Yes it is that time again, I’ve played yet another platformer and I want to talk about it.
Whilst not the best name from an SEO perspective, Pepper Grinder intrigued me from the moment I saw it. Being published by Devolver Digital means that it was at least going to be interesting, brandishing all of their usual hallmarks – pixel art, high speed, bite-sized, banging soundtrack, although surprisingly not violent. Pepper Grinder is the debut title developed by a team called Ahr Ech (don’t ask me to pronounce it) and is a first innings which is extremely commendable, in a genre which has been explored for decades at this point. The small indie team has managed to go toe-to-toe with the best in the business.
I’ve had my eye on Pepper Grinder for some time so I was excited to dig in to see what treasures awaited deep within the earth.
License to drill
Pepper Grinder smacks you in the face with a punk vibe almost immediately, showcasing one of the best start screens I have seen in some time. A drill is burrowing through the earth at full speed, inside of a skull, as some slick drum and bass music pounds away in the background. Upon seeing this, I simultaneously couldn’t wait to start, but equally, I didn’t want this screen to go away.
There is a wonderful energy to the whole game, invoking not a Saturday-morning-cartoon, rather a 3pm Jetix show. This energy is present in the design of our main character, Pepper, through the dressing of bright blue hair and a tattered poncho. She’s cute, but she is also not lacking on the coolness factor either. As mentioned, it is like she was focus-tested for Jetix, and that is not a slight. Of course, the drill too adds to this – there’s something visceral and raw about using a drill – the revving and mechanical sounds just get me, it’s a vibe thing. The badass energy punctuates the start of every level as Pepper drops into the respective biome and yanks the ripcord to zoom the camera out and bring the whole world to life. It is a neat touch which never gets stale and helps to sell the main draw of the game.
This is all without touching on the enemy faction of narwhals who you’ll face off against. They even have steampunk gadgets to aid them like helicopter jetpacks. Suffice to say, they rule. We don’t get enough narwhals in modern gaming. The main villain is also as edgy as you can expect – a dark purple and black knight with not one, but two drills for hands. So sick.
All of this concept art would mean nothing without the necessary art to support it, and thankfully Pepper Grinder is no slouch in this regard. There is some gorgeous pixel art on offer here which translates this all nicely. There isn’t much more to say here, but there are some 3D effects also in play, adding a bit more depth to some of the scenes, it isn’t quite as nice as the curated sprites, but it does the job and helps distinguish some of the background elements from those in the foreground.
The story on offer here is not going to blow anyone away, but it doesn’t have to. You play as Pepper, a pirate who becomes shipwrecked on an island full of narwhals and wants to hunt for treasure. You pick up a drill along the way, and there you go. Explore, drill, and, well, that’s about it.
Good vibrations
Pepper Grinder, out of the gate, controls like many other platformers out there. Pepper can move and jump, both of which feel responsive and not at all slippery – a good start for any platformer. This is until mere minutes in when you acquire Grinder (the drill). From here, Pepper Grinder busts wide open. Basic, but competent platforming is peppered with a consistent stream of new mechanics, keeping each level fresh. The imagination on offer here is pretty awesome, these aren’t new abilities like being able to double jump, rather, logical extensions of Pepper’s existing moves. Each new layer allowing you to see existing manoeuvres in a new scenario, and prepare you for replaying earlier levels with a zen-master-level of skill as you hunt for collectibles or attempt the time trials.
What sticks out to me most here is how good the drilling actually feels. Boring through the earth is never disorientating, no matter which way up you are. This is because rather than controlling from where Pepper is facing, you have full 360 control when you’re underground. The turning circle does take a little getting used to, but once you do you’ll be burrowing and soaring with the precision of an olympic diver. It’s a game strangely, which thrives on underwater movement – no small feat given that it is usually an anchor of the platforming genre, not a boon. It feels so good to dive between different terrain like a geological Scrooge McDuck. The feeling of momentum is perfect as you arc between each curated landmass, supported by the level design having a much greater focus on flow rather than precision.
This ‘underwater’ movement is baked into the platforming challenges and most importantly, is the most efficient method of movement, allowing you to travel quicker and leap higher. Simply put, this type of movement hasn’t done this well since Rayman Legends, and that masterpiece is even outclassed by Pepper Grinder.
The exceptional game feel here extends to using the drill for attacking enemies too, by pointing your drill at an enemy and revving it with the R2 button you can easily dispatch any foe and there is a satisfying clunk as Grinder receives a little resistance before tearing through the flesh of any narwhal stupid enough to oppose you. This brief moment of hit-stop to emphasise impact feels excellent and it is clear that a lot of work went into tuning such an integral part of the game. There are issues when this happens too much, especially in one combat encounter where there are so many enemies and the hit-stop actually became nauseating for me. Thankfully, if you get seasick like I do, you can turn this down in the options menu.
How to stop the boring?
Pepper Grinder uses these and takes the ‘Mario World design philosophy’ of introducing and compounding mechanics until you get a reasonable, but challenging stretch of platforming to make you feel like you’ve truly mastered what the developer chose to throw at you.
