Every so often we get a game that just seems so outrageous it instantly catches your attention. My Friend Pedro is one of those with its matrix-esque slow motion gunfights and stylistic jumping action. This is a game that you won’t regret picking up because not only is it fun to play but it’s extremely well refined and has a sense of humour to boot too.
In My Friend Pedro, players will take on the role of an unnamed survivor locked up in the basement of a meat processing factory. His banana friend… Yes you read that right… His banana friend wakes him up and encourages him to escape with his life. Things escalate and upon gaining possession of a gun, you’re on your way to fighting off a criminal syndicate in the seedy underworld.
My Friend Pedro is all about its exceptionally good gameplay. The game features a 2D aesthetic with 3D design elements that make it pop. The gunplay is the real star of My Friend Pedro and the game clearly draws inspiration from games that made use of “bullet time” or slow-motion mechanics in the past. Players will be able to use “Focus” to slow down time, aim and shoot at enemies with various weapons. This might seem quite simplistic but in action, it’s not. Some levels feature a lot of enemies or a lot of physics-based puzzles to be solved and the game is quite challenging overall.
Racking up a high score is encouraged in My Friend Pedro. The game’s tagline is “Blood, Bullets and Bananas” and it sure is bananas. Latter levels involve some insane gunfights and strategic planning. Running in guns blazing will only get you so far but thankfully, the game lets you dodge bullets with a simple button press. That’s not to say that you won’t die in-game. You most probably will – Even on the easiest difficulty setting. However, the game never got frustrating or annoying in our entire playthrough but some people may not have the same level of patience as us.
Players will be able to run, jump and effectively parkour their way up walls and through the environment while shooting at enemies, levers, turrets, gas cans and barrels. Speed is rewarded with a higher score being awarded at the end of a level based on how long you took to complete it. This adds to the replayability factor since score junkies will want to achieve a higher rank in-game for the missions they complete. Racking up a high score is extremely fun though since the game rewards over-the-top kills and actions. Defeat an enemy after jumping off a wall? You’ll get extra points for that. Kick a basketball into their face? You’ll be rewarded for that too. You can also shoot 2 guns independently from each other with a “split” option and this yields higher scores when combined with the other game mechanics such as swinging from cables or performing crazy dive rolls.
The bike riding segments of the game are great fun and the fact that you can shoot while riding around at an insane speed makes it incredibly memorable. Coupling this with the slow-motion mechanics, My Friend Pedro’s recipe for success is sweetened even further. The storyline might be pretty non-existent but the game doesn’t need much depth to it’s gameplay premise to be fun.
My Friend Pedro therefore fuses a range of gameplay elements from superb twin-stick shooter gunplay to physics-based puzzle solving and action-packed drive-by shooting. The slow motion is excellent, especially when necessary to solve puzzles to progress, and thankfully the game is generous with its recharge rate. The game’s over the top style with regards to the player character’s animations and movement is also immensely satisfying to see in action. I don’t think anyone would complain about being able to moonwalk in slow motion and if someone were to walk into the room while you were playing this game, we’re pretty sure that they’d be captivated with its smooth visuals.
My Friend Pedro, while not graphically photorealistic, still looks visually pleasing. Environments are detailed and surprisingly, there’s a lot of gore and blood displayed when enemies are shot. The soundtrack used in My Friend Pedro is just as excellent as the gameplay with adrenaline pumping tunes playing throughout the game.
Overall, My Friend Pedro is a fun, fast paced shooter game with slow motion, physics and over-the-top gunplay as its main selling points. Being able to kick a frying pan into the air and then shoot at it to ricochet bullets into a bad guy is not something you’ll forget easily. This game will definitely cement itself into your memory as a fun filled action-fest with equally fun bike riding segments and even boss battles to round things off. If you own a Nintendo Switch, My Friend Pedro is definitely worth purchasing
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