Platforming is really solid and the game is constantly introducing new mechanics so it feels fresh the whole way through. Felt like the game ended like two worlds too early though, playing through the last world I didn't even think I was close to the end of the game until the boss.
Interesting little platformer, which in my opinion looks a little better than it plays. Not a bad game, but aside from the grinder mechanic there isn't much going on, say: there should be a much wider variety in level and enemy design and game mechanics to make it an actual good game. Every other mechanic aside from the grinder is just very underdeveloped. The boss fights were fun though, but they also need more variety, RNG, alternative attacks etc.
I love to see more by the dev (solo dev, i think), because they did a solid work on this game.
I love to see more by the dev (solo dev, i think), because they did a solid work on this game.
Super fun game really short but I picked it up on sale at 20% off def worth it at that price
It's always neat to get a game that comes up with a neat movement mechanic and just devotes a whole game to it. In Pepper Grinder you play as a cyan haired girl named Pepper and you traverse various themed levels with a drill. It's similar to when you would go through the ground or hidden spaces in a level in Yoshi's Island but with a whole game built around it. Also the digging is the primary mechanic and it's very fluid, fast, and requires some precision. It actually take a bit to get good at moving around and can be an adjustment knowing how you'll arc through the air or when to boost your speed. It's a lot of fun.
The premise is pretty simple. Pepper washes ashore some island and some magenta hair lady and her monster minions like loot her and run away. You pursue them across four worlds that kinda felt generic-ish with an island, a volcanic region, and a snow area. The final area is a bit more unique though.
Also, despite some kinda bland theming, it's not really much to think about when actually playing the game. Nearly every level is designed to make use of the incredible digging mechanic and some of them can really flow well. Levels can be beat fairly quickly and even can be replayed in a time attack mode.
There's a slight misstep here though I feel like. With the core digging mechanic being the highlight of the game and some levels having really nice flow, I can't help but feel like they then spit in their own face by having each level have collectables. Each non-boss level has five big coins to collect and they're almost always hidden in plain sight and if you stop on each screen to look they're pretty easily identifiable hiding spots. That's the trick though. Stopping. When a game has such good flow to then make you STOP and check every inch of the screen before moving on totally broke up the vibe for me. It's like my whole issue with Sonic games as a premise. Gotta go fast doesn't mesh with stop and look around lol.
It's bad for me in particular having a compulsion to want to 100% a level before moving on. I got all the coins in the first couple worlds but found myself getting more frustrated because it just felt bad to keep stopping and double checking. After missing one coin at the end of a level toward the end of world 2 I just said "fuck it" and just played each level after to get tot the end. Lemme tell ya, for me, this is when it got real good. No more worrying about what I'm missing, just tearing through a level and enjoying the thrill of the core mechanic and how it flows with the level design.
That's not to say there's no reason to do collectables though. Contrary to some platformers, the big coins you collect through a level actually have a purpose. Each world has a hidden level you unlock by going to a shop and purchasing a key for it for 10 big coins. Pretty neat, I think.
In the shop, as well as the key, there are sticker pages to buy for coins and I'm just now realizing how to access them in the map screen. Neat thing for people who like that stuff. You can also use the big coins to buy different hairs or hats for Pepper but I never bothered because I like her default look. The shop also contains two gacha machines you use the miscellaneous treasure you pick up through levels to buy. One of them dispenses the stickers and the other gives you an additional temporary hit. You can add up to four to double your health which can help big time on troublesome levels or a tough boss.
Boss fights in this are pretty cool too. Most of them are a big spectacle monster you fight in a large space that makes use of the whole screen and has diggable environments so you can use the drill to attack and defeat the enemy. I found them all to be pretty unique and fun to go through. I think the difficulty spikes for the third boss but it's also my favorite one and the most interesting conceptually.
