This is NOT a game to take breaks from. This game is meant to be played frequently.
This way... you visit a level, you sort of memorise its layout as you explore it. And then... When you find a treasure that makes changes to a level, you can...
I've not played neither Pizza Tower nor AntonBlast (I'll get to that eventually) but from footage I saw, you seem to be right. For me, Wario Land is more about the exploration since even in Wario Land 4, the game those indie games are inspired...