Garfield - Escape from Monday Review: Come to the Place Where Fun Never Ends | The Gamerheads Podcast

Platform reviewed: PC (Steam) Also on: Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation

Price: $29.99 digital / $39.99 physical

The popularity of Garfield in the 80s and early 90s cannot be overstated. I mean, this cat was EVERYWHERE; aside from the daily newspaper comic series that earned him his fame, Garfield’s smiling face could be found on toys, lunch boxes, McDonald’s glass mugs, and an endless supply of stuffed animals. Also, when you have time, read about the Garfield “Stuck on You” car window plush craze of 1987 – it’s a wild story. We also were privy to holiday specials, a hilarious Saturday morning cartoon, and as a spokes cat for the pet food brand Alpo.

Video games were also a popular staple for the fat orange cat. Most of them were pretty forgettable, with the Sega Genesis game Garfield: Caught in the Act being the biggest standout. Recently, however, video games featuring Garfield and friends have been relegated to basic racing or party games. That is, until Garfield - Escape from Monday. This new game, released for consoles and PC, brings our chubby protagonist into the wonderful world of the 3D platformer. So, how does Garfield stack up against his prior, run-of-the-mill outings? The answer – surprisingly well!

In Garfield - Escape from Monday, you play as the titular feline, navigating a world of nightmares brought on by a vegetable lasagna-induced food coma. He is held captive in his dreams by Chef Monday, host of his own healthy-eating cooking show. In order to make his way back to reality, Garfield has to navigate platforms, fight vegetables, and eat his fair share of snacks. Garfield also enlists the help of his friends to guide him through the different levels and ultimately face off against the evil Chef Monday himself. The game features three worlds, each broken up into several levels. The levels themselves are pretty linear, and there’s never confusion as to where you need to go next. As you traverse each level, you’ll participate in traditional platformer hijinks – knocking out enemies, jumping over abysses, and scouring for secrets. Each level contains a certain number of lasagnas to collect (usually three), and hundreds of snacks to find – it’s all standard platformer fare. You’ll also stumble across various costumes that provide you with different abilities – although I am highly disappointed that there’s no pirate costume reminiscent of the greatest Halloween special ever: Garfield’s Halloween Adventure. But that’s a rant for another day...

Garfield - Escape from Monday looks very nice overall. I played on PC at the highest graphical settings and it looked good and ran very smooth, so no complaints on that end. Garfield animates well, and every jump, kick or pounce looks just like it would on the pages of a comic strip. There isn’t much variety in each world’s level, with the same assets used for each. It isn’t anything game-breaking, but after multiple levels it does get a little monotonous. Garfield, however, looks beautiful. His facial expressions, movements, and even his idle animations all capture his essence “pawfectly” (sorry but I had to throw a pun in there). Even his subtle expressions, like smiling when standing still but frowning when running, are things I’d expect from the lazy cartoon cat. It’s clear that the developers did their homework and put in the extra effort on the game’s aesthetics.

Music and sound effects are also standard; nothing that’s going to blow you away. It’s enjoyable enough and they do their job, but sometimes it’s tough to hear the voices during cut-scenes because the music drowns them out. Luckily you can change that volume in settings, so no concerns. And speaking of the voices, let’s get to the elephant in the room: Garfield’s voice. Oh, his voice. If you grew up with Garfield’s many cartoons, you would instantly recognize the unmistakable voice of Lorenzo Music. He provided Garfield’s voice until his passing in 2001, but the impact he left was huge. Since then, Garfield has had several voice actors, but none could match the iconic original. Frank Welker is one of the more recent actors to take on the role of Garfield, and does a commendable job, but did not provide the voice for Garfield in this game. Garfield’s voice in this game is just...there. I could tell the actor does their best, and there are no issues with the acting per se, but it just doesn’t sound like Garfield should, especially when there’s other options available. I understand that this is a personal preference having grown up with the character, but it’s just off-putting to hear a voice that kind of sounds like Garfield but really doesn’t. It’s weird.

The writing is actually pretty funny. Garfield showcases some of his trademark sarcasm and wit, and we are constantly reminded of his love for junk food. The banter between Garfield and Chef Monday, Jon, and some of the other characters really cracked me up at times. There’s a lot of fourth-wall breaking in the game which is funny, but a lot of it pokes fun at video game tropes. A lot of those comments would fit better if Garfield were in a self-referential video game instead of a dream world, but I can appreciate some of the humor. There’s one comment in particular that calls Garfield’s history in kart and party games which was hilarious. The other voices are also serviceable, and Chef Monday in particular does a great job of capturing that villain sound.

Controls are spot-on. Every jump, attack, and roll is responsive. There are no issues with camera angles and I could always time my moves perfectly. Enemies only take a couple hits to go down, and boss battles are, for the most part, challenging to a degree. That being said, the game is very easy. Garfield may only have 3 sections in his health bar, but every snack you pick up or enemy you take down refills one section. It’s almost impossible to get knocked out in this game, and even if you do, you are put back pretty much right where you left off. Escape from Monday’s target audience is children – I get it – so I have no qualms about the safety nets here. Hardcore gamers may find it a little too easy though.

Final Grade: B

Garfield - Escape from Monday doesn’t break any new ground or do anything extraordinary, but in all honesty it doesn’t have to. It’s a fun, familiar 3D platformer with collect-a-thon elements and basic combat. You don’t have to put in a ton of effort to beat the game either; the platforming and combat elements are surprisingly easy. As for the dollar-to-value ratio, it took me about 12 hours to get through all three worlds, but that was because I took my time when playing. If you supplement that with the unlockable time trials, collecting all the lasagnas, and unlocking all the furniture in Jon’s house, you’re looking at least 20 hours to 100% the game. And for the budget price of $29.99 digital and $39.99 physical, it’s certainly worth every dollar. Garfield - Escape from Monday does a great job at capturing the soul of the Garfield character, and is a wonderful entry-level 3D platformer for kids. Not only that, but it’s also a fantastic love-letter game for lifetime fans of the fat cat.

Review code provided by Homerun PR