SO yeah. Pepper Grinder is a video game ass video game. It's short but knows what it's about and does it well. There were some choices with collectables that turned me off but I learned to ignore them and if anything it'll just add to replay value down the line. That and some minor bugs aside, this is a very solid action platformer. Short, cheap, and fun. Perfect thing to kill an afternoon with if you just casually play through it. Definitely recommend to platformer fans or anyone looking to play with a neat way to move around a game. Just keep that collectable stuff in mind if you're the same way I am.
The premise is pretty simple. Pepper washes ashore some island and some magenta hair lady and her monster minions like loot her and run away. You pursue them across four worlds that kinda felt generic-ish with an island, a volcanic region, and a snow area. The final area is a bit more unique though.
Also, despite some kinda bland theming, it's not really much to think about when actually playing the game. Nearly every level is designed to make use of the incredible digging mechanic and some of them can really flow well. Levels can be beat fairly quickly and even can be replayed in a time attack mode.
There's a slight misstep here though I feel like. With the core digging mechanic being the highlight of the game and some levels having really nice flow, I can't help but feel like they then spit in their own face by having each level have collectables. Each non-boss level has five big coins to collect and they're almost always hidden in plain sight and if you stop on each screen to look they're pretty easily identifiable hiding spots. That's the trick though. Stopping. When a game has such good flow to then make you STOP and check every inch of the screen before moving on totally broke up the vibe for me. It's like my whole issue with Sonic games as a premise. Gotta go fast doesn't mesh with stop and look around lol.
It's bad for me in particular having a compulsion to want to 100% a level before moving on. I got all the coins in the first couple worlds but found myself getting more frustrated because it just felt bad to keep stopping and double checking. After missing one coin at the end of a level toward the end of world 2 I just said "fuck it" and just played each level after to get tot the end. Lemme tell ya, for me, this is when it got real good. No more worrying about what I'm missing, just tearing through a level and enjoying the thrill of the core mechanic and how it flows with the level design.
That's not to say there's no reason to do collectables though. Contrary to some platformers, the big coins you collect through a level actually have a purpose. Each world has a hidden level you unlock by going to a shop and purchasing a key for it for 10 big coins. Pretty neat, I think.
In the shop, as well as the key, there are sticker pages to buy for coins and I'm just now realizing how to access them in the map screen. Neat thing for people who like that stuff. You can also use the big coins to buy different hairs or hats for Pepper but I never bothered because I like her default look. The shop also contains two gacha machines you use the miscellaneous treasure you pick up through levels to buy. One of them dispenses the stickers and the other gives you an additional temporary hit. You can add up to four to double your health which can help big time on troublesome levels or a tough boss.
Boss fights in this are pretty cool too. Most of them are a big spectacle monster you fight in a large space that makes use of the whole screen and has diggable environments so you can use the drill to attack and defeat the enemy. I found them all to be pretty unique and fun to go through. I think the difficulty spikes for the third boss but it's also my favorite one and the most interesting conceptually.
SO yeah. Pepper Grinder is a video game ass video game. It's short but knows what it's about and does it well. There were some choices with collectables that turned me off but I learned to ignore them and if anything it'll just add to replay value down the line. That and some minor bugs aside, this is a very solid action platformer. Short, cheap, and fun. Perfect thing to kill an afternoon with if you just casually play through it. Definitely recommend to platformer fans or anyone looking to play with a neat way to move around a game. Just keep that collectable stuff in mind if you're the same way I am.
Fun little game! Felt good to play, great soundtrack, solid pacing. Pretty short though.
Bosses were sometimes frustrating, but the levels all rocked.
Bosses were sometimes frustrating, but the levels all rocked.
Great little game with a fun maneuvering using the drill. I liked how most levels introduced a new gimmick to help keep things fresh, and they all worked out well. The bosses were pretty difficult but had fun learning curves, except the final boss which I felt was way too difficult and spent nearly half an hour on. I also think the game is a bit overpriced given its extremely short run time.
Shortly after being woken up on the beach by a small, hideous green creature poking me with a stick -- who then stole all of my treasure away just before I stumbled upon the drill I'd use as my weapon for the next 7 hours to attempt to reclaim it -- I immediately noticed a couple of things about this game: (1) it's full of that classic Devolver Digital charm and (2) it absolutely RIPS.
