Garfield is no stranger to the video game world, but in the past few years, the lovable, overweight orange cat’s only outings have been racing karts and hosting minigame-filled lasagna parties. But now, after almost two decades since his last 3D platformer, Osome Studio has released Garfield: Escape from Monday. Unfortunately, this adventure falls short on visual and gameplay polish and offers little challenge to platforming regulars. Garfield’s relatively engaging moveset allows for some fun, action-packed segments, with the odd meta joke poking fun at Garfield’s video game contemporaries make it worth considering at its lower price point.
A Food-Filled Nightmare
Escape from Monday is set inside Garfield’s dreams as he drifts into a food-induced coma after eating some of television chef Chef Monday’s new vegetable lasagna. Garfield’s comfort-food-filled dream realm is invaded by Monday’s army of evil vegetables, turning it into a nightmare that Garfield, with occasional help from his family and friends, needs to escape.
It’s a fun concept that lets you explore larger-than-life, food-inspired environments like the chocolate rivers of the Candyland Beaches. At the same time, Chef Monday occasionally dips in to taunt you, alter the environment, and spur on nightmare versions of classic Garfield friends who act as each world’s boss.
Searching For Lasagne
The level design is well-varied in the opening world; Garfield travels from a farm to a factory and then to a live television set in just a few levels. These themes don’t overstay their welcome and do a good job of keeping things fresh. But this variety begins to dwindle as the game progresses, making some levels feel less distinct. Although each level feels fairly isolated, a neat sense of continuity connects them, with actions in one level carrying into the next. For example, one level has you powering a windmill with mousetraps, which provides the electricity needed to progress through the following one. It’s a small touch, but it helps make the dream world feel more connected than a simple collection of standalone levels.
Each level has between three and eight hidden lasagnas to find; some are hidden in areas that require platforming, some are small time trials, and some require you to pick up three scattered pieces in a small area. You can also earn up to three additional lasagnas based on how much food you collect throughout each level, but this doesn’t add much, as most of the time just running through the level is enough to get the extra three.
Unfortunately, the rewards for finding the lasagnas are less appealing than the hunt itself. Collecting a certain amount in each level unlocks furniture for Jon’s house in the Dreamland, and collecting them all in one level unlocks a variant. Collecting all the lasagnas in a given world adds the world’s boss to the house. It doesn’t feel very rewarding to go out of your way to collect the lasagna to fill out the room, and the extra NPCs that arrive simply stand around, uninteractable and silent.
Each world also has optional side levels that take place outside the world’s main themes in a floating cat dreamscape. These levels offer a little more challenge than the main levels, which is welcome. One particularly fun side level was the cleverly named Flappy Cat, which imitated the gameplay of the infamous Flappy Bird. Unfortunately, most side levels don’t feel different enough from the main stages to be memorable, and I wish they pushed the limits of Garfield’s moveset more.
Not So Lazy After All
Garfield: Escape from Monday’s biggest strength lies in how Garfield is controlled. The lazy orange feline ditches his usual lethargic moveset for a snappy, energetic suite of abilities that feel great as he zips through the numerous levels. I had an absolute blast playing around with Garfield’s moves, chaining dives into rolls and bouncing off enemies to maintain momentum as I moved through the level. The game showcases this brilliantly in its time attack mode, which unlocks for each level after you beat it for the first time. Each level has a target time to beat, and while it is fun to dash through the levels, the times are pretty lenient; the lack of leaderboards to compare times is a massive shame and makes the mode feel a bit lacking.
Garfield’s moveset is further expanded with new power-up costumes introduced in each of the game’s three worlds. The Turkey gives Garfield three extra jumps in the air; the Surfer lets Garfield pull out a surfboard to grind along rails and traverse previously lethal water. Finally, the Cowboy costume gives him a lasso he can use to grapple to points around the level and ride one particular enemy type. While these abilities are a welcome addition, they feel slightly half-baked and add to Garfield’s movement more than his combat. It would have been nice if you could have used the Cowboy lasso to attack enemies at range or run enemies over with the surfboard. However, the power-ups shine by expanding the level design and creating some of the game’s most enjoyable moments, such as grappling to multiple platforms in a row with the lasso or zipping across water and skipping across geysers at high speed with the surfboard.
Whilst I wasn’t coming into this review looking for a hard time, Escape from Monday offers very little challenge. Garfield can heal any damage by picking up food, with hundreds scattered throughout each level, and defeating enemies will drop some too. There are also a few platforming challenges that can lead to death, and if you do happen to fall, the checkpoints are so forgiving that there is no real consequence. It’s obviously hard to talk about how much this will affect your experience, as the game is likely aimed at a younger demographic. Still, keep in mind you won’t find much here to challenge you if you have even a little platforming experience. To add insult to injury, Garfield will even taunt you after dying, telling you to turn the difficulty down. The only problem? The game has no difficulty setting.
A Little Too Lackluster, Even For Garfield
Whilst Garfield: Escape from Monday excels in its controls and gameplay, it falls rather short in overall presentation, especially in the game’s second world. Some textures are really low resolution, and the water lacks depth. Details across the world also look flat; things like strawberries appear as 2D planes on the floor and detract from the game’s visual style rather than adding to it. It’s a shame, as these issues are less noticeable in the game’s opening world, and if the whole game had the same level of polish as the first world, it wouldn’t be such an issue. The game’s music fares a little better than its visuals; whilst largely forgettable and doing little to enhance the game’s atmosphere, it never becomes as distracting as the game’s visual shortcomings.
The voice performances are a little too lackluster, even for Garfield. Thankfully, self-aware jokes about Garfield’s past lives as an experienced kart racer and party host, along with typical video game tropes, provide a decent laugh throughout the adventure.
During my roughly five hours with Escape from Monday, I did encounter several bugs and glitches. In two instances, I was forced to restart the entire level by returning to the overworld, wiping out all my progress. One occurred during a mine cart section that kept looping me back to the start as if I had died, despite hitting nothing, while the other left me stuck in a gust of wind with Garfield infinitely floating in the air. I also encountered a third notable glitch with the Surfer power-up, where Garfield would suddenly start flying around. This only occurred in one level with the power-up and, thankfully, made me laugh more than it frustrated me.
A Big Missed Opportunity
Garfield: Escape from Monday ultimately feels like a big missed opportunity for the lovable orange feline. The foundations of an great 3D platformer are there. Still, the game never does enough with them, with meaningless collectables, underdeveloped power-ups and presentation issues that distract from its otherwise tight platforming even in its best segments. At its lower price point, Garfield’s surprisingly enjoyable moveset still offers some fun, but after almost two decades away from 3D platforming, Escape from Monday ultimately feels more like a missed opportunity than the comeback it could have been.
