getting pretty sick of joining death cults only to be the guy who drags a dead body just out of sight of whoever came alone to investigate the disappearance of a loved one if i'm being honest 🙄

This game was an interesting. When I first saw gameplay of Pepper Grinder, I was sold. There’s just something super appealing about videogames where your main method of traversal and combat is a drill. And for the most part the game is really fun, it’s rather short and sweet too, so it never overstays its welcome. Though keeping that in mind, there are some rough, and frustrating parts of the game which made me not enjoy the game as much as I could have.

In most levels, the gameplay is ridiculously fun. The drill just feels amazing, just being able to blast through soil so quickly, and l just had so much fun. With 4 Worlds and about 20 or so levels, it’s able to play well with the mechanics of the drill and make each level really unique. I really like how you can attach the drill to certain objects to change how you play the game too! There aren’t that many, but they feel really good to play with. The only other major mechanic is a grappling hook, and while mechanically I think it works well, I just think the controls need to change. Mainly I think that the action of un-grappling should also be tied to the button to grapple, and not the button to use to the drill. It’s not terrible, and I was able to get used to it, but it still feels rather odd.

There’s also just a lot that’s really good with Pepper Grinder. Collectible coins in each level, and cosmetic items you can buy from them. Really good pixel art from beginning to end. And of course, one of the best parts of this game as a whole is the music. Each level seemed to have a unique track, and all of them are just a delight to listen to, and it changes as you play through each level. One of the ones that immediately come to mind is a level in World 3 where once you immediately attach your drill to a sled, the music drastically changes. This game, just in general, has a great soundtrack.

While I shower this much praise on the game, I can’t help but deny: the bosses are bad. I was able to beat each boss after a number of tries, however I think even then there are some major flaws with them. I think the big thing is just that there’s so little room to maneuver in each boss room. They’re tightly cramped, which doesn’t account for the momentum that the player has. Oftentimes I found myself just caught on a little part of the ground while trying to avoid an attack, and getting hit because of it. While I did beat each boss, I’m uncertain how much I was improving each try, or if I just simply won out of dumb luck. Aside from that, I just also wish the boss for World 2 would put you at the start of the fight when respawning like the other bosses, instead of having to walk and watch the cutscene each and every attempt.

Regardless of that, I still think Pepper Grinder is still a rather solid game. It’s not entirely perfect, but it was a really fun time. The normal platforming levels are really fun, the drill-based movement just feels so fluid, and I love how high-paced it is. I definitely think Pepper Grinder is worth trying out. It took me about 3 and a half hours to beat, and I went through optional levels, so if you only do enough to beat the game, you should beat it faster than me. I’m glad to see a game like this exist, and I really do hope more games like this come out.

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