My Friend Pedro Nintendo Switch

My Friend Pedro is a game about a banana telling you to shoot many people while you jump off walls, perform stunts and listen to up-tempo electronic music. It’s a simple concept really and never attempts to be more, staying within its niche for the 4 hours of your time. Developed by DeadToast, My Friend Pedro contains 40, 10-or-so minute long levels that will see you run, jump, dodge bullets and (most importantly) shoot a variety of enemies until its conclusion.

Run and Gun

My Friend Pedro sets its tone extremely quickly. In about one minute, you will have picked up your first gun, introduced some enemies to said gun to then be directed by the floating banana Pedro forwards to continue to do exactly that. It is true this game follows a simple premise but that does not mean it is boring. In fact, My Friend Pedro achieves exactly what it set out to do: be fun. What other game lets you kick a frying into a room full of enemies to ricochet bullets everywhere? Bullet time is available from the get-go and is never not fun or extremely satisfying. A variety of guns are unlocked naturally as you play the game, from pistols to submachine guns to a shotgun and finally a rifle with a grenade launcher attached. While ammo isn’t limitless, I never felt burdened by a lack of bullets when I could switch to another equally fun weapon at any time. The levels are short but densely packed with enemies and set pieces to remain memorable. In one moment you are jumping off walls in slow-motion to shoot enemies all around you, and the next moment you spend an entire level in an imaginary and quite frankly psychedelic land shooting “bullies”. It is wonderfully chaotic and truly fun to play.

I should comment on this game’s music too. Made by EDM artist Noisecream, every level has a unique track ranging from slow dance tracks to aggressive house music. It really elevates the overall experience, because what is cooler than shooting enemies in slow motion while dodging bullets? Shooting enemies in slow motion while dodging bullets to cool music. In fact most of My Friend Pedro can be summed up as simply “cool”. Is it groundbreaking? No. Will it be remembered as an all-tie classic? Probably not. But is it a great way to simply just have fun? Definitely.

Less is More

What is also impressive is how DeadToast have made a game with one real gimmick (the bullet time, which has been done before) and keep me entertained throughout the time I played. I think this is due to the developers being aware that My Friend Pedro could not be a long game with its design- it would get too repetitive and become boring. With this in mind, DeadToast have kept My Friend Pedro short, sweet and a damn good time. It really does not overstay its welcome in any regard which saved My Friend Pedro from becoming a chore. The game also has huge replayability, with a level select available upon completion and cheats like Infinite Ammo and One Shot Kill to be experimented with.

Those expecting a complicated narrative are going to be disappointed. There is a story yes but as this is also a sidescroller that mostly boils down to “go left, shoot anything that moves and listen to the banana”. There is a twist at the end which I think lands but it’s nothing revolutionary. But, at the same time, why did you decide to play a game that has a banana with a smiley face on the front cover? My Friend Pedro wears it’s tone proudly and is unapologetically silly at times and I enjoyed this aspect of it. There are so many heavy and dark games out there that it is nice to just have some mindless fun. And once again, I loop back to “fun” because My Friend Pedro really nails the spectacle of John Wick-like gunplay in side-scrolling slaughterhouses.

Verdict

I really don’t have much bad to say about My Friend Pedro. I think everything that could have been done poorly was avoided by simply making the game as short as it is. As soon as you start to notice the game is becoming a bit too rinse and repeat, it ends. DeadToast really created an enjoyable experience that knows when to leave, instead of dragging on forever. The pacing of the game, as a result, is breakneck and that’s just the way I like for a shoot-em-up. My Friend Pedro aimed to be a mindless bit of fun and no more, and achieved that with flying colours. It is not complicated or sophisticated because it has no need to be. Full of self-awareness and many, many people to shoot all at the request of a talking banana, My Friend Pedro is well worth your time.