Pepper Grinder | Switch Review

Who doesn’t love a good platformer? We’ve come a long way since the early days of Mario and the many iterations of the genre. When something fresh comes along, it’s always very welcoming. Such is the case with Ahr Ech/MP2 Games‘ Pepper Grinder, which is published by Devolver Digital. Although there are the occasional platforms on which you’ll need to jump, the novelty here is drilling through the earth to get from A to B. It’s a very satisfying feeling, but does have a few kinks to work out. Still, this is a perfect “weekend game” that is sure to please most fans of this style of play.

Entrenched in Ambiguity

OK, so maybe “ambiguous” isn’t a fair word when describing Pepper Grinder‘s story, but it is paper thin. A blue-haired female washes ashore from a shipwreck with her treasures strewn about. A group of pirates arrive, steal everything, and take off. When she comes to, our heroine takes after them to take back what she (presumably) rightfully stole. She does so after four worlds of clever platforming, and does her best Scrooge McDuck money swim with the newfound treasures procured by the pirates.

That’s it. That’s the entire story. If you want to yell at me for spoiling a three-to-four hour game, go ahead. It’s not like there were a ton of surprises. What’s interesting is that this story is told without so much as a single line of dialogue. What’s even more perplexing is that the anime-styled intro that was present in the trailer before release is nowhere to be seen in the game itself. It’s a bold choice to use that solely for marketing, but I was hoping for some extra cut scenes similar to what we saw in the trailer.

That’s not to say that we need a ton of narrative for a game like this one. Hell, most of us grew up chasing after Bowser without so much as a “Here we go!” Thankfully, the gameplay more than makes up for it.

Bit by Bit

Right off the bat, our heroine acquires a very large drill bit that she somehow attaches to herself. This tool gives her the ability to tunnel through softer ground while moving. The ground quickly refills itself, however, which makes tunneling feel a bit more like swimming. The key here is that there’s momentum pushing the player forward. You can reverse directions quite easily, but doing so breaks the flow that makes traversal so satisfying, much like in a Sonic game.

It seems obvious that this game is a speedrunner’s delight. Every time you pick up a gem, a little counter appears over your head. If you take more than a second or two acquiring the next gem, the counter resets. I get the impression that many will master pushing through each stage with the maximum streak possible. Personally, I had no interest in pursuing a lofty goal and was very happy discovering the clever design of each world.

That’s what makes this one so much fun to experience. On the surface, it feels like you’re just going to dig your way to end of each level, but new curve balls are thrown at you keep things fresh and exciting all the way to the end. You’ll have to jump out of burrowed soil to reach higher places, grapple your way forward, and even pilot some machinery to reach your goal. You’re never doing exactly the same thing for very long, and the game’s short length keeps it from ever overstaying its welcome. But for those who want to extend the life of the game, there are hidden coins that will unlock extra stages and also satisfy completionists.

Knock the Dust Off

As great of a concept Pepper Grinder is, it’s not without some minor issues. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something felt slightly “off” when moving through environments. I felt as if I didn’t always have full control of the direction in which I was tunneling. The timing window for getting higher jumps is also very tight and feels slightly misplaced. These issues don’t take a long time to get used to, but by the time you do, the game is nearly over.

As much fun as the level traversal is, I didn’t enjoy the bosses as much as I would have liked. Each is unique, but still follows a formula of tunneling under the enemy, jumping out at the right moment and hitting a weak spot until victory is achieved. These wound up being lessons in patience rather than pattern memorization, which was often more frustrating than rewarding.

It might sound like I’m being overly negative about a game that I thoroughly enjoyed. None of my problems are any reason to keep from recommending it. The game is a blast to work through, and I felt very satisfied when I rolled credits. I didn’t feel compelled to go back and replay any levels or bone up on my speedrunning skills, however. I’ll leave that for those who wish for a greater challenge.

Pepper Grinder Final Verdict

Pepper Grinder probably won’t make my top ten list of the year, but it’s still more than worth picking up. It’s a novel concept upon which I hope it’s iterated. Yes, the game is short, but I have no issue with that. The price of admission was well worth the amount of fun I had playing through it, and there’s a lot more for people who would like extend its life even further. Here’s to hoping that we get more novel ideas in the platforming genre.

To hear me talk more about Pepper Grinder, be sure to listen to our April 17th episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:12:32 time stamp.

This review is based on a purchased Nintendo Switch copy of Pepper Grinder. It is also available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.