My Friend Pedro review for Nintendo Switch, PC

My Friend Pedro is so good, it makes me want to watch people play it on YouTube.

This actually a pretty big admission, coming from me. See, I can?t stand Let?s Play videos, and the only time I?ll watch someone else playing a game is when I?m stuck somewhere and I can?t find a text walkthrough. So for me to want to watch other people play a game should tell you a lot about how good it is.

Admittedly, it should also tell you that I?m also kind of bad at it — or, at least, that I don?t play My Friend Pedro in the way that it?s meant to be played. The game is designed to be a fast-moving ballet of murder and bloodshed, with your character gliding and jumping and flipping across the screen, shooting every last person that gets in your way.

My style of play, by contrast, is slow, plodding, and methodical. While I like to go in with guns blazing, I also do so in a way that doesn?t come anywhere close to My Friend Pedro?s full speed. Hence why I?d like to see other, more skilled people play this game the way it?s really meant to be played.

That said, even if I?m not anywhere close to amazing at it, My Friend Pedro is still a blast to play, regardless of how you play it. Even at my slower speed, it?s so much fun to parkour your way through hallways and factories and urban rubble, sending bullets flying every which way as you obliterate your enemies. And even if you fail, there?s a generous checkpoint system, which means you can always just keep trying until you get it right — though, obviously, your score won?t nearly be as impressive.

The game is also helped by the fact it?s — and I apologize now for this pun, but I can?t help myself — kind of bananas. The whole thing is built on the fact you?re told by a sentient banana to kill everybody, and you just go along with it. It doesn?t make any more sense the further in you get, but it does heighten the feeling that you?re just flying along by the seat of your pants.

Because it?s a) from Devolver and b) insanely violent, I can imagine that My Friend Pedro will get at least a few Hotline Miami comparisons. And while there?s certainly a hint of that game here, make no mistake: My Friend Pedro is its own beast — one that?s gloriously over-the-top, full of well-designed levels and good controls, and, above all else, ridiculously fun.

Devolver Digital provided us with a My Friend Pedro Switch code for review purposes.