I love Pepper Grinder, but it needs updates. More than that, it needed more time in the oven.
Grinding/drilling through the dirt is so satisfying, bolstered by great use of HD Rumble on Switch. Grinding through gravel and popping out of the Earth, at its best, is one of the best feeling game mechanics in years to me. It is that special. The level design is great and has light collectathon elements -- big Donkey Kong Country and Yoshi's Island vibes. There are ideas used once or twice alongside level/visual themes only used a few times, and for the most part they're executed great. The difficulty during levels is breezy but not overly so. The music rips, too.
If all of Pepper Grinder was like this, it would be one of the best 2D platformers I had played in years. Skipping over the water man...it feels so good! Unfortunately, the game faces regular, frustrating issues with punishing bosses, inconsistent checkpointing, bugs, strange hitboxes, and other design quirks that leave me feeling more mixed here than any game I've played in some time. The bosses in particular -- why is there such an unearned difficulty spike here? Why am I doing Metroidvania-style pattern recognition bosses after skipping over the water using my silly drill? Why are there no permanent health upgrades to accommodate?
This still could end up in my Top 10 (or at least honorable mentions) at the end of the year because the stuff that hits really hits. But the whiplash between total elation and "almost quit the game" level frustration makes it a really difficult thing to evaluate. Excited to see what the developer does next.
Grinding/drilling through the dirt is so satisfying, bolstered by great use of HD Rumble on Switch. Grinding through gravel and popping out of the Earth, at its best, is one of the best feeling game mechanics in years to me. It is that special. The level design is great and has light collectathon elements -- big Donkey Kong Country and Yoshi's Island vibes. There are ideas used once or twice alongside level/visual themes only used a few times, and for the most part they're executed great. The difficulty during levels is breezy but not overly so. The music rips, too.
If all of Pepper Grinder was like this, it would be one of the best 2D platformers I had played in years. Skipping over the water man...it feels so good! Unfortunately, the game faces regular, frustrating issues with punishing bosses, inconsistent checkpointing, bugs, strange hitboxes, and other design quirks that leave me feeling more mixed here than any game I've played in some time. The bosses in particular -- why is there such an unearned difficulty spike here? Why am I doing Metroidvania-style pattern recognition bosses after skipping over the water using my silly drill? Why are there no permanent health upgrades to accommodate?
This still could end up in my Top 10 (or at least honorable mentions) at the end of the year because the stuff that hits really hits. But the whiplash between total elation and "almost quit the game" level frustration makes it a really difficult thing to evaluate. Excited to see what the developer does next.