- Developer – Deadtoast Entertainment
- Publisher – Devolver Digital
- Release date – June 20th, 2019
- Platforms – Nintendo Switch, PC
- Reviewed on – Nintendo Switch
- Review code provided – Yes
Lots of blood, thousands of bullets, and a talking banana. What’s not to like? My Friend Pedro is an action packed platformer, with so many elements of strategy and surprise. Your friend Pedro, a banana, accompanies you on your adventure, as you shoot your way through 40 levels across 5 unique worlds. At the end of each world, you encounter a boss. Each boss has a unique way that you must defeat them.
Gameplay / Level Design
My Friend Pedro has you playing as an unnamed protagonist with a banana jacket on. You are accompanied by Pedro, the banana who happens to be your friend and guide throughout the game. You wake up in a freezer, where you meet Pedro the banana. He teaches you basic movements and attacks when you first meet him, and he will teach you many more techniques and such later in the game. There are three different difficulty options in My Friend Pedro, all of which are worth playing. When you complete a level in My Friend Pedro, you are given a rating that depends on how well you did. Your rating is given in two forms, a number and more importantly a letter ranking. From the ranking system, you can receive anywhere from an F to an S. My Friend Pedro gives some funny abbreviations for the letter rankings.
In my first playthrough, I got a “B for Bravo” on the first level. The little touches like these are great additions to the game, even if they aren’t noticed by everyone. The gameplay itself is extremely fluid. It feels and controls great, and nothing is too sensitive. To control your aim, you use the Right Stick. You can choose to aim up, down, left, or right to fire away at the many foes you will encounter. Throughout your journey, you will collect various new weapons that can be used against enemies, such as submachine guns, dual submachine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles. You can switch through all of your weapons with the right side of the D-Pad. The pistol, you first gun, and the dual pistols, your second gun, have unlimited ammo. All of the other guns have limited ammo, but you can collect more from the bodies of your enemies after termination. My favorite guns to use in My Friend Pedro are the dual submachine guns and the shotgun. For dual guns, you can use the trigger ZL to lock on one of your guns to an object or an enemy. This way you can use what is called Split Aim to shoot at two targets at the same time. Overall, the gameplay is fantastic, and it’s very fluid and enjoyable for all. Another very important and cool aspect of My Friend Pedro is the level design. It is absolutely stunning. So much detail, secrets, and more reside in every single level, and it is up to you, the player, to find them all and use them to your advantage. For example, in some levels you can kick explosives towards enemies and shoot the explosives to take out many enemies at once. This can be used to conserve ammo, which will come in useful when you face many enemies in a single room. Sometimes I found myself switching to dual pistols so I could save ammo for my shotgun or submachine gun. With lots of strategy, My Friend Pedro is thrilling and offers something for all players.
Creativity
The ability to be creative in how you take out your enemies is my favorite thing about My Friend Pedro. Creativity is something that I think is important to have in every game, and My Friend Pedro definitely offers some. At one point in one of the levels leading up to Mitch’s Butcher Shop, there is a man on a ledge above you. You can take him out with your gun then and there, or you can decide to shoot the barrel above him to squash him. Doing so will get you more combo points, and the more points you have the better your ranking will be at the end of the level.
Graphics / Performance
The graphics in My Friend Pedro are superb in both docked and handheld modes. Everything is super crisp and visible, and nothing has been compromised from docked-handheld. It is very nice to be able to play My Friend Pedro wherever you are on the Nintendo Switch in superb quality no matter handheld or docked mode. The graphics look fantastic while the frame rate stays constant with absolutely zero frame dips. There were no sacrifices going from docked to handheld, and I am all for it.
Soundtrack / Controls
My Friend Pedro has an exciting an thrilling soundtrack that is an absolute joy to listen to as you fire away throughout the levels. I appreciate Deadtoast Entertainment giving the players something enjoyable to listen to. The controls in My Friend Pedro are extremely fluid, and very very easy to get used to and use with ease. Here are the controls for My Friend Pedro:
Aiming:
- Aim Left – RS left
- Aim Up – RS up
- Aim Down – RS down
- Aim Right – RS right
Movement:
- Move Left – LS left
- Move Right – LS right
- Jump – B
- Crouch – LS down
- Dodge – L
- Focus – LS push
Actions:
- Interact – A
- Kick – X
- Fire – ZR
- Secondary Fire – ZL
- Reload – Y
Weapons
- Change Weapon – D-Pad up
- Next Weapon – D-Pad right
- Previous Weapon – D-Pad left
Final Thoughts
My Friend Pedro, although short, is nothing short of an absolutely amazing experience. I highly recommend that you check this game out. I had a ton of fun beating the game, in fact I did so on two different difficulties for my review. My Friend Pedro is undoubtedly worth the hype, and I think after playing I can call Pedro my friend too.