Garfield – Escape from Monday is a new 3D platformer from devloper OSome Studio (The Smurfs 2 – The Prisoner of the Green Stone). This casual and family-friendly game with publishing by Microids (Garfield Kart – Furious Racing) takes you into Garfield’s dreams to overcome challenges by Chef Monday. Jump and kick your way across each level as you collect food and lasagna to complete each level. The game is now available on PC, Switch 1 & 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Garfield gets Cardio for Life
Super Mario Bros on the original NES was my first experience with a platformer game, as I’m sure it was for many. Over the years the models and formats may have changed slightly, but the overall mechanics are roughly the same. So how does a cat that spends so much of his time loafing around fare in such a space? Thankfully it’s all just a dream in Garfield – Escape from Monday. Check out my thoughts below.
Gameplay
Garfield – Escape from Monday takes the well-known orange cat with black stripes from the comic strip to the digital dreamland. While slumbering away, Garfield encounters Chef Monday, cooking show host and connoisseur of vegetable lasagna. Chef Monday decides that Garfield’s dreamland is his domain to torture Garfield. He tasks him with jumping across platforms, smacking foody minions, and navigating obstacle courses for the host’s “viewers”. Collect food and find hidden lasagna throughout each level to complete them and decorate Jon’s home with a variety of objects. You’ll also encounter different costumes that provide additional means of movement during specific levels. Instead of sharing here, you’ll have to discover them yourself!
Something very obvious about Garfield – Escape from Monday from the very beginning is how particularly easy the game feels. I eventually went to find that the game is rated “PEGI 3” (or E for Everyone) on major platforms. I’m not even close to seasoned with platformer games so it came as a surprise, even to me. Given the audience, I understand now why. The primary examples are easy to note. You have three hit points for health and health can be restored by consuming/collecting the various food objects scattered throughout the level. Food also comes from defeating enemies, so it’s easy to recover. Not only that, but completely losing all your health doesn’t cause you to lose the level and have to start over from the beginning. It is very forgiving and just resets Garfield slightly back from where you were at.
Another feature that eases the burden on the player is collecting the lasagnas in each level. Rather than just telling you how many total for a level you have found, the display actually shows you the order in which you found them. This makes it much easier to either run back in a level or know around where and when to look if playing through again. I try to make it a habit to collect them all on my first run through if possible. Otherwise a quick visit for a second run through can still be relatively quick.
Graphics & Audio
I have been playing Garfield – Escape from Monday on my PC rather than my Steam Deck. I did load it up on my Deck and it seems to run quite well, but I ran into the save game transfer issue so I just stuck to where I already had progress. The different levels share a theme but are overall fairly simple and keep the cartoon/comic aesthetic alive. There are even times where the game forces you into a side view, making it look more like a 2D platformer than a 3D one. I only find it odd or annoying when I’m specifically trying to look at something but am unable to move the camera around.
The most striking thing to me for the audio is the voice acting. I apparently have a specific voice in mind when I think of the larger-than-life orange icon. Unfortunately, the voice for him in this game is definitely not that. The writing at least keeps the sass and background chatter on par with what you expect. But the voice itself feels like it is lacking the same tone and inflection, which at times does not match well with words being said. Other voices sound ok so it is probably more personal bias than fault of the voice actor. Music and sound effects throughout are whimsical and cartoony in nature and fit well within the game.
Longevity
I will say that the longevity outlook for Garfield – Escape from Monday wasn’t looking great. That was at least I was being reminded of Super Mario World and how that map and “worlds” process work. Basically I thought I was almost done with the game when I still have more to go. In addition to the main playthrough and collecting all the lasagna to decorate Jon’s house, each level also features a time challenge. There’s a fair amount of content overall, but not so much that I feel would be worth a second or more time after completing the campaign and challenges.
Final Thoughts
Garfield – Escape from Monday is a decent entry-level platformer. It is easy to pick up on, easy to play through, and doesn’t get too challenging. For the newer gamer or younger crowd, it is suitable. However for those that play all variety of games at various difficulty levels, it can feel a bit underwhelming. It still has great visuals with a comic charm and fun to play. I’m giving the game the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoy this review, be sure to check out my other reviews here.
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