Quick Look: My Friend Pedro

Oh hey, Jeff B's on this.

It feels really fucking wrong to watch any footage of this game that isn't a perfectly choreographed, expert-level slow-mo ballet. It just looks like a totally different game. It's kind of novel to see what it looks like when a regular dude plays it.

An actual quick look!

mi amigo Peter

Pedro 2020

Picked this up immediately, so far it doesn't disappoint in the least.

Edit: Eep, this QL really doesn't capture the main thrust of the game, which is to be as OTT and creative with each kill as you can. This makes it look sort of like an awkward run-and-gun.

The Dust Brothers did the Fight Club soundtrack not the Chemical Brothers.

/pedantic

I thought this game was about that racist frog meme. Don't know where I got that idea from.

Eh, kinda wish Jeff B. had done the quick look since he seems to have put more time into it/uses the slow mo and stuff. The way this was shown just makes it look like a generic run and gun. I know Jeff kinda hinted that maybe Abby should use the slow mo more bc overall I think we didn't really get to see what this game is all about.

@shagge: yeah i was excited for this game but this has made me unsure if i will purchase or not.

@ybbaaabby Thank you for the Jeff B. appreciation tag.

@wicky_sauce: All I'll say regarding whether you should buy it is that I shot a man while riding a skateboard, did a kickflip, then kicked said skateboard into the face of the guy behind him, all before touching the ground, and it made a banana very, very happy. The game is pretty good, too!

From watching some other reviews this game actually seems like it evolves into a kind of puzzle game where the slow-down mechanic plays a key role. Maybe Abby just didn't get far enough for that to kick in so she was just running and gunning without doing much else. The later areas definitely looked like you can pull of some crazy chains of kills by using the slow-mo and environment.

Also I think this looks like a great Xbox game.. is it coming out for the xbox?

GB has always been about entertaining looks at game rather than the dead on "how to play them right." It's frustrated me sometimes, but I've learned to come here first for general impressions of games, and if I want to see someone play stuff like this "right" I go find someone else on Youtube. That goes for basically everyone on this site at different times *cough* Brad *cough* - Abby is no different.

did they just kinda forget that bloodstained came out?

@shagge: Do you know of a video offhand that might show the game in a better light? Curious about this cause I like a good wacky run-n-gun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yqjqz6gQIo

This doesn't seem as cool as the gifs I saw a while ago. I know i'd end up trying to play efficient instead of stylish and miss the point.

@skullcrushermountain: You are right, I guess it just bothered me since Jeff kept telling her to use slo mo and she seemed to ignore it. I totally get she may have not gotten far enough in or whatever, but if thats the case i think Jeff would have been better to showcase the game.

I’m with Jeff B. I was hook to this game when I first saw it

The developers have a knack for making this game look dope when they play it. That said, I saw this at Day of the Devs and every single person who tried it out stumbled terribly and made it look clumsy as hell. I don't know if it's a fault of the game or not, but no matter who it is, no beginner is gonna do the shit you see in GIFs.

The music reminds me of 90s big beat, love it! How did I know nothing about this game?!

They didn't get press copies so they only got it on release. Also possible they are waiting for Dan to come back to cover it since he's a big SOTN fan. Hopefully, we get a full Vinny playthrough later this year.

Since when has GB been about timely game coverage? They will definitely cover it, just at their usual pace.

This is a bad Quicklook. Just running into most arenas and stand there shooting? Why even bother recording that. It sounded like Jeff has actually played the game and understood its strengths/style. Glad he was in on this video to give some actual context on how this game works.

Agreed

Love a Jeffy B Quick Look!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQCeBJKKa8

My take: someone like stealthgamer is where you go for unique takes on how to get through a level when shooting will suffice. Coming up with tricks and stuff isnt the forte of a critic since their more concerned with base mechanics and if the game feels and plays well. Going out of their way to learn top level tricks is unnecessary usually or at least comes off unnecessary if the base level difficulty and skill will suffice. That said GB is good for goof up games like Hitman where they can slowly come up with and riff on a plan. Doing insane stunts and getting into the gritty of making a game look good when its not some qte or something...yah gotta go to a pro. Take a look at stealth gamer and how he makes games you thought were just simple run and gun look good. Dude needs to be hired by EA to make all their games look great.