Pepper Grinder is exactly what I've grown to love about Devolver-published games: it's got a fantastic soundtrack, kickass gameplay, and a unique feel to it that you really can't get anywhere else. It's a side-scrolling, platforming adventure in which the aforementioned drill is not only used as your weapon, but also your primary method of navigating the troubling terrain you'll encounter as you slice your way through dirt, ice, water, etc. to get to the end of each stage. Depending on the level, the drill also grants access to a few different temporary power ups that keep the gameplay feeling fresh -- including a Godzilla-like mech that smashes through buildings and a machine gun that lets you mow down hordes of enemies -- however, it would've been nice to be able to use the coins you collect to permanently upgrade the drill rather than relying on certain moments in certain levels to shake things up.
The boss battles are a blast, too, even if there are just a few. Truthfully, the combat as a whole is punchy and enjoyable, as nothing made me feel better than smashing through the skulls of the little green antagonists, a la the game's title card. But, as with many of the things the game does well, there simply isn't enough of it.
Each level contains two types of collectibles: Five tucked-away coins -- often found in walls, on hard-to-see platforms, among other secret locations -- and general treasure that you collect through killing enemies or smashing pots. But, while it's satisfying to discover one of the coins by meticulously combing each area, there isn't much of a benefit to collecting...anything, really. The treasure is used as currency you can spend at the shop to buy stickers and temporary health upgrades from gacha machines, neither of which are very exciting. And the coins can be spent on sheets on which to put those stickers, outfits (which are almost entirely just different hair colors for Pepper), and keys that open a single locked level in each area (the only real reason I felt enticed to spend them at all).
And that leads me into my core complaint with Pepper Grinder. Much of it simply feels half-baked: the shop, the game's length -- I spent 7 hours with it, but that's only because it took me 75% of the way through the game to truly feel like I mastered the drill's mechanics -- the story, etc. There's no doubt a solid backbone here, but by the time you hit the final boss and the game's abrupt ending, it's obvious it doesn't quite live up to its full potential, despite the fun you have with it along the way.
Pepper Grinder is exactly what I've grown to love about Devolver-published games: it's got a fantastic soundtrack, kickass gameplay, and a unique feel to it that you really can't get anywhere else. It's a side-scrolling, platforming adventure in which the aforementioned drill is not only used as your weapon, but also your primary method of navigating the troubling terrain you'll encounter as you slice your way through dirt, ice, water, etc. to get to the end of each stage. Depending on the level, the drill also grants access to a few different temporary power ups that keep the gameplay feeling fresh -- including a Godzilla-like mech that smashes through buildings and a machine gun that lets you mow down hordes of enemies -- however, it would've been nice to be able to use the coins you collect to permanently upgrade the drill rather than relying on certain moments in certain levels to shake things up.
The boss battles are a blast, too, even if there are just a few. Truthfully, the combat as a whole is punchy and enjoyable, as nothing made me feel better than smashing through the skulls of the little green antagonists, a la the game's title card. But, as with many of the things the game does well, there simply isn't enough of it.
Each level contains two types of collectibles: Five tucked-away coins -- often found in walls, on hard-to-see platforms, among other secret locations -- and general treasure that you collect through killing enemies or smashing pots. But, while it's satisfying to discover one of the coins by meticulously combing each area, there isn't much of a benefit to collecting...anything, really. The treasure is used as currency you can spend at the shop to buy stickers and temporary health upgrades from gacha machines, neither of which are very exciting. And the coins can be spent on sheets on which to put those stickers, outfits (which are almost entirely just different hair colors for Pepper), and keys that open a single locked level in each area (the only real reason I felt enticed to spend them at all).
