Report updated May 6, 2026
My Friend Pedro
For action game enthusiasts seeking high-intensity, skill-based platforming experiences on mobile devices.
My Friend Pedro is an established games app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.2/5 rating from 134.8K reviews, it shows polarized user reception. Users particularly appreciate fast-paced arcade shooter mechanics provide a highly satisfying and addictive mobile experience, though technical bugs in specific levels prevent progression and break the core gameplay loop remains a common concern.
What is My Friend Pedro?
My Friend Pedro is a 2D action-platformer for mobile, featuring physics-based combat and a revenge-themed narrative.
Players hire the game for high-intensity, skill-based arcade combat that functions offline, serving a need for quick-session action without persistent network dependency.
Current Momentum
v1.12 · 6mo ago
ZombieThe app has been effectively silent for over 4 years, with the last release occurring in November 2021.
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
What Are The Key Features?
37 levels featuring movement on foot, motorcycle, and skateboard with high-caliber choreography mechanics
High-difficulty challenge mode for advanced players to test skill and optimize scores
Action-oriented gameplay optimized for mobile touch controls
How much does it cost?
- Free-to-play with ad support
Monetization relies on ad-supported gameplay for a large user base, with no explicit subscription or premium-tier gate mentioned in the current data.
Who Built It?
Devolver
Bringing premium, narrative-driven indie experiences to mobile through a curated portfolio of unconventional and mechanically unique titles.
Portfolio
13
Apps
What other apps does Devolver make?
Explore the full Devolver report
Portfolio breakdown, audience, momentum, and every app published by Devolver.
What do users think recently?
High confidence · Latest 100 of 135 total reviews analyzed · Based on 135 reviews. Signal may be noisy.
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a mixed sentiment. Users appreciate fast-paced arcade shooter mechanics provide a highly satisfying and addictive mobile experience and high quality audio production and soundtrack design elevate the overall atmosphere, but report technical bugs in specific levels prevent progression and break the core gameplay loop and subscription service integration failures cause loading loops and prevent premium feature access.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
What Users Want
View the full user-sentiment analysis
Mood gauge, ratings & review-volume history, every praise / complaint / request, and sentiment over time.
What is the competitive landscape for My Friend Pedro?
How's The Games Market?
How does it evolve in the Games market?
The game maintains a 4.25 rating on Android, but the high volume of progression-blocking complaints suggests the current stability is insufficient to hold the user base against live-service competitors.
Rank progression
20 active rankings tracked — 30-day window
The rivals identified
Nemeses(1)
Direct thematic overlap in the 2D run-and-gun action genre with high-fidelity retro aesthetic.
Differentiators
- Features a distinct 80s-inspired synthwave aesthetic that differentiates it from the target's banana-themed humor.
- Offers a more traditional arcade-style progression system compared to the target's physics-based movement mechanics.
Contenders(1)
Dominates the high-end 2D action platformer space with superior content depth and replayability.
Differentiators
- Utilizes a rogue-lite structure that provides significantly higher replay value than the target's linear level design.
- Leverages the Apple Arcade ecosystem to provide a premium, ad-free experience that contrasts with the target's free-to-play model.
Same space(4)
High-velocity platformer with a massive user base and aggressive update cadence.
Differentiators
- Integrates a robust brawler-style combat system that allows for more complex melee combos than the target app.
- Maintains a high-frequency release schedule that consistently introduces new story chapters and character customization options.
Classic physics-based platformer that serves as a benchmark for touch-based movement mechanics.
Differentiators
- Pioneered a unique one-touch physics control scheme that remains the gold standard for mobile platformer accessibility.
- Employs a silhouette-based art style that creates a distinct visual identity compared to the target's vibrant palette.
Adjacent sub-genre focusing on high-precision combat and platforming mechanics in a dark fantasy setting.
Differentiators
- Focuses on deliberate, soul-like combat timing rather than the fast-paced, chaotic gunplay found in the target app.
- Utilizes a 2.5D perspective that emphasizes depth and environmental interaction over the target's flat 2D plane.
Shares the core run-and-gun DNA but scales into a live-service model with frequent content updates.
Differentiators
- Implements a seasonal content delivery model that keeps the player base engaged through recurring live events.
- Integrates complex RPG character progression systems that extend the gameplay loop far beyond simple level completion.
New entrants(1)
High-velocity updates and massive scale indicate a strong, evolving threat in the action-shooter category.
Differentiators
- Combines narrative-driven story campaigns with endless runner mechanics to broaden the appeal beyond pure action fans.
- Aggressive live-ops strategy with frequent seasonal events keeps the game relevant years after its initial release.
Compare My Friend Pedro against every rival
All rivals in one side-by-side table — identity, store metrics, ratings & sentiment, and strategic intel — plus a head-to-head page for each.
The outtake for My Friend Pedro
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Physics-based movement mechanics sustain high-intensity replayability
- Banana-themed humor creates a distinct brand identity
- Offline playability removes network-dependency churn
Critical Frictions
- Level 33 collision bug halts progression
- Subscription verification failures block premium features
- Aggressive ad frequency at level restarts disrupts flow
Growth Levers
- Expansion of level content to increase longevity
- Introduction of competitive multiplayer modes
- Integration of seasonal live-ops events
Market Threats
- Live-service rivals like Metal Slug: Awakening capture long-term engagement
- Subscription-free premium titles like Dead Cells+ attract high-value users
- Aggressive update cadences from competitors
What are the next best moves?
Fix level 33 collision bug because it is the top-cited progression blocker → restore completion rates
Multiple user reports confirm this bug prevents level completion and breaks the core gameplay loop.
Trade-off: Pause the development of new level assets — stability is the current priority.
Audit subscription handshake logic because integration failures are causing loading loops → reduce churn
Users report premium unlock buttons hang indefinitely, directly impacting monetization.
Trade-off: Delay the implementation of new cosmetic skins — revenue-blocking bugs take precedence.
Adjust ad-frequency triggers because level-restart ads are a top-three complaint → protect gameplay flow
Sentiment analysis highlights forced ads after death as a major negative for user experience.
Trade-off: Same-quarter capacity available — no major lever displaced.
A counter-intuitive read
The game's reliance on ad-supported play is not a weakness but a necessary bridge to reach the 10M+ Android install base, provided the ad-frequency is tuned to avoid breaking the core flow.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Seasonal live-ops events (available in Metal Slug: Awakening but absent here)
- Rogue-lite progression structure (available in Dead Cells+ but absent here)
- Complex melee combo systems (available in Dan The Man but absent here)
Key Takeaways
My Friend Pedro holds its category lead through sticky combat mechanics but bleeds players to live-service rivals, so revenue growth hinges on fixing progression-blocking bugs and refining the ad-supported experience.
Where Is It Heading?
Mixed Signals
The action-platformer market is consolidating around live-service models that offer recurring content, leaving My Friend Pedro exposed due to its static, level-based design. Unless the team shifts to a seasonal update cadence, the current retention loop will continue to erode against more active competitors.
Progression-blocking bugs in the latest release halt the core gameplay loop, which accelerates churn among the core action-platformer base.
Subscription verification failures prevent premium feature access, directly suppressing revenue conversion and driving negative sentiment among high-value users.
Recent updates focused on stability, but the lack of new content chapters leaves the game vulnerable to live-service competitors.