Pepper Grinder Review

Devolver Digital had a pretty great year in 2023 with games like Wizard with A Gun, Terra Nil, Bleak Sword DX, and GunBrella. Pepper Grinder is the first release from Devolver in 2024 and if this is any indication, this is going to be another great year for the cult publisher as Pepper Grinder is pure fun, loaded with romanticism for classic platformers all the way down to the small details.

Short and Sweet

Pepper Grinder is as indie as games come, as it has been developed by one person and the music was created by another person. Developed by one man studio Ahr Ech, Pepper Grinder essentially uses the burrow ability from Ori and the Will of the Wisps and builds a whole game around it.

The story is fairly surface level to the point of almost non existent…but it doesn’t matter because the game is extremely satisfying to play. If we are to assume that this is one big love letter to classic platformers, then if having a fairly simple plot device such as the princess has been stolen can work then so can this one. You find yourself shipwrecked on the beach of an island and your treasure has been stolen. You need to get it back and to do that you will need to defeat a lot of evil Narwhals, master some challenging platforming sections, find hidden rooms, unlock secret levels, and slay bosses.

The difficulty curve for the platforming is perfect as the game constantly asks just a little more of you. At a point, some of these sections become extremely challenging and you find yourself looking for the checkpoint marker. The bosses are larger than life and fun, however their difficulty curve wasn’t as predictable as the rest of the game because you never knew what to expect from each boss.

Even if the game remained just about the one drilling through sand mechanic it would have been great, but it is constantly introducing new mechanics and attachments that make the game breeze by. Pepper Grinder leaves you wanting more and it’s always better to burn out, than to fade away.

On Steam Deck, Pepper Grinder runs like a dream. Controls easily, doesn’t get the fun running on high like some other indies and barely uses battery. Pepper Grinder is also available on Nintendo Switch and the hope would be that this is echoed there

Downs

The biggest downside of Pepper Grinder is the length and what makes this even more odd, is that Pepper Grinder never feels like you are doing the same thing for too long. If you aren’t looking for any collectibles and secrets, you could probably breeze through Pepper Grinder in about 4 hours. However, the price does fall in line with the length and I would rather take a short experience that is fun beginning to end over a bloated 50 hour game that slogs in the middle and crawls over the finish line any day of the week.

The other issues is that the economy of the game didn’t have much impact. Pepper collects a lot of jewels and secret coins, but outside of purchasing keys from the vendors with coins to unlock secret levels, there wasn’t much incentive to try to collect all the jewels on each level.

Verdict

There is nothing wrong with skill trees and huge campaigns, but there is something about Pepper Grinder that harkens back to simpler times of gaming that evoke classic platforming memories, complete with flags to raise at the end of the level and an overworld map as a nod to Super Mario. Pepper Grinder is unpredictable from one moment to the next and the result of this is pure, unadulterated fun.

8.5/10

Pepper Grinder FAQ

Is Pepper Grinder on Xbox? Pepper Grinder is not on Xbox at launch, it is only on Switch and PC at the moment.

Is Pepper Grinder on PS4/PS5? Pepper Grinder is not on Xbox at launch, it is only on Switch and PC at the moment.

Is Pepper Grinder on Switch? Yes, Pepper Grinder is available on both Nintendo Switch and PC at launch.

Is Pepper Grinder Steam Deck Verified? Yes, Pepper Grinder is Steam Deck verified. Controls are great, battery drain is almost non existent, and performance is great without any hiccups.

How long to beat Pepper Grinder? Pepper Grinder will likely range between 4-6 for most people. There are hidden coins to find on each level and secret levels to unlock, but after that, you will likely only replay for time trial reasons.

How much is Pepper Grinder? Pepper Grinder only costs 14.99 USD