“No Delivery,” by Oates, is an awesome computer RPG, turn-based, horror pizzeria simulator game available on Steam and itch.io for a very affordable price. And what you get for the price is hours of retro fun that took me back to the same feeling I used to get while playing Maniac Mansion in the late 80s.

Gameplay

The story begins as you are hired to work the night shift at a pizzeria with a mysterious backstory. The story itself will unravel with gameplay. You are rewarded with helpful items as you progress and battle the establishment’s hidden enemies. The further into the game you reach, the harder you’ll work for, and be motivated to find, the deeper secrets within.

At the start of gameplay, I’ll admit, I felt a bit stuck … not knowing exactly what the heck was going on or what to do. Once I got past that stuck feeling, the game itself and the new areas that opened up felt quite rewarding. I don’t want to spoil or ruin anything for you, so I’m only going to go over the basics here.

You can play as different characters who each come with, and gain, different skills that will be used to help your progression throughout the game. The discovery of humorous items, doors, and certain confrontations/interactions will lead to rewards that can be used towards game progression. You basically have to just search and discover these things … and battle some creepy-weirdo creatures along the way.

The graphics, movement, and retro sounds add to the atmosphere. I personally love to wear headphones while playing games and tend to keep the room dark to better help with game immersion. I like to make it a full-on sensory experience.

The game isn’t as easy as it looks but isn’t difficult either. Once you figure out what items are needed–and this will take some trial and error at first–you’ll pick up some speed. Interacting with objects is as simple as triggering a floating icon to appear above the object that is usable/interactive.

Of course, different paths lead to different activities. This includes battle modes that are turn-based and require some real decision making and a strategy or you’ll get fired from the place and restart as another character. I played about 5 different characters before finding that my favorite one was the dog.

Development

In the credits, the game is said to have been created with RPG Maker MV which utilizes JavaScript and HTML5 to create a user interface gaming experience that allows for distribution on multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android, and others (see link for more details on vendor website). I skimmed through the RPG Maker website since I am always curious about game development details.

Not For Younger Kids

The game looks cute and very 2D-retro … but there is pixelated blood splatter, throwing of excrement, missing ball-pit kids, and some gun usage. I mean, all of this is pretty tame and you’ll have to use your own discretion if younger people are playing. I would have played this as a kid and that’s probably why I’m a weirdo-nerd today. Be warned.

No Delivery has a dark feeling to it, and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted another game from Oates and downloaded “Sorry, We’re Open,” to fill that need. It too plays in the same CRPG format and has a sort of bleak, pessimistic atmosphere with a seemingly deeper message about the drudgery of society included within.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed this game and found the retro aesthetic quite pleasing. I’m not the type to get into gameplay easily and something about this one really drew me in. It may have been due to the fact that some things didn’t have to be done in a specific order. The completion of battles actually felt rewarding to me, and the more I played, the more I wanted to discover every secret and complete it to the end.

No Delivery is an indie title, but surprisingly, there is enough buzz about this game to get some hints online if you get stuck. I had to look up how to obtain an XXL Cheesy Bar to give to some creature, and that hint was out there. Be sure to utilize sub-games within the game itself for rewards and to interact with animatronics and vending machines as each of them have different rewards.

I don’t usually play these exact types of games (RPG, turn-based), again, it took me back to a time when I did. I started playing on ancient machines like Atari and Commadore 64, so there you go. I currently play games on PlayStation and PC primarily. And yes, I remember the Pong thing. Oh Pong, look what you did to me.

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Veronica holds a B.B.A. in Computer Information Systems and also majored in Computer Science ages ago. She has gamed since she was 9 years old. This review is based on opinion and all photos of the game are used for reference, informational purposes and belong to the author/developer of the game. There was no compensation for this review.