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Food Boy takes a classic video game in the name of Paperboy and adds a Brazilian flair. It’s a very interesting perspective to say the least—as while Paperboy was “clean” in the way it presents itself, Food Boy is the complete opposite. Taking place in the urban streets, beaches, and cities, Food Boy is “dirty” in that it is very street style in the fashion sense and aesthetics. People on the streets dress in very individualistic clothing while record scratches and turn tables are playing in the background.

As being inspired by Paperboy, it plays very similarly to it. But since this is made with modern sensibilities, Food Boy utilizes that second stick on the controller, unlike the Paperboy variants I played. That second stick is pretty tricky to get the handle off at first because you have to pull the stick in the opposite direction of where you want the pizza to go. You’re flinging it like you would a slingshot. So the goal is to reach the end and deliver pizzas to hungry customers while avoiding obstacles. Sounds simple enough?

Just like real life, it can’t be that simple. All you want to do is deliver pizzas, but everything in life gets in the way of it. People will play basketball or throw frisbees in the streets. There will be cones and other traffic blockers set up all over the place. Sometimes, there are just people standing in the middle of the road! Oh, and if you take too long to deliver the pizza, your customers will get irate and chase you down! Why is this game at times so realistic when it displays itself in crunchy 8-bit sprites?! There’s more than just that to keep in mind. If you hold the right stick for too long, you’ll lose your balance and fall! The difficulty and challenge from Food Boy come from all the multitasking you’re required to do. It’s almost like figuring out a puzzle, but you’re always on a timer and the smallest mistake sends you right back to the start. Fortunately, no level between the four worlds lasts longer than a minute and a half.

Food Boy isn’t an extensive game given its inspiration, and that does lead to some repetition for the music and visuals. While the music isn’t bad, as the quality of the hip hop, dance, and street-inspired beats are well made, it’s just the same one or two songs played per world. With four worlds and at least eight stages each—you can see where I’m coming from. When you’re completing stages, there are records scattered on the road. Collecting enough unlocks various recolors for your delivery boy. I haven’t unlocked all the skins, but as far as I’m aware, they are only recolors. There are also stars given out for each completed stage, and the number of stars you earn depends on your performance such as delivering a specific amount of pizzas. The lack of keyboard support is somewhat expected given the type of game Food Boy is trying to be, but you outright need a controller or you can’t even navigate the menu.

Getting into the moral side of things, there are some things to talk about. In terms of violence, you hit people with pizza boxes, sometimes intentionally and other times not. You can also run over people in a comical fashion when you reach the end stage—always intentionally. One other notable aspect is immediately after booting the game, you are greeted by twerking ladies on the streets. Well, the men also get in on it too, if that makes it any better…

There’s not much else to say about Food Boy. However, it does what it sets out to do competently. It’s a Paperboy-influenced title that plays like how a modern adaption should. It also manages to be more challenging than what it was inspired by. While I was able to “beat” Paperboy in the past, I’m only able to get up to halfway through the last world in Food Boy. If a “cruder” Paperboy with twerking ladies and guys with a humorous Brazilian twist were ever a thing on your list, then check out Food Boy.