Slick new platformer is Shovel Knight with power tools and pirates

Pepper Grinder

Pepper Grinder is an action-packed 2D adventure blending traditional platforming with an alternate drilling mode that allows you to dive in and out of the earth like a dolphin swims through water.

If Ubisoft's impressive Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown caught your eye last month, you need to keep Devolver Digital's new indie platformer, Pepper Grinder, on your radar. A 2D side-scroller with all the hallmarks of an excellent addition to the genre, developer Ahr Ech's pixelated pirate adventure wonderfully blends traditional platforming action with a drilling mechanic that makes traversal feel as much like 1992's Ecco the Dolphin as it does the brick-breaking adventures of Bandai Namco's Mr Driller. Beyond that, when it comes to combat and puzzles, this frantic experience feels like the natural evolution of the power tool-fuelled dungeoneering of 2006's Drill Dozer - a Game Boy Advance great. Sure, that all might sound a little odd, but it works - trust me.

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