My Friend Pedro
My Friend Pedro | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Developer(s) | DeadToast Entertainment |
Publisher(s) | Devolver Digital |
Designer(s) | Victor Ågren |
Programmer(s) | Victor Ågren |
Artist(s) | Victor Ågren |
Writer(s) | Victor Ågren |
Composer(s) | Navie D Noisecream Nounverber Battlejuice Maks_SF |
Engine | Unity |
Platform(s) | |
Release |
|
Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
My Friend Pedro is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Swedish developer DeadToast Entertainment and published by Devolver Digital. The game was released for Nintendo Switch and Windows on 20 June 2019 and for Xbox One on 5 December 2019.[2] A PlayStation 4 port of the game was released on 2 April 2020. My Friend Pedro is based on an Adobe Flash game named MFP: My Friend Pedro that was released by Adult Swim Games in 2014.[3][4]
A free-to-play spin-off, titled, My Friend Pedro: Ripe for Revenge, was released for iOS and Android on August 5, 2021.[5]
Gameplay
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ca/My_Friend_Pedro_gameplay.jpg/220px-My_Friend_Pedro_gameplay.jpg)
My Friend Pedro involves the player traversing a variety of themed levels while killing enemies, at the behest of a talking banana named Pedro.[6]
The game iterates on the gameplay featured in the flash game, including similar controls, mechanics and weaponry. Along with the ability to slow time, the player can now kick objects or enemies, split their aim between targets and dodge bullets by spinning. The game also features parkour elements such as flips, wall jumps and rolls, which can be used to increase the number of points awarded.[7] Another new feature allows players to kill enemies by ricocheting bullets off frying pans or signs, which also adds to the point total.[8]
Points are awarded for each successful hit from the player, while each kill increases the current point multiplier. Players are given a rank at the end of each level based on their total number of points, which is shared on a global leaderboard.[9]
Plot
[edit]The game begins with a masked, unnamed, silent protagonist waking up inside a butcher shop owned by a man named Mitch. The protagonist is instructed by Pedro (a floating sentient banana) that Mitch is an arms dealer and must be eliminated. Upon escaping the butchery and killing Mitch, the protagonist heads to the district Null, an abandoned community project now home to a man named Denny and his army of bounty hunters. When confronting Denny he flees but reveals that his sister Ophelia controls the Internet. The protagonist deals with Denny and heads via the sewers to confront Ophelia. After defeating Ophelia, it is revealed that the protagonist has been systematically killing his own family: with Mitch being his father, Denny his brother and Ophelia his sister. Pedro reveals to the player that the protagonist despised his family for their criminal activities, but could not bring himself to kill them, so he knocked himself unconscious and erased his memory so that he could eliminate his family without guilt. Upon revealing this, Pedro jams himself into the protagonist's ear and tries to have him shoot himself. The final battle is a visual representation of the protagonist's mental struggle to resist Pedro's influence. With Pedro defeated, the protagonist removes his mask, revealing that he was Pedro all along with the banana being nothing but a figment of his imagination.
Development
[edit]My Friend Pedro started development in February 2015 "on and off"[10] until indirectly announcing that development would be in full swing on 4 December 2015 in a devlog.[11] It had been announced that it was in the pre-alpha stage of development on 21 November 2015 aimed to release on PC and "eventually" Macintosh computers.[10]
Reception
[edit]Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | NS: 78/100[12] PC: 81/100[13] XONE: 76/100[14] PS4: 71/100[15] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Destructoid | 7/10[18] |
Game Informer | 6/10[24] |
GameSpot | 7/10[20] |
IGN | 8.5/10[17] |
Nintendo Life | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Nintendo World Report | 81/100[23] |
PC Gamer (US) | 7/10[21] |
Push Square | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
My Friend Pedro received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic.[12][13][14][15] IGN's Mitchell Saltzman reviewed it with an 8.5/10 score, saying it "simply feels great to play", while noting that the campaign has little replay value.[25]
The game was nominated for "Fresh Indie Game" with DeadToast Entertainment at The Game Awards 2019.[26]
Television series
[edit]On July 2, 2020, Legendary Television, it was announced that Dmitri M. Johnson’s DJ2 Entertainment, David Leitch, and Derek Kolstad will produce a R-rated half-hour dramedy television series adaptation of the game with Kolstad set as the showrunner.[27]
References
[edit]- ^ @deadtoast_com (14 November 2019). "BAM! My Friend Pedro is coming to @Xbox and @XboxGamePass this holiday! Enjoy <3" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Lanier, Liz (6 June 2019). "'My Friend Pedro' Looks Absolutely Bananas". Variety. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^ Tarason, Dominic (6 June 2019). "My Friend Pedro flips out on June 20th". Rock Paper Shotgun.
- ^ Meer, Alec (17 May 2014). "Max Plantain: My Friend Pedro". Rock Paper Shotgun.
- ^ Peppiatt, Dom (5 July 2021). "My Friend Pedro: Ripe for Revenge coming to iOS and Android in August". VG247. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ Saltzman, Mitchell (20 June 2019). "My Friend Pedro Review". IGN. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Purchese, Robert (11 June 2018). "Devolver's My Friend Pedro is a violent, acrobatic, slow-mo shooter for Switch and PC". Eurogamer.
- ^ Gach, Ethan (14 June 2018). "My Friend Pedro Is Like A More Violent, 2D Max Payne". Kotaku.
- ^ MacGregor, Jody (24 June 2019). "My Friend Pedro review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ a b Victor (21 November 2015). "My Friend Perdo: Blood Bullets Bananas". DeadToast. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- ^ Victor (4 December 2015). "DevLog Entry #4". DeadToast. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- ^ a b "My Friend Pedro for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ a b "My Friend Pedro for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ a b "My Friend Pedro for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ a b "My Friend Pedro for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ O'Reilly, PJ (19 September 2021). "My Friend Pedro Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Saltzman, Mitchell (19 September 2021). "My Friend Pedro Review". IGN. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Moyse, Chris (19 September 2021). "Review: My Friend Pedro". Destructoid. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Tailby, Stephen (19 September 2021). "Mini Review: My Friend Pedro - Stylish Action Stumbles on Rigid Design". Push Square. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ O'Connor, James (19 September 2021). "My Friend Pedro Review - Vote For Pedro". GameSpot. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Culafi, Alex (19 September 2021). "My Friend Pedro (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Holmes, Oliver (19 September 2021). "My Friend Pedro review – action-movie mayhem without the fluff". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Macgregor, Jody (19 September 2021). "My Friend Pedro review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Gwaltney, Javy (19 September 2021). "My Friend Pedro Review - Stumbling Over Corpses". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Saltzman, Mitchell (20 June 2019). "My Friend Pedro Review - IGN". IGN. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ Winslow, Jeremy (19 November 2019). "The Game Awards 2019 Nominees Full List". GameSpot. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- ^ Beresford, Trilby (2 July 2020). "Action Video Game 'My Friend Pedro' Getting TV Adaptation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 January 2022.