Does this thing have button re-mapping or other control options? Both Jeff and Abby seem not too hot on the layout

Yep fully rebindable controls.

That's the point of the game, to play and learn how to not be a beginner.

@lonelyspacepanda: true but I feel like I'm insane no one's talking about how good this game is and I want somewhere to make sure I'm not losing it

Play bloodstained y'all, it's dawn of sorrow good

Vote for Pedro

I love you guys to bits but I feel that you didn't even play the game, the core mechanic of slow-mo kills and awareness of your actions was totally ignored :( - this game looks awful just running straight and holding down the trigger. Try and showcase the heart of the game next time xxx

Some of the design reminded me of Rolling Thunder, especially how the enemies would come out of, and duck into doorways.

(Edit: Also, getting a "think fast" bonus for kicking stuff into the heads of enemies was kinda funny.)

The resolution on the Switch version def is pretty low..

Dan was actually on the Game Informer podcast this week (he's there for a wedding this week) and they talk about it very briefly. Seems they only put an hour or so in and all Dan has to say is "It's good" and switches topic to Timespinner, so I don't get the impression any of them are blown away by it.

I'm in the same boat sort of. Highly skeptical and was waiting on GB staff to hype it up in coverage or pass on it. I think the publisher is to blame for putting it out in the way they did. Strange to work on the game so long and be careless about its release (I didn't see any streamers I follow playing it either; even the ones that replay and stream SOTN regularly and have tons of followers like CacinogenSDA.)

This is a very Dan game.

this has a deadpool license written all over it... give the guy some katanas for up close combat and boom.

Abbey was playing the game wrong. You need to play around the slow time effect and bounce the bullet off the walls why dodging their bullet. I didn't see Abbey doing much of that.

Agreed. It’s nothing to do with playing the game “right” like someone else pointed out. It’s the total disregard of a core mechanic.

I barely know anything about this game, but could quickly tell the slow-mo was a key piece of the gameplay and its enjoyment.

It‘d be like playing Mario Kart and not using the items, or ignoring the glory kills in the new Doom.

It's the game's fault if it doesn't incentivise you to use one of the main mechanics TBH

@nthnmllr: Oh but it does.

Still early on but having a blast, and this is the thing - I ended up buying the game because of what some of you were saying in the comments.

@nthnmllr: It does, because otherwise, the game is boring. The fact the slow-mo meter is very lenient when used abundantly makes it clear.

I don't know why people are railing on Abby here for her opinion on the game. From my playing the build Devolver bought to PAX AUS last year my experience was pretty much the same - Has a cool premise, looks slick, but it didn't gel with me in a way the previews sell it as.

Hoping it's been polished even more in the past 10 or so months since then, as I've been craving a good run & gun platformer for a while & the preview videos suggested it'd heavily fill that void for me!

I like Alex's theory about Pedro's role in all of this the best.

Also, this seems like the kind of game to facilitate such interpretations.

Looks good! Thanks for the QL, everybody!

@lonelyspacepanda: They explain in one of the backer updates that they wanted to get the game to backers before/at the same time as press, so that's why it has a weird schedule.

The largest issue with this game early on is actually the default control scheme, you really have to train yourself to stay in focus mode.

This feels like a game that's held back by it's production values. We're 12 years beyond Stranglehold, yet i can't say that this looks sharper than that game. Somewhat reminds me of the relation between Skate & OlliOlli. Showcasing it on a switch doesn't help, but it seems like the steam version isn't a looker neither.

And sure, the gameplay still works despite how it looks. But a game that's all about style & flashy action is exactly the kind of game that brings everything to a higher level if it looks incredibly good & cool. Instead, we get grey environments.