Pepper Grinder review

Our VerdictFive hours of fun, frantic platforming that’s unwieldy and all the better for it.

Our Verdict

Five hours of fun, frantic platforming that’s unwieldy and all the better for it.

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Poor Pepper. She’s the star of Devolver Digital’s new platformer, but she would be laughed off the stage at the Annual Platforming Protagonist Awards. Not that she’d have much luck leaving that stage unassisted. Pepper’s hobbled with a pathetic jump, a mediocre little hop that can barely get her a few feet off the ground. So it’s a stroke of good fortune that she’s rammed her arm into a drill attachment that can send her swimming through dirt, then use her momentum to burst out and fly through the air.

Cumbersome as it can be, the drill is a delight to use, with excellent rumble feedback. This is an absolute must-play with a controller, unless you own a vibrating keyboard (why do you own a vibrating keyboar… actually, I’d rather not know). Swimming through dirt feels great, as does introducing enemies to the sharp spinny end of your new toy. Comparisons to Game Boy Advance cult classic Drill Dozer are obvious, but it actually plays more like that same console’s Donkey Kong: King of Swing. That game was all about carefully timing swings to reach higher ground. Pepper Grinder plays a bit like this, if you were playing King of Swing with a dodgy emulator that quadrupled the game’s speed.

To exit a swing you need to trigger the drill, sending Pepper skyrocketing. Levels soon become an acrobat’s nightmare of perfectly executed chains of swinging, drilling, and hurtling yourself around. There’s even a speed boost that’s tragically mandatory to execute some of the more distant jumps. Pepper has four slivers of health that can disappear in the blink of an eye and atinywindow of invulnerability after taking damage. Thank Christ there’s no lives system and mostly generous checkpointing, so this tricky platformer usually lands on the right side of challenging/frustrating. When you pull off a long, unbroken run of platforming it gives you a similar sense of triumph to racing through a 2D Sonic level without dropping a single ring, except your success here feels much more skill-based.

(Image credit: Ahr Ech)

Pepper burrowing through dirt in Pepper Grinder.

It’s constantly throwing novelties like this at you, never feeling like it’s cynically padding out the run time with filler.

(Image credit: Ahr Ech)

Pepper diving through the air in Pepper Grinder.

It’s not a long game—it took me five hours to see the credits—but it’s generous with ideas right up to those credits.

Which is honestly fine! It’s not a long game—it took me five hours to see the credits—but it’s generous with ideas right up to those credits. Pepper Grinder is a short, sweet treat, a good idea executed with great energy. If you’re looking for a 2D platformer built to last, get Rayman Legends. If you’re up for a faster, leaner platformer, crammed with memorable moments (Pumpkin carving! An homage to King Kong! An absolute pig of a final boss!) Pepper’s thrilling drilling adventure is well worth a spin.

Kitchen-GO Pepper Grinder: Price Comparison

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Kitchen-GO Pepper Grinder

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The Verdict80Read our review policyPepper GrinderFive hours of fun, frantic platforming that’s unwieldy and all the better for it.

The Verdict

80Read our review policyPepper GrinderFive hours of fun, frantic platforming that’s unwieldy and all the better for it.

80Read our review policy

Pepper GrinderFive hours of fun, frantic platforming that’s unwieldy and all the better for it.

Pepper Grinder

Five hours of fun, frantic platforming that’s unwieldy and all the better for it.

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Our Verdict#

Our Verdict