Examples of these include arming Pepper with a mini gun for a Contra-style shoot out and piloting a giant mech to level a small fishing village like Godzilla. There are also odes to Donkey Kong Country (one of my favourite platformers) in the form of a canon section reminiscent of the barrels found in those games, so obviously I liked these a lot. These brief sections helps to spruce up the gameplay, ensuring you don’t stick with one gameplay style for too long, despite the game already being pretty short.
This all leads to a great variety of levels, each tackling a unique way of dealing with the drill and exploring every possible way it can be used. For example, drilling through falling sheets of ice to ascend a waterfall like an arctic salmon, or drilling through the bottom of battleships as a Jaws-like predator sponsored by Black & Decker. Pepper Grinder even explores how not to use the drill by tasking you to bounce across a fleet of hot air balloons. Every level is distinct, requiring you to master a particular technique, and most levels are memorable in their own way. Whether that is due to you taking down a fleet of battleships, drilling inside the brain of a giant jelly baby or riding the world’s most deadly subway train.
Every good platformer worth its salt needs a range of treasures and trinkets to discover, Pepper Grinder also provides here. It is nothing revolutionary, a cliched 5 golden coins to find per stage, all of which are well hidden enough. There isn’t much more to say honestly. I like it, but it isn’t mining the depths of creativity by any means. You are incentivised to dig for these treasures though, for every 10 you collect, you can purchase a key which gives you access to one secret level per world. These are the most challenging stages in the game, but are still not that tricky. It is a worthy incentive, however, once all of these keys are bought, your driving motivation for collecting everything will be if you’re a die-hard completionist.
Kill Drill: Volume II
Whilst the platforming levels themselves aren’t too challenging, the bosses on the other hand are as tough as diamonds, especially the final encounter. The bosses themselves are all decently designed, but some of them drag on just a little too long, which can make a small mistake pretty punishing if it sends you back to the start. A few of these bosses include stage hazards like bottomless pits too. These aren’t inherently a bad thing, but with the loose movement and fast drilling speed, it can lead to some frustrating ends as you careen out of one dirt pile straight to your doom.
Remedying this though, there is an option to buy extra chips of health for Pepper, increasing the number of hits she can take from four to eight. This is a good optional difficulty slider for those who need it to get through tricky sections, balanced by the need to collect coins in order to access it. The implementation though is less than ideal, in order to get this buff, you need to enter any shop on the overworld map, turn the gacha machine four times, exit the shop and then jump into the level you are struggling with. Not too bad. But, if you die on the stage, you’ll be back to four health points, meaning you need to exit the current stage, run all the way back to the shop and repeat the process if you want to have the best chance of success. It isn’t the end of the world, but in a time where games are so plentiful, I think developers would be wise to reduce this kind of friction to avoid players from bouncing off. Perhaps offering the health boost in a failstate screen after dying five or more times.
This being said, I like many of their designs, particularly the first battle against a narwhal riding a giant beetle. The satisfying impact of the drill is used to full effect, particularly during the final blow of the fight, requiring you to rev the R2 button several times in an anime-inspired clash resulting in the foe being totally eviscerated. It feels pretty badass. Also, the way Pepper will stick a middle finger up at the bosses also gets a chuckle out of me, very edgy.
Here for a bit, not a lot
The only real flaw I can find in Pepper Grinder is that it simply isn’t long enough, it kept me wanting for more. This is better than the alternative, but I do wish there was a bit more to sink my teeth into as there’s so much potential within the drilling action and platforming. For context, I finished the main story and all side levels in about 2-3 hours, there are still a few collectibles to hoover up, but there is no in-game incentive to do so which is a bummer.
This leaves the question; what is there to do after the credits roll? Well, you’ve got the different hair colours and ponchos to purchase from the various merchants along with stickers that can be used to create your own scenes. Fine enough, but pretty lame when compared to the quality of the rest of the game.
Other than that you can also bravely attempt the time trials. I’m never normally a fan of these time trials, I just don’t have the brain for them, but I know some people are inclined to enjoy these stressful endeavors. Since Pepper Grinder lends itself to going fast and being an efficient miner, I gave a few of these a go, and sure enough, I had some fun. This was dampened by the looming fact that I would never be able to beat the lengthy final boss without the mid-fight checkpoint, let alone when facing the clock whilst doing so. This put me off entirely, and makes completing some of these feel pretty futile. More of a “me-problem” for sure.
Do I dig it?
There isn’t much more that I need to dig into when it comes to Pepper Grinder. Although it is a short experience, at this price, it is difficult to argue with and I got my money’s worth. It is a fantastic palette-cleanser with no shortage of fun ideas that I hope to see the developer explore further in a sequel or a future DLC. I’d also be happy with them to explore a totally new universe, perhaps a tortoise who becomes possessed by a lawn mower? I’m not a designer, but they can have that one for free.
Lap Full of Crumbs 