I love a quirky collect-a-thon platformer. Specifically, games like Spyro the Dragon, Donkey Kong 64, Super Mario Galaxy, and other platforming classics. Hell Pie is developer Sluggerfly’s shot at creating a raunchy, obscene (by their words,) and irreverent platformer. In creating it this way, it sets itself apart from what came before, while trying some new ideas.

In Hell Pie, you play as Nate, the demon of Bad Taste. Nate gets roped into finding the ingredients for the pie meant for Satan’s birthday. Yup, you’re finding ingredients for the titular Hell Pie, by platforming your way through all sorts of locales. Nate won’t be doing it alone though, as his trusty pet cherub named Nugget is chained to him.

You can use Nugget as a grappling hook, as well as a weapon. As you collect food for Cherub, you can increase his capabilities via a skill tree. This allows you to swing more times in succession, collect items from father away, and do all sorts of other moves. Nugget’s food is hidden all over the various levels too, so keeping an eye out is important.

Along the way, you’ll also collect golden lucky cats which you can give to the Lord of Greed in order to explore his realm. You can also collect purple crystals that let you purchase outfits for Nugget and Nate. There are all sorts of other things to collect as well, and as you progress, you’ll unlock new horns for Nate, which give him unique abilities.

Hell Pie has a gross, sometimes raunchy sense of humor that sets it apart from most games in the genre. The levels have gore, sexual themes, and gross content such as poop, vomit, and blood. There are 4 large hub worlds, with all sorts of platforming challenges and things to discover. Truth be told, I think Hell Pie has a nice difficulty curve as well. It allows you to slowly get used to Nate’s controls, while also giving you multiple ways to solve a platforming challenge.

Visually, Hell Pie is a (sometimes grotesque) feast for the senses. From tropical beaches to the corporate offices of Sin Inc, you’ll traverse all manner of colorful locales. The controls are easy to grasp, and the open nature of the levels gives you a lot of freedom to approach things how you want.

That freedom can be a little to Hell Pie’s detriment though. There are sections of the game that feel somewhat aimless. It isn’t that you don’t have things to do, but more that it is hard to understand where to go next, or how to get to certain areas. Other than that though, Hell Pie hits all the right notes for a collect-a-thon platformer.

I wouldn’t advise picking this one up for kids, but if you know someone that likes platformers, check out Hell Pie. The Switch version plays really well and having the opportunity to take it on the go would be a really cool option for long trips or commutes. If you’re looking for a raunchy, irreverent take on the collect-a-thon genre, give Hell Pie a try.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Hell Pie was provided by Headup Games for this review.

Hell Pie

$24.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Colorful Levels
• Unique Concept
• Smooth Controls
• Fun Mechanics
• Easy to Understand Platforming

Cons

• Feels a Little TOO Open
• Occasional Lag
• Repetitive Gameplay Loop