game for you, otherwise, I advise just skipping it and go for the PC or Switch ports instead.

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