$14.99Pepper Grinder Drill Through Everything
Chase stolen treasure through a bright pixel world, burrowing through terrain and water with a super-powered drill.
Is Pepper Grinder worth it?
Pepper Grinder is worth it if…
- you want a platformer where the movement itself is the fun part
- you like fast, precise action with a short, well-judged difficulty curve
- you enjoy hunting hidden coins, stickers and gold time trial medals
- you have a soft spot for retro pixel art and a cute pirate with a drill
Screenshots
The drill is the whole point
Grinder is not a weapon you carry, it is how you move. Press it into the ground and Pepper dives under the surface, chewing through dirt, sand and water like a dolphin, then bursts out the other side into a leap. The whole game is built on that one motion, and it never gets old: you read a level as a mass of diggable material, pick your line, and rocket through it. New drill bits turn up as you go, ramping up both the chaos and the puzzles, since some routes only open with the right bit. If you liked sand-swimming in Ori and the Blind Forest, this takes the idea further.
A bright world with teeth
The pixel art is colorful and cute, with a retro streak that recalls older indie classics, and the soundtrack matches the pace. The humor is part of the package too. But do not let the friendly look fool you: this is a difficult, fast-paced action platformer, and the bosses in particular demand real attention. You get four hits by default, with extra one-use hearts for sale in the shops. The story is told entirely without text: a robbed pirate, mischievous Narlings, and strange beings emerging from the shadows, all conveyed through the levels themselves.
What else should you know?
Is there anything to do besides the main levels?
Yes. Each stage hides five large coins, gems you collect can be spent in shops or fed into a gacha machine for stickers, and stickers unlock a mode where you place them on backdrops to make your own pictures. Every level also has an optional speedrun challenge once you have beaten it normally, though some stickers are only earned through gold times.
Is the story important?
Not really, and that is by design. There is almost no dialogue and no text explaining anything: the whole tale of a robbed pirate, her drill, the thieving Narlings and the beings lurking in the shadows is told through the levels you play. If you want a plot with words in it, this will feel thin; if you like a game that trusts you to follow along, it works.
