Manner again within the historical days when the Recreation Boy Advance was Nintendo’s important handheld, Recreation Freak (sure, the Pokémon folks) launched a inventive little platformer referred to as Drill Dozer. Putting you within the position of a barely crazed lady who tears via phases and foes alike with a strong drill, it shortly established itself as an all-time basic with its distinctive tackle platforming, although it by no means turned in style sufficient to justify a sequel. Now, practically 20 years later, an indie developer named Ahr Ech determined to make Pepper Grinder, a kind of non secular sequel. Carrying on the spirit of platformers of yesteryear whereas bringing in a ton of nice new concepts of its personal, Pepper Grinder stands as a superb new entry within the style and one which we’d very a lot recommend you think about selecting up.
The story takes place in a world of islands the place piracy runs rampant. You play as a quiet adventurer named Pepper who amasses her pile of booty not by taking it from others, however by discovering it in numerous historical caches. Throughout a storm, Pepper’s ship is wrecked on the seashore overrun by these goofy narwhal-like creatures referred to as Narlings, who raid her ship whereas she’s handed out and steal all her treasure. When Pepper involves, she quickly discovers a mysterious drill system referred to as Grinder, and units out on a vengeful quest to destroy the Narlings and reclaim her riches.
Pepper Grinder is a basic 2D platformer via and thru, taking you on a linear journey via ranges stretched throughout numerous themed worlds. Although not like most platformers, leaping isn’t emphasised practically as a lot right here—a lot of the focus is positioned on the chaotic would possibly of Grinder and its potential to bore via nearly something. There’s a frantic glee to Pepper Grinder’s gameplay that we’ve hardly ever skilled in different platformers, and far of which has to do with its reliance on razor-sharp reflexes.
A bit just like the basic Sonic video games, degree designs are sometimes outlined by sections of blazing-fast pace interspersed amongst slower-paced sections the place you’re meant to catch your breath. But when it’s time to go, Pepper Grinder isn’t the sort of recreation that provides you very a lot time to calculate correct timing. As quickly as you go underground, the fuel pedal is floored and also you’re blitzing ahead whether or not you wish to or not, solely leaving simply sufficient time to react to obstacles you’re hurtling in the direction of.
It’s a testomony to Pepper Grinder’s glorious controls that the general expertise is so gratifying, as a lot of your time is spent hanging on for expensive life. For one factor, the controls are quite simple to come back to grips with—you merely maintain down the precise set off to spin the drill up, and you’ll juice the engine a bit by tapping ‘B’ for an enormous sudden pace burst that’s nice for nailing these jumps between pits. In the meantime, the physics are as responsive and tight as you’d count on in a high-intensity platformer, and whilst you by no means really feel such as you’re completely answerable for the wild drill, there’s a way that you’ve simply sufficient to all the time level it the place you need it to go.
Prime-notch degree design is a spotlight of Pepper Grinder, and this goes a good distance towards making it such a novel and gratifying expertise. Each degree introduces some new stage gimmick, resembling an early stage primarily based round Donkey Kong Nation-style barrel blasts or one other the place you may flip your drill right into a minigun with infinite ammo, and this wealth of concepts provides Pepper Grinder great selection. But it doesn’t matter what the brand new taste is, there’s all the time a cautious steadiness between exploration and motion, lending every stage a terrific tempo that doesn’t really feel too quick or sluggish.
So as to add extra replay worth, there are many collectibles and extra challenges to beat for those who suppose your abilities are sharp sufficient. Each stage has 5 hidden cranium cash that you need to use to purchase supplies in a store like beauty outfit adjustments for Pepper or keys that unlock hidden ranges, whilst you can spend all of the treasure you seize from phases on a gacha that’ll offer you stickers to be used in a photograph mode or short-term well being boosts that’ll up your max HP. Moreover, beating every stage as soon as will unlock a time assault mode for it that has some powerful necessities for getting a gold medal, demanding mastery of each the stage structure and Grinder’s motion mechanics.
Visually, Pepper Grinder takes so much after the high-bit artwork type seen in video games resembling The Mageseeker, One Step From Eden, or Grapple Canine, and it seems in all the perfect methods like a misplaced GBA recreation. Brilliant colours simply pop in every stage, particularly when there’s an explosion of treasure from one other Narling you wasted with Grinder, nevertheless it’s the little particulars and animations that actually take this visible type from good to nice. Issues like a dynamic digital camera zoom while you ship the ultimate blow to a boss, or the way in which by which the menu UI twitches and vibrates, add that further little bit of character and manic vitality which helps Pepper Grinder stand out from its friends.
Pepper Grinder additionally incorporates a standout soundtrack that completely matches the bristling vitality and inventiveness of the gameplay with an eclectic music lineup that throws loads of cool concepts your approach. It options parts of drum and bass, home, pop, jazz, and funk amongst others, all of which mix into one thing that feels surprisingly cohesive contemplating the vary. You merely by no means know what sort of music would possibly play within the subsequent stage, but it all the time seems like a terrific match for the motion onscreen.
The one actual (fairly minor) criticism we have now about Pepper Grinder is that there merely isn’t sufficient of it. It ought to solely take about 4 to 6 hours to beat, and perhaps a number of extra for those who accumulate every little thing and nail the gold occasions within the time assault. In fact, it’s all the time higher for a recreation to exit on a excessive be aware than overstay its welcome, however with the wealth of concepts and glorious gameplay right here, we couldn’t assist however want that there was one other world or two to flesh it out.
We encountered some minor technical points within the evaluate construct, too, together with a glitch through the last boss battle that made the boss invincible. Nevertheless, they did not quantity to far more than minor annoyances, and we have been assured {that a} patch to easy out these points is already within the works for launch shortly after launch.
Conclusion
Pepper Grinder is a splendidly ingenious and enjoyable platformer that no fan of the style will wish to miss out on. It could have a runtime that feels a little bit too brief, however that is in the end a deeply gratifying, difficult, and extremely replayable recreation with numerous persona. Should you suppose you’d have an interest, we’d recommend you decide up Pepper Grinder on the subsequent alternative (and there is a even downloadable demo for those who’re on the fence).
