There’s something to be said of a game likePepper Grinderthat, while not the most visually-exciting or structurally-unique of iterations on the Platformer template, has in the span of a mere handful of levels conjured an even balance of excitement and dread. Excitement at the prospect of just how far developer Ahr Ech look to be taking their game’s primary drilling mechanic after an enjoyable introduction. And most likely as a consequence of the former, the inevitable dread at the prospect of shaking off the temptation to hunt down every possible collectible and pick-up available across each of the levels. A prospect that will no doubt be impossible to achieve.
If you know me, you’ll know I’m a sucker for collectible-based platformers. Not for some self-indulgent boasting or other such petty expressions, but much like the classics of old,Pepper Grinderis a game that constantly finds a will and way to test you. To pull you back in; to goad you again and again that you surely can’t pull off that clever jump or risky maneuver again, only this time in the pursuit of that last gold coin or gem you missed the first time. You may have lucked out the first time through, but have you properly gotten to grips with this game’s controls, its physics?
So Much From So Little
Pepper Grinderisn’t the most assorted nor is it the most ability-chocked release. There’s no overblown combat sequences, no Metroidvania-like arsenal of tools to unlock. Just you, your drill and a hefty amount of soft earth to get through. Yet it needn’t be; three levels in and as brief a vertical slice/demo one’s recent time has been, Ahr Ech have nailed their elevator pitch. An action-oriented platformer whose style may not look initially all that different from your litter of seen-it-all-before pixel art niceties of a yonder year. But after only a few minutes, makes that crucially-smart decision in letting its gameplay do most of the heavy-lifting prove worthwhile.Pepper Grinderis the best kind of mechanics-led platformer – the kind of game where even the most simple and ordinarily plain of decisions feel like some crucial step in one’s learning. Every sequence in a level a subtle puzzle to deduce, a trap to avoid, another opportunity to bask in just how simple a joy the art of drilling feels here.
BitSummit Let’s Go: Pepper Grinder is No Grind at All
That a simple drill and a focus on multi-directional traversal can do so much from so little may well be the best part ofPepper Grinder’s demo. A platformer whose rendition of physics – the speed with which you not only burrow through the ground, but upon reaching it, leap through the air. There’s a deft touch to how one angles your trajectory, of course. Like finding the ideal turn at a corner on a racetrack,Pepper Grinderis at its best when that hidden route of snaking up and around obstructions is found. Better still, when you’re able to nab all the buried-away gems in the same attempt. Topped off by a cheeky loop midair – diving back into the dirt and capping it off by leaping out the other side of that clump of earth to the next part of the level. No damage taken.
Keep in mind, this is something that will last five, maybe ten seconds tops, if you want to be charitable. Five seconds should seldom harbor much of a response, even in a genre as tight-knit and concentrated as this. But lo and behold,Pepper Grinderfinds a way. Be that through its level-specific gimmicks at points or new elements that get thrown into the mix. Or perhaps more realistically: developer Ahr Ech’s have tapped into the promise that simply moving your character around a given space can bring. Movement, the game states, can be more than just a simple command or input, it can be the driving force of the gameplay in totality.
The Joy of Movement
The best kind of platformer are those that can make its smallest moments feel like the grandest achievements. Regardless of whether it’s your first, second or twentieth go, when a moment of panic is salvaged – and in all likelihood should never have stepped to such a level to begin with – by way of correcting a trajectory so that you miss diving head-first into a litany of explosive mines. In another instance, figuring out the correct order of actions involving a series of binary-state gates that flip back and forth. Even one of the genre’s oldest staple traits of all – the secret, tucked away corners that can be spotted if one is paying close enough attention – are elevated further on the basis of how easy to get into the main mechanic is.
Much like fellow Devolver Digital alumnus Sabotage Studio via 2018’sThe Messenger– and funnily enough in the same year, something likeYoku’s Island Express' pinball-infused exploration falls into this category too –Pepper Grinderfinds a way to reframe the basic act of moving one’s character as one of both novelty and skillful finesse alike. Beyond just the satisfaction of nailing together a successful string of catapulting one’s way across a drop or passing a handful of life-stealing death-traps. It’s an invitation to see how creative (and daring) one can be once the real challenge is put forth. How creative onewantsto be and is willing to be, regardless of whether there’s a reward for going that extra mile. But it’s only because there’s a calculative-like way to how the controls feel inPepper Grinderthat makes that optional investment such an easy temptation.
A mere thirty-minute demo is all it takes for the joys of movement to wind up the driving force behind a game likePepper Grinder. But that focus on making movement feel like a needle to thread is why Pepper Grinder feels as satisfying to conquer. Beyond the satisfaction that precision-based platforming incurs when you finally get the required sequence right. Better still if you can do so without missing any of the optional collectibles hidden away. It needn’t matter that its visuals aren’t the most exciting or that its presentation can be summed up as pleasant if not entirely punchy in that regard.Pepper Grindercares not about looking great, it cares more about feeling great. A mechanics-based platformer first and foremost that has enough peril and risk to it, the idea of jumping back into a level just to pick up those left-over collectibles is met with both glee and anxiety alike. It’s only because developer Ahr Ech has seemingly landed on as wonderful a spin on traversal here thatPepper Grinder’s potential as the next best action/precision-platformer has increased even moreso.
