I’ve often said that some games that are previewed too far in advance of release are not doing themselves any favours. For me, anyway. Pepper Grinder is one such game, that piqued my interest in a Nintendo Direct long, long ago and then when it came out I’d totally forgotten about it whereas if it was wowgoshlookithtis and it was released a couple of weeks later, I might have jumped on it immediately.
Then I saw it in an eShop games-on-sale roundup video somewhere and I was repiqued. So I bought it. And it was great!
The main gimmick is that you have a big ol’ drill bit which you use to not only mole your way through soft earth, but also to damage baddies and turn gears and stuff. Digging through the ground (and ground that’s, uh, in the sky) will sort of launch you when you break out of it, so much of the game is about aiming your drill so as to launch and land in the right place.
There are some puzzles in that certain things have to be drilled or activated in specific orders, and tricky platforming where angles and timing are key to success, but you’ve also got baddies everywhere, and some clever bosses where you often have to make alternate use of your drill to damage them. Oh, and sometime you get a MASSIVE GUN and there are also shops to buy upgrades with stuff you collect along the way,
It’s also got nice pixel art and feels like the sort of game you’d play on a Game Boy Advance only this game didn’t exist then. Was Drill Dozer similar? I never had the £££££ needed to buy that rarity.