Pecker is not only a brilliant title for a game, but it also perfectly encapsulates everything this adorable platformer is all about. From the opening moment when a started playing as a hatchling inside an egg and had to roll my way to freedom I knew this game was going to be special, and it only got better from there. Mind you, this was an early press preview copy with only a few playable levels, but even in this early state, Pecker is looking mighty polished.
For the most part, Pecker looks and plays like just about any old-school 3D platformer (Spyro, Crash, etc.) with you running around smashing things with your powerful beak. Collect coins scattered about the levels and shop with the traveling merchant, but mostly it’s all about getting to the end of each level by using all of your pecker powers. Key locations will require you to stick your beak into a wheel and spin it, or maybe stick your beak into a lever socket and push down like a lever, or it could be just as simple as stabbing your beak into a piece of wood.
Pecker has no natural jumping ability, but once you plant that beak into something, you can then use the analog stick to aim and control the amount of slingshot action and spring your way through fun and challenging platforming sections in some impressively vertical levels. Along the way you’ll want to find and collect letters to spell PECKER; a nice nod to the fun days of spelling SKATE in the Tony Hawk games and smash every item in the game in hopes that more coins spill out. Pecker can even jump into barrels and urns and roll around (much like that first egg) for some stealth and sneaking sections.
Pecker looks a bit simple at first glance, something you’d expect on the Switch for sure, but there are still some nice artistic decisions happening here with a storybook design and easily, one of the cutest leading birds in gaming history. The levels I played took place in a forest before moving on to a tower and then to the world made of cardboard. All these locations have fun visual themes and delightful music to really set the mood for fun and adventure.
What I am most excited about is trying this with friends, as there is four-player local split screen and Remote Play Together. I can only imagine the potential for cooperative gameplay as well as competitive mini-game challenges or even just classic speed runs. It’s also worth noting that even this pre-release build was running at native 4K/120fps with full support for DLSS and FSR, so I expect this game to perform well on just about any gaming PC that meets or exceeds the list specs.
I can’t wait to get my beak into the full game when it finally arrives (no date yet), and I will definitely be back with a final review. Meanwhile, if you are curious, there is a demo on Steam you can check out, and if you’re like me, you’ll fall in love with this little Pecker the moment he waddles out of that broken eggshell.
