Platform(s): PC (version reviewed), Xbox Series, PS5, Nintendo Switch
Genre: 3D Platformer, Comic, Mascot

We’re seeing a lot of 3D platformers popping up in the indie PC gaming scene; ones that are influenced by late 90s and early 2000s mascot platformers that are simple yet enough to cater to all ages of gamers. Heck, I’ve reviewed two of them, made by the same developer! One was really good and the other felt like an Atari obligation that at least had some charisma.

Of course, if you look over at publisher Microids, it’s open season for games based on comic book and other kiddie licenses. The latest is Jim Davis’ Garfield -fat lazy orange cat who eats lasagna and hate Mondays, you know the drill. It’s rather fitting that an orange cat born out of repetitive and worn-out newspaper filler gags end up in a really bog standard 3D platformer.

A Day Like Any Other

To be fair, developer OSome Studio made this 3D platformer Garfield game thematically sound and colourful. Garfield gets stuck in dreamland, he has to get out by navigating through many food-themed levels and stages, collect lasagnas as trophies and progress block-removers, and fight off an evil chef who peppers him with vegetables and all sorts of healthy food; kryptonite to the orange cat.

Sadly, its progression is ho-hum, its levels are pretty standard and typical of your mid-tier PS2 mascot platformer title, and it doesn’t really shake up its gameplay much. The controls are fine and the base platforming feels alright at first. But the core gameplay is pretty much the same from start to finish: go from point A to B, kill enemies with your Garfield punches, jump through obstacles and onto platforms, and finish the stage. The backdrops change up their palettes and models, but the levels are so boring that there aren’t any memorable ones worth bringing up as selling points.

At the very least, it’ll keep the young ones entertained for 6 hours, especially since this version of Garfield sounds like a Donald Trump imitator. If you’re above the drinking limit, this is one title you can enjoy while getting drunk.

Monday’s Child, Short Of Grace

Garfield: Escape from Monday captures the spirit and tone of the comic strips and the recent 3D animated TV series (and movies); the 3D platforming is stock and bland as its source material. There’s a ton of colour in its step and the controls are spot-on for an all-ages title, but it’s what you expect from a platformer that looks like it came out during the PS2 era of licensed platform gaming. Strictly for the kids with nothing better to do, or if they’re too young to check out more entertaining Garfield media like Lasagna Cat.

Final Score: 50/100