I’m also largely saying that because if it ever gets big enough for large enough groups of people to be discussing “Wario-likes”, Nintendo might get a little more upset about that than Metroidvania as a genre name because Metroidvania sounds more transformative in the name and Wario is close to Mario, which is their mascot. (Also I feel like Wario-Like isn’t really the best term for this mini genre, even though it’s the one that’s stuck the most so far since each of these all have a lot of non Wario influences, like how Pizza Tower has some Sonic, Antonball has Mario Bros and Breakout, and Antonblast has a lot of stuff, one of the most prominent influences the creators have talked about being Crash Bandicoot, I think this sun genre might need a more fitting name.

Wario-likes aren’t all Pizza Tower clones. Critadel Critadel is an action roguelike with graphics. If someone is trying to suggest that Antonblast, Antonball, or Treasure Tech are Pizza Tower clones then I don’t know what to say. If the nostalgic aesthetic and fast-paced gameplay of Pizza Tower is what you’re looking for, Cuphead is a great game to follow up with.

Games like pizza tower