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!