And that leads me into my core complaint with Pepper Grinder. Much of it simply feels half-baked: the shop, the game's length -- I spent 7 hours with it, but that's only because it took me 75% of the way through the game to truly feel like I mastered the drill's mechanics -- the story, etc. There's no doubt a solid backbone here, but by the time you hit the final boss and the game's abrupt ending, it's obvious it doesn't quite live up to its full potential, despite the fun you have with it along the way.
very fun need more
Ever wanted to play an entire 2D platformer like you've got the Drill Wisp from Sonic Colours at all times? Pepper Grinder might be the game for you! With a major focus on the act of drilling into the ground, resurfacing and diving back under to keep speed going, and grapple hooks for some blink-and-you'll-die platforming sections, there's a really good sense of speed and flow to Pepper Grinder once you adjust to its more unwieldy underground controls. I never quite got a full grasp on them; had a few late game moments where I choked from losing control, but you can argue that just as much a bit of a skill issue than anything else... though the final boss fight definitely kept me occupied for a while due to drill-related mishaps. Likening it to something like the paralooping from NiGHTS Into Dreams helped me get a bit of a better grip on it, and it wasn't some super intense hurdle, just had a few moments where I gaffed a drill from a zipline or something similar.
It's short, sweet, fast-paced, and has a lot of level specific gimmicks to throw at the player and then throw them back to the wayside as quickly as they'd introduced them, but in a way that feels more like it's keeping the player on their toes rather than trying and failing to shake up the formula. Add to it some mid-level exploration to find what are essentially the Star Coins in the New Super Mario Bros games, for the sake of unlocking bonus levels, and a speedrun mode for those inclined, and you've got a pretty meaty amount of content for the returning playing to sink their teeth into! A great time with a pretty cheap price tag to boot, will definitely be returning for more!
It's short, sweet, fast-paced, and has a lot of level specific gimmicks to throw at the player and then throw them back to the wayside as quickly as they'd introduced them, but in a way that feels more like it's keeping the player on their toes rather than trying and failing to shake up the formula. Add to it some mid-level exploration to find what are essentially the Star Coins in the New Super Mario Bros games, for the sake of unlocking bonus levels, and a speedrun mode for those inclined, and you've got a pretty meaty amount of content for the returning playing to sink their teeth into! A great time with a pretty cheap price tag to boot, will definitely be returning for more!
It takes a few goes to get used to the runaway-train feeling of controlling the arm-mounted drill in this game, but when you feel like you’ve gained some control and are cutting perfect lines through rock it feels oh so good. It never feels like you fully gain mastery of the drill, but that is to the game’s strength; it feels like you’re clinging onto the drill by the seat of your pants and it’s only when your feet are back on solid ground that you’re able to breath again.
The other mechanics introduced throughout the game are a mixed bag: the gun and mech sections are a (literal) blast and are used sparingly enough that they remain a fun novelty. On the other hand, the grappling hook swinging never felt precise enough and contributed to about half my deaths in the game. The other half came at the hands of each of the world’s bosses. Whilst the unwieldy drill traversal made the platforming sections tense but exciting, they made the boss battles frustrating; the final boss in particular is a specific breed of bastard. The one thing I didn’t engage with was the shop: during each level you’ll amass a healthy supply of gems and gold coins that you can use to buy stickers, alternate clothing/hair colours, and keys to unlock bonus levels (one per world). I may go back in future and try and collect ‘em all, but felt no motivation to do so during my time playing Pepper Grinder.
Overall, I found it to be a bit of a messy game with a really interesting traversal mechanism that was let down with some finicky controls and uneven difficult spikes across its boss battles.
The other mechanics introduced throughout the game are a mixed bag: the gun and mech sections are a (literal) blast and are used sparingly enough that they remain a fun novelty. On the other hand, the grappling hook swinging never felt precise enough and contributed to about half my deaths in the game. The other half came at the hands of each of the world’s bosses. Whilst the unwieldy drill traversal made the platforming sections tense but exciting, they made the boss battles frustrating; the final boss in particular is a specific breed of bastard. The one thing I didn’t engage with was the shop: during each level you’ll amass a healthy supply of gems and gold coins that you can use to buy stickers, alternate clothing/hair colours, and keys to unlock bonus levels (one per world). I may go back in future and try and collect ‘em all, but felt no motivation to do so during my time playing Pepper Grinder.
