'Pepper Grinder' is a 2D platformer whose main gimmick is a drill which lets you move through patches of dirt. This mechanic will feel familiar to anyone who has played Ori & the Will of the Wisps, as it's almost identical to the burrow mechanic from that's game penultimate level. The game makes a very strong first impression, as controlling this drill is one of the best feeling mechanics I've experienced in any platformer. The tactility of this thing is perfectly tuned. This is elevated by excellent sound & visual design that makes every action feel crunchy and satisfying to perform.
In a genre that's dominated by Metroidvanias, Megaman-likes and Celeste clones, it's really nice to see a "Course Clear!"-style platformer being released. Early on, the level design is quite strong, where everything in the game world interacts with the drill in novel ways, such as using it to spin platforms or pierce zeppelins. The level design is open-ended enough that the player can intuitively identify shortcuts in the dirt patches, making the Time Attack mode particularly addicting, as it encourages going off the intended path and seeing what you can get away with, by dashing out of a patch of dirt. The difficulty curve is solid throughout, with some minor difficulty spikes towards the end, though nothing too egregious.
For the first two worlds, I was loving the game and thought it could be up there with some of the greats. However, the game really starts to stumble in the back half, as it reveals some major limitations in the level design and ESPECIALLY the boss fights. Starting with level design, there is so much you could do with this concept, yet these later levels feel like they barely do anything with it. Different types of dirt that change the way you move through them or modules for the drill that augment its properties, are just some of the things they could have explored here. It was disappointing to get to World 4 and realise the game was becoming more mindless, due to an increase in combat sections. Some of the later additions are particularly bleh, like the big, clunky robot or numerous gun sections in World 4. Level 4-A was the one bright spot in the back half of the game, as it found a creative way to use the drill, though it was too little too late by that point. The bosses are particularly rough here, as 3 out of the 4 have the exact same arena and can ostensibly be fought the same way; by hiding in the dirt and popping out between attack phases. There was a missed opportunity for the boss fights to play out like the chase sequences from the Ori games, since the gameplay mechanics here aren't really suited to combat.
I do recommend Pepper Grinder overall. Short as it is, it didn't overstay welcome and remains a joy to control throughout. It's just difficult not to feel like there was a lot of missed potential here. Nonetheless, it's an impressive effort for a game made by just one person, and I hope this game is successful enough for them to make more games.
In a genre that's dominated by Metroidvanias, Megaman-likes and Celeste clones, it's really nice to see a "Course Clear!"-style platformer being released. Early on, the level design is quite strong, where everything in the game world interacts with the drill in novel ways, such as using it to spin platforms or pierce zeppelins. The level design is open-ended enough that the player can intuitively identify shortcuts in the dirt patches, making the Time Attack mode particularly addicting, as it encourages going off the intended path and seeing what you can get away with, by dashing out of a patch of dirt. The difficulty curve is solid throughout, with some minor difficulty spikes towards the end, though nothing too egregious.
For the first two worlds, I was loving the game and thought it could be up there with some of the greats. However, the game really starts to stumble in the back half, as it reveals some major limitations in the level design and ESPECIALLY the boss fights. Starting with level design, there is so much you could do with this concept, yet these later levels feel like they barely do anything with it. Different types of dirt that change the way you move through them or modules for the drill that augment its properties, are just some of the things they could have explored here. It was disappointing to get to World 4 and realise the game was becoming more mindless, due to an increase in combat sections. Some of the later additions are particularly bleh, like the big, clunky robot or numerous gun sections in World 4. Level 4-A was the one bright spot in the back half of the game, as it found a creative way to use the drill, though it was too little too late by that point. The bosses are particularly rough here, as 3 out of the 4 have the exact same arena and can ostensibly be fought the same way; by hiding in the dirt and popping out between attack phases. There was a missed opportunity for the boss fights to play out like the chase sequences from the Ori games, since the gameplay mechanics here aren't really suited to combat.
I do recommend Pepper Grinder overall. Short as it is, it didn't overstay welcome and remains a joy to control throughout. It's just difficult not to feel like there was a lot of missed potential here. Nonetheless, it's an impressive effort for a game made by just one person, and I hope this game is successful enough for them to make more games.