PEPPERED: An Existential Platformer from Mostly Games, Black Soup, and LYNXBYTE GAMES is a 2D narrative-driven existential platformer in which doomsday is right around the corner. Oh, and you only have one shot at everything. Check out our PEPPERED: An Existential Platformer review!
PEPPERED: An Existential Platformer from Mostly Games, Black Soup, and LYNXBYTE GAMES is a 2D narrative-driven existential platformer in which doomsday is right around the corner. Oh, and you only have one shot at everything. Every choice you take, every move you make, every step you take, every time you fail, you won’t get a do-over. The results of these will have an impact on how the branching plot unravels, changing how you get from point A to point B to point C… or if you even have a point B in the first place. Do you have what it takes to save the world? Or will you fail miserably and watch it all burn?
You’ll be stepping into the role of a lowly office intern who decides it’s time for someone to do something to stop doomsday. Unfortunately, it seems that the world is not going to have any of that, and now everyone else is going to try to stop you since you’ve been branded as a terrorist! The police, the media, and even angry mobs are all ready to put a stop to your quest as quickly as possible.
Mostly Games took PEPPERED to Kickstarter back in 2022, seeking €15,000 in funding for the game’s development. Once the crowdfunding campaign was over, and thanks to the support of 480 backers, the team ended up securing close to €26,000. After releasing last year on Steam, the game has now made the jump to the Nintendo Switch.
After the intro story cutscene sets things up, you’ll be introduced to the game’s controls, which are going to be simple and to the point. You’ll be taking control of your character by using the left analog stick or the D-Pad, as you jump by pressing the B button and glide down by pressing the B button a second time after jumping. Interact with objects, points of interest, and other characters by pressing the A button as needed. Actions can be performed by pressing the ZL or ZR buttons, and they will be context-sensitive.
These can include, for instance, dashing while riding a spinning office chair, sliding as quickly as possible, performing a mighty dive kick after jumping, or crawling through tight passages. That dive kick you can use to activate trampolines that will launch you much higher than your regular jumps, so that you can reach new spots.
As mentioned before, you only get one shot at everything, and this most certainly includes boss fights! You’re probably used to taking on boss fights during which you try to better understand the movement and attack patterns of a boss so that, should you fail, you can reload your last save and give it another go and apply what you’ve learned. That’s not going to be the case for PEPPERED: An Existential Platformer!
As you start to play more and more, you’ll realize that there’s not only the one solution for you to find. Maybe you can use stealth to make your way through an area. Maybe a shopping cart can give you the extra momentum needed to outrun some enemies. Maybe there’s a presentation you can write to get yourself out of trouble. Yes, sometimes the sky’s the limit!
To give you an idea of how much things can change based on your actions, allow me to discuss the first few minutes of the game, so that we don’t end up deep in spoiler territory. You’re being interviewed by Cynthia to see if you have what it takes to handle the coffee in the office. You could either follow instructions and try to prove your worth, or ignore her and exit through the door. If you exit, you’ll have to fight against Cynthia to try to grab the special star that can be used to save the world. But what happens if you try to prepare a cup of coffee?
After placing the cup into the machine, you’ll be given one shot to fill the cup. Let’s say you are successful. This will lead you to having a chance to talk to the boss, who decides to fire Cynthia on the spot and hire you in her place. Five years later, with the apocalypse in full swing outside of the office window thanks to the rise of the God of Death, you’re called into the boss’s office, on your birthday of all days. You must now work on a presentation that can convince the followers of the God of Death – they who execute the infidels, manage the investments of the God of Death, and watch PowerPoint presentations. If all goes well, they will back so that a new investment in the company can be made before it’s too late and it goes under. And if you fail to convince them? Well, you’ll have to play the game to find out!
PEPPERED: An Existential Platformer is a 2D existential platformer in which doomsday is right around the corner. Oh, and you only have one shot at everything. Every choice you take, every move you make, every step you take, every time you fail, you won’t get a do-over. The results of these will have an impact on how the branching plot unravels, changing how you get from point A to point B to point C… or if you even have a point B in the first place. Do you have what it takes to save the world? Or will you fail miserably and watch it all burn?
Given the game’s nature, there are multiple story routes for you to take, as your actions and choices and their results are factored in. This also means that you can expect there to be multiple endings that also take into consideration how good or bad you did up until that point. No two runs will be the same, as you’ll also be able to learn from your mistakes and avoid failure during your second, third, or fourth try. PEPPERED: An Existential Platformer is out on Nintendo Switch with a $14.99 price tag.
Disclaimer
This PEPPERED: An Existential Platformer review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by LYNXBYTE GAMES.