Overall, I found it to be a bit of a messy game with a really interesting traversal mechanism that was let down with some finicky controls and uneven difficult spikes across its boss battles.
Fun short little romp with a few unique platforming and momentum mechanics. While I don't fault it for being short, I do fault it for not fully getting me invested. I felt like I was just playing through the levels to finish, rather than to unlock all the secrets and master mechanics.
Props to this game for trying out new ideas and concepts that I haven't seen other 2d games tackle before. Fun, entertaining and doesn't overstay its welcome
Pepper Grinder was a really fun time. I had been looking forward to this game for a long time, and I'm really happy that it lived up to my expectations. The drilling mechanic is so simple, but it feels so good and fluid to control, and it provides the player with so much speed and momentum. It also allows for really creative level design. The levels are all so much fun to run through, and every time you think they might need something to shake them up, the game throws some kind of new gimmick at you and themes the entire level around it. This kept the levels feeling fresh until the very end. The final boss was also a lot of fun. The game is pretty short, but the time trial versions of each level add a lot of replay value. Some of the time trials could be pretty difficult, but once I got the hang of it, it was very satisfying to speed run my way through the levels. I 100 percent completed Pepper Grinder, and I'm glad I did. There is a perfect amount of content for going for full completion.
Muito legal quando um jogo consegue trazer uma mecânica diferente para um jogo de plataforma! A ideia do cavar cria um flow delicioso e no geral o jogo tem uma inventividade super gostosa.... Infelizmente um pouco curto, seria capaz de jogar mais 3 ou 4 mundos tranquilamente!
Faltou um polimento aqui, um uso melhor das moedas acolá, coisas que dá para relevar. Maaas, o que me irritou foram os chefes! Dos quatro, três tem um salto de dificuldade absurdo, umas hitbox estranhas e parece que o jogo te pune por você tentar usar com força o grinder e a parte mais gostosa do jogo que é essa fluidez na hora de lutar (principalmente no chefe final que tem uma segunda parte insuportável).
Faltou um polimento aqui, um uso melhor das moedas acolá, coisas que dá para relevar. Maaas, o que me irritou foram os chefes! Dos quatro, três tem um salto de dificuldade absurdo, umas hitbox estranhas e parece que o jogo te pune por você tentar usar com força o grinder e a parte mais gostosa do jogo que é essa fluidez na hora de lutar (principalmente no chefe final que tem uma segunda parte insuportável).
Pepper Grinder is an awesome little 2D Platformer that reminded me of the Donkey Kong Country games! Very fun and sometimes tricky levels, with the very difficult boss fights. Some awesome music and cool character designs c:
Como juego de plataformas está genial y la base del Gameplay es bastante novedosa pero le sobran todos los boses, no pintan nada y restan, pero el Gameplay general está muy bien
This game was so fun! Taking a dig mechanic which normally is a one and done in one level type of powerup for platformers and making a whole game around that is such a good idea. Plus the soundtrack by Xeecee is oh so very good. Those boss battles were evil.
Great platformer that sets out to do everything it wanted to do. Fun and fast paced gameplay along with unique gimmicks every levels makes this short game a very solid one at that. I do wish that coins were used more interestingly and that there was more feedback after getting hit, but those are just nitpicks. Overall it's a really enjoyable game that if you have a hour or two to kill, I highly recommend it.
Honestly, Pepper Grinder feels like the most middle of the road modern indie game ever. It's never BAD in its 2 hour run time, but it never feels much deeper than a game jam project. The main flaw is the lack of depth in the central mechanic, but the bland pixel aesthetic and basic level design certainly don't help.
Drilling feels great, but its not really a mechanic that leads itself to any challenging platforming or combat sections, its just not interesting enough to be the central focus of the game.
