Pepper Grinder Review – A Drill-Fueled Adventure Awaits

Labeling this game a platformer solely is a bit of an underrepresentation. Yes, you jump, but it’s not as simple as pressing “A” to jump from one ledge to another. On the contrary, you must navigate through the terrain with a drill, utilizing momentum and power to maneuver around each level precisely. It takes a lot of skill to flesh out a popular gaming genre with its own unique mechanic, and Pepper Grinder does just that.

Unsurprisingly, this creative gem comes from the publishing hands of Devolver Digital, whose library of standout indie titles consistently expands throughout the years. You play as a girl named Pepper who ends up shipwrecked on an island. After your accident, you get robbed of your treasure by some dastardly narwhals known as Narlings. Though all hope seems lost, you acquire an immensely powerful drilling device known as the Grinder. Using the Grinder, you journey to find the treasure you hold dear.

Pepper Grinder isn’t just a platformer; it’s a genre-defining masterpiece that introduces a thrilling drilling mechanic to navigate through its creatively designed levels.

Mastering Momentum

As you start your island adventure, you’re getting accustomed to your Grinder’s maneuverability, learning more tips and tricks over time. While the movements are fluid and satisfying, there is a slight difficulty curve in mastering your drilling capabilities. Despite that, the flow can become so addicting and rhythmic as you drill through pockets of dirt, flying out to each platform like a dolphin rising out of the water. The movement is so fluid as you travel in all directions, allowing you the benefit of many unique pathways ahead. In addition, the control is intuitive from the get-go.

Within the first few seconds of controlling the Grinder, you grasp just how second nature maneuvering becomes. Alongside the Grinder, you even get a grappling hook on some levels, meaning you can twist and weave your way around. The layout of each level has environments and platforms that are structured in such a way that you can potentially complete certain areas in a quick amount of time, though it would take a significant amount of practice. While Pepper Grinder was enjoyable to a casual gamer like me, I could see this title thriving within the speed-running community. Seeing folks competing for the best times in the Time Attack mode wouldn’t surprise me. Based on my run, I could tell that at some points, running into hazards might be the quickest way to get around.

The fun factor is ever-present within each level of the map. Gems lie within these dirt patches to guide you in the right direction, but it’s best to look for cracks in the wall, as you can find heaps of treasure or secret Skull Coins hidden within each area. You can utilize these coins to access locked bonus levels or increase the space in your sticker book. By accessing the Curiosity shop on each world map, you can use the gems to buy temporary health upgrades or roll on a gachapon machine for some cute stickers.

With every turn of the drill, Pepper Grinder delivers an adrenaline rush unmatched in the platforming genre, offering a gameplay experience that’s both addictively fun and challenging.

Visual and Auditory Splendor

Though Narlings get in the way, there’s enough enemy variation to keep you engaged with the simplistic combat. Most of the combat involves using your drill on the enemy, but you occasionally get addons to your drill to spice up the fights. Regular enemies are easy enough to attack and avoid, but the combat shines within the boss fights. Each world has an engaging boss fight that utilizes your terrain drilling in clever ways. The bosses are no easy feat either, each bringing their unique challenge, testing my drilling and jumping skills in a rewarding manner. It’s as if all the bosses are a culmination of all the techniques you’ve acquired throughout your journey.

There’s a high sense of energy and expression when examining the background environment and animated sprites. Sure, you may be moving through the levels quickly, but that doesn’t take away from the gorgeous backdrops. The colors are vibrant and brilliant, adding an additional reason to keep your eyes glued to the screen. The sound design is just as impactful as the intensity of the drill, and the excitement emanating from the background music kept me focused.

Given the dynamic platforming nature of the drill concept, it may be easy to compare this game to other titles, such as Drill Dozer or even certain portions of Celeste or Rayman. However, I’d contend that Pepper Grinder does well to be its standout title. The main signature mechanic of the Grinder creates such a unique traversal system that easily captures your attention. Bolstering that concept with a creative-level design enables your muscle memory to take over, increasing that retention tenfold. Also, having a health bar adds a nice touch of generosity to this gameplay style. If you had to die each time you took a hit or fell, the levels could’ve quickly gone from entertaining to tedious, so there’s an outstanding balance of challenge.

Pepper Grinder thrives in its simplicity, proving that innovative gameplay mechanics can breathe new life into familiar genres and captivate players’ imaginations.

With all that being said, not everything is perfect. Most of the primary traversal feels simple and smooth, but there are certain moments when the control starts feeling underwhelming. This is pretty prominent when traversing through water. While I know moving underwater isn’t going to match moving through the dirt, I couldn’t help but feel that some motions and jumps felt awkward. It’s odd how I feel like I swim more in the ground than in the water. Despite that shift in momentum, this concern is pretty minuscule.

Challenges Beneath the Surface

There isn’t much to say about a narrative if you’re looking for a plot. You’re just going to try to get back your treasure from the Narlings and their respective leaders. This fits the gameplay style perfectly, as I could see the inspirations from arcade games within the frameworks, so a story isn’t necessary whatsoever. But I wish the game was a bit longer, as its 4-6 hour runtime left me yearning for more content. Sure, there’s a Time Attack mode, but I’d have loved to see what other levels could exist. That said, the game doesn’t overstay its welcome, and I closed it feeling cheerful and pleased.

When taking a glimpse at the gameplay of Pepper Grinder, the brain’s neurons start rapidly firing as it looks so satisfying. And I’m glad to say that the experience delivers on it being an enjoyable ride of an arcade platformer. Undoubtedly, developer Ahr Ech put a ton of work into ensuring all the elements aligned for a gratifying experience. From the weight of Pepper’s drill to the intricate level layout to the engaging combat, building a platformer of this caliber is an impressive feat. While some moments may not feel ideal, the novelty and freshness of Pepper Grinder are exquisite.