Pizza Bandit Mixes Gears of War Action with Overcooked Chaos in a Unique Shooter Experience

The combination of genres and elements meshed together in Pizza Bandit is so strange that it is absolutely brilliant. The game does not take itself too seriously, and that is perfect, because who can truly take seriously a time-traveling space-bound bounty hunter who really just wants to be a chef and make pizzas? The writing is over the top and goofy, which makes it all the more inviting for what the game intends to be: crazy, weird, strange, and completely entertaining.

On the official Steam page, JOFSOFT describes Pizza Bandit as  “a unique blend of ‘cooking’ and ‘shooting,’ adding extra spice to the third-person shooter. In this mission-based 4-player co-op third-person shooter, you embody a wannabe chef utilizing his ex-mercenary skills to fund his dream pizza restaurant.” They highlight the action combat, skills and weapons, full customization, and teamwork.

Oh, and making pizzas in the middle of a battle. No, seriously. Take a look for yourself.

This game literally has a disco ball that you can put out to attract enemies to start dancing, only to explode and wipe them to smithereens. What else can you even ask for? As IGN puts it, “Pizza Bandit is at its best when you’re with a good team, calling out orders. A good match should be shouts of ‘We need a pepperoni pie!’ and ‘I’m on the Coke!’ and ‘I’m down!’ interspersed with lots and lots of gunfire. Simple choices, like when to call down your own, once-a-mission rocket pod full of pizza and supplies, and more complex ones, like where to put it (you can block off a stairway, for instance), spice things up, too.”

Yes, the game is absurd. Yes, the game is, as IGN puts it, “ludicrous”. But it has enough depth in each level to keep players completely and totally engrossed, engaged, and entertained. There is not a moment in the game that is not just pure bliss and enjoyment. That is the mark of any great game, no matter how crazy the idea. Is it inspired by other games? Absolutely. Is it a unique experience? Also absolutely.

Final Thoughts

It feels like we talk so much about creative and clever indie games at Total Apex lately, and with good reason. In a landscape where the AAA studios are taking longer to develop games and putting out remakes and remasters on the regular, the industry is relying on indie studios to fill in the gaps. By and large, they are succeeding.  Games like Pizza Bandit keep players entertained with inspired but unique experiences, sometimes even pushing into the Game of the Year discussions. Pizza Bandit is not that, but it is brilliant nonetheless. The game is currently in playtesting and should arrive on Steam for early access soon after.