When DeadToast Entertainment unleashed My Friend Pedro on the Nintendo Switch last June I jumped on it immediately. Earlier that year I had fallen in love with Hong Kong Massacre which had a similar idea in terms of gameplay except it was done from a top-down perspective. The tone however, couldn’t have been more different. DeadToast have went for a 2.5D aesthetic and a more comedic tone, and it works.
The back story is simple. You wake up in a basement unable to remember how you got there. Right at that moment a banana named Pedro appears and tries to calm the situation. Well, calm the situation for a few seconds. He then proceeds to take you through a short tutorial on how traversal and combat work before guiding you on a mass killing spree the likes of which John Wick would be proud of.
Published by Devolver Digital, you expect something a little out of the ordinary going in. They have been responsible for the likes of Hotline Miami, Ape Out and The Messenger. My Friend Pedro continues that trend with a gameplay experience so addictive it really is hard to put down. When creating a game with short, frantic levels you want the ability to restart instantly and the game to have that “one more shot” appeal. This has both.
In My Friend Pedro getting to the end of any particular level is just the beginning. It’s the style and finesse that matter most. Normally when I finish a level in a game I move on immediately, potentially returning after completing the game fully if I still have that itch. Here though, I can’t count the amount of times I have got to the end, not been satisfied with how stylishly I completed it and went straight back in again to do it better.
The game can be as simple or complex as you like. You start out with a single gun, but before long you you will be dual wielding pistols, uzi’s and more. Knifes, barrels and other object in the environment can be kicked, wiping enemies out in one hit. You can even deflect bullets off the likes of frying pans to hit enemies at otherwise impossible angles. This is all before you even incorporate the quick roll, slow motion diving and bullet evading twirl activated by holding L1. Is it bonkers? Yeah. Is it incredibly fun? Absolutely!
Graphics are simple yet effective and the 2.5D setup does enough to help you navigate the environment comfortably without any issues. While the physics of our silent protagonist and the band of merry gangsters could be considered rag-doll like at times, it fits in well with the off-the-wall action that is happening on a moment to moment basis. Crucially, the frame rate remained steady throughout and was never an issue which in fast reflex games such as this is key.
Trophies are varied and fun, but you will require a high level of skill if you want to chase that platinum. Getting an S-Rating on all levels is for sure the hardest trophy and one that is likely to stump most gamers. Because a lot of the trophies are skill based it makes no sense to try narrow down a platinum time. I don’t expect to ever be good enough to achieve the platinum myself, but man am I going to have fun trying.
Overall My Friend Pedro is an absolute gem of a game. It is one of the most fun releases on PS4 in some time. Varied level design and cool boss fights compliment the relatively short campaign, but the replay value is high and you will likely find yourself returning over and over again for better scores. There could be more variety in the weapons and a deeper story, but these are all things that you would hope to see in a sequel down the road. I absolutely recommend picking up this game and watching the hours fly by in a hailstorm of bullets.
-VDZE
A review code for this product was kindly provided by the publisher. Reviewed on PS4 Pro.
Click here to see what a review means to us.
