Pineapple On Pizza asks an important question: can a video game convey flavour?
It's short, free and ten minutes long, give it a try
Indie studio Majorariatto have released small, experimental games every March since 2017 - barring the cursed year of 2020 - and now they’re back with another thought-provoking adventure called Pineapple On Pizza, this time asking the profound question: can video games convey such a complex flavour? It’s out now, it’s free, and it’s only about ten minutes long.
One thing’s for certain, Pineapple On Pizza (the first-person walking sim) is nowhere near as controversial as actual pineapple on pizza (the topping). The game launched two days ago and it’s already sitting at an Overwhelmingly Positive rating based on over 6,000 Steam reviews.
The game begins and stays on a summery tropical island that’s only missing a cocktail stand. The whole place is filled with people dancing, huddled into groups, doing their separate routines. One group compete in limbo, bending over backwards to go the lowest. One group fill a circle, kids and adults kicking their legs side-to-side in unison. Other stray villagers you pass dab to the beat. All you have to do is chill for ten minutes, maybe explore, maybe jump into the sleeping volcano - in fact, I'd definitely suggest that.
So, yeah, at first the game does capture the sweetness of pineapple, without the jarring contrast of any bready textures. But the ending will either put people off this snack or make them love it more. No spoilers, but it’s a very different experience to lounging in the sun, swinging in the opposite direction, vibe-wise. As the Steam page says, it has “dark, yet very bright humour,” and in that sense, I guess it is a successful depiction of pineapples on pizza. A short jokey time.
Anyway, how does everyone feel about the pizza topping? I’m a fan.