DevLog #4: Voices, Victories, and Villains

[h2]🚀 Early Access Launches August 25th @ 10AM PT![/h2][p]The countdown is nearly over. In just a few days, you’ll be blasting Time Reapers, baking pizzas under pressure, and building your dream pizzeria—together.[/p][p]But before the doors swing open, we’ve got one last dev update to share.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]🛠️ A Quick Look Back[/h3][p]We started this journey in 2023, thinking we’d be able to launch the game by 2024. Like all good pies, it took longer in the oven.[/p][p]With a small team of six—mostly programmers—we began with whatever we could grab from the Unreal Store. It wasn’t until six months in that we finally found art support and began shaping the look and identity of Pizza Bandit. The game has changed a lot since then, and every change has pushed it closer to the game we always wanted to make.[/p][p]For the past two months, we’ve been in overdrive—polishing systems, recording VO, and locking in our final feature set. The build is currently under review (nerves = high), but here’s what we’ve been working on since our last update:[/p][hr][/hr][h3]🎙️ VO Recording: Locked and Loaded[/h3][p]We heard your feedback on the temp VO in the demo—and we agreed. So we hit the studio with our full cast, and they absolutely delivered.[/p][p]Led by Chris Borders, amazing VO director behind Gears of War, we finally nailed the tone we always wanted: punchy, sarcastic, character-driven.[/p][p]Here’s what to expect:[/p]

• [p]🎭 Full personality across the board. Malik’s got bite, and mission handler Finn no longer sounds like a bored robot.[/p]
• [p]🎧 Pop culture nods hidden throughout the dialogue—you’ll know them when you hear them (and hopefully laugh like we did during recording).[/p]
• [p]🔊 Boss missions now feature more unique sound design to bring enemies to life (before you take theirs).[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]🏆 Bandit Records: Your Legend Starts Here[/h3][p]Introducing Bandit Records—our in-game achievement system that tracks your wildest moments and most chaotic plays. Some of them even show up on your Steam profile.[/p][p]A few favorites:[/p]

• [p]Oops – Accidentally damage your teammate.[/p]
• [p]Catch This – Kill a Reaper by throwing food, drinks… or maybe a tuna.[/p]
• [p]Death from Delivery – Drop a Pizza Pod on an enemy’s head.[/p]

[p]Whether you're chasing bragging rights or just causing mayhem, we’ll be watching. 👀[/p][hr][/hr][h3]💀 Reinforced Enemies: Beefed Up and Battle-Ready[/h3][p]Crank up the difficulty, and you’ll start facing Reinforced Time Reapers—beasts wearing scavenged armor from broken timelines.[/p][p]What makes them scary:[/p]

• [p]🛡️ Frontal damage won't cut it. You’ll need to break their armor first—or hit them where it hurts.[/p]
• [p]⚔️ Some weapons work better than others, and yes, that includes explosives.[/p]
• [p]👀 Visual cues make them easy to spot—if a floating head with a football helmet is charging at you with a fire bomb, prepare accordingly.[/p][p][/p]

[p]They hit harder, last longer, and turn the battlefield into a puzzle. Good luck.[/p][hr][/hr][h2]💬 We’re Just Getting Started[/h2][p]This wraps up our devlogs before Early Access, but it’s only the beginning of the journey. Your feedback will be critical in shaping what comes next.[/p][p]Join the conversation here:[/p]

• [p]💬 Discord[/p]
• [p]🌐 Bluesky[/p]
• [p]🐦 Twitter/X[/p]
• [p]🎵 TikTok[/p]
• [p]📷 Instagram[/p]
• [p]📺 YouTube[/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]📅 Once more for the folks in the back...[/h2][p]Grab your crew. Lock in your loadouts. Fire up the oven.
Pizza Bandit is almost open for business.[/p][p]— Team JofSoft[/p]