While the gamefeel is strong, and it really feels like all of the effort went to making Pepper Grinder fun to control, the rest of the game just can't make up for it. There's no interesting levels that stood out, the bosses really stunk aside from the third one (where you basically fight yourself), and the difficulty was generally low but super uneven. I can't see myself replaying this one unfortunately.
Drilling feels great, but its not really a mechanic that leads itself to any challenging platforming or combat sections, its just not interesting enough to be the central focus of the game.
While the gamefeel is strong, and it really feels like all of the effort went to making Pepper Grinder fun to control, the rest of the game just can't make up for it. There's no interesting levels that stood out, the bosses really stunk aside from the third one (where you basically fight yourself), and the difficulty was generally low but super uneven. I can't see myself replaying this one unfortunately.
I didn't mind its brief length when each level was densely packed with fun movement optimization and collectables. Super unique movement, but it comes back to bite you while trying to fight bosses.
Pretty fun levels, crunchy gameplay and nice graphics/sound. Very straightforward game, which is so welcome. Played mostly on my Deck and loved it.
Some boss are extra hard but when you get the pattern is a lot of fun
Some boss are extra hard but when you get the pattern is a lot of fun
Devolver with another really cool, short game. Pepper Grinder almost gave me a Super Meat Boy feeling with it's satisfying, fast paced platforming. It has a great art style and it's a ton of fun. Highly recommend.
The final boss in this game is almost enough for me to want to quit and never play again. Almost everything leading up to it is really fun and charming and feels mostly balanced, but the last fight really needs to be somewhat reworked or modified in its current state because it ruins what is almost a great game.
I loved the platforming core as shown in the demo, but the boss fight that immediately follows in the full game was astoundingly unfun. It seriously feels like a prank. The level of precision it demands was totally unexpected, and the only accessibility option is to slow the entire game down. No thanks!!
This game was really fun, but it felt like it was missing a special something to elevate it to greatness. Still worth a play though.
Violently digging through its abstract stages and discovering secrets is superb, but Pepper Grinder frequently loses sight of what makes it so great - especially when it begins to lean on mediocre combat and trial-and-error gameplay as players approach its truncated finale.
Full Review: https://neoncloudff.wordpress.com/2024/05/01/now-playing-april-2024-edition/
Full Review: https://neoncloudff.wordpress.com/2024/05/01/now-playing-april-2024-edition/
I thought this was a pretty good little platformer, even if I'm not a fan of pixel art graphics. It's based almost entirely around one single gimmick - the use of a drill - though there are some other gameplay mechanics.
World 4 brings in a mech and a gun and I felt like it was too much of a gameplay change, rather than focusing on what was good about the core gameplay. But that's when the game ends, as it's a fairly short game. I was having fun though, until the last world. If world 4 were reworked, I'd give this game 4 stars instead of 3.5.
World 4 brings in a mech and a gun and I felt like it was too much of a gameplay change, rather than focusing on what was good about the core gameplay. But that's when the game ends, as it's a fairly short game. I was having fun though, until the last world. If world 4 were reworked, I'd give this game 4 stars instead of 3.5.
No filler, all…not quite killer, but pretty good! The levels are well designed for a quick drilling and thankfully never get a chance to outstay their welcome. Although I can't help but feel as though Pepper Grinder is missing that last bit of oomph that could have taken it to the next level, like a better use for all the gold you’re collecting on your adventure. Even still this is a very cool debut and I’ll be interested to see how the dev learns from this experience. I’ll be there day one for whatever they do next! …also…damn I miss the Vita…
A short and sweet burst of fun, Pepper Grinder keep the player engaged and presents them with creative levels that slowly increase in difficulty, though it ends rather abruptly. It's a short game, maybe 3 hours without 100%ing, but each level feels well designed and memorable, without any filler. A great game to complete in a weekend.
Extremely solid, impeccable game feel and momentum. I've had this on my radar for years now, and I was quite satisfied. Completed in about 2.5 hours.