The title is a cheap shot, yes, but My Friend Pedro is completely bonkers. I saw the vacant stare of the creepy banana staring at me in the GamePass store and was not disappointed by what followed. While the levels in this game may feel short, they are packed with a ton of mayhem, violence, and hilarious quips. You have the power to slow down time, allowing you to execute dramatic moves and find the most creative ways to subdue your enemies. And why not pick this time of year to jump in? My Friend Pedro features some holiday-themed moments that will put you in a festive mood (not really, but let’s pretend for the sake of this post).

My Friend Pedro is a game that drops you immediately into the action. You find yourself in a bad situation and need to get yourself out of it. Luckily, you’ve got the omnipresent banana, Pedro, guiding you through each perilous encounter. Pedro will fill in the backstory as you progress through levels and will pepper in friendly reminders about dodging bullets and slowing down time. He’s looking out for you… He’s your friend, right?

Even though I flew through this game quickly, there were still moments I lingered in as I tried to line up some creative kills. There are some objects in the environment you can interact with and some slightly puzzle-y areas to maneuver through. With quick load times and frequent checkpoints, it’s easy to spend some time setting up different approaches to encounters. The side-scrolling setup makes it easy for you to prepare for a room before the enemy even knows you’re there.

While slowing down time is advantageous for numerous reasons, sometimes the chaos that is accompanied by a faster pace is more enjoyable. I loved slowing down time and getting into my Matrix feelings, but the speed at which things move when you’re not using the focus feature is so enjoyable.

Also, can I just say that I absolutely ADORE reading the things the NPCs say? It makes me laugh every time! As much as I diiiieeddd over “did you just fart”, the quips of the Internet nerds specifically made me laugh out loud! The trash-talking followed by immediate death brought to mind many fond memories of terrorizing people on Xbox Live.

As you move through the levels, a story begins to unfold that realistically isn’t that compelling, but is there because we need to have purpose. The gameplay and over-the-top violence is what drives this game and there are some pretty creative levels you’ll explore. One such area is Pedro’s turf, but it’s overrun by “haters”. You have to take care of the haters in this colorful, quirky world because that’s what friends are for.

So who are you, how did we get here, and what is the deal with Pedro? These are the things you’ll find out as you trek through basements, sewers, and even the Internet. While most of the game is centered around chaotic killing, there are some segments featuring more “boss fight” elements, including motorcycle chases and large mech ships with massive machine guns attached to them. Although they were still a joy to play, these were my least favorite moments. As dramatic and fun as they are, no one is accusing someone else of farting.

This is one game I kept hitting the record button on and it was so hard to narrow down what clips I wanted to share. I know not all of them are even that good, but there are just lots of moments that make me laugh. This next clip with an enemy inadvertently killing himself, for example, made me yell out, “DID YOU SEE THAT”.

I really enjoyed this game! The wide variety of weapons, the hilarious character commentary, and the creativity of the levels made it an absolute blast to play. If you’re looking for a game that is easy to jump in and out of, one where the stakes are low but the payoff from the experience is high, this is a game worth checking out. I haven’t played this on a higher difficulty so I can’t say what that feels like just yet, but since I’m pretty bad at dodging, I can imagine it’s a lot more dying.

So what do you think? Have you played this game before? I’m trying to keep the spoilers to a minimum here, but I’m curious if this is enough to pique your interest in the game. Leave your thoughts in the comments below!