Garfield, the iconic lazy feline, is set to star in a new 3D action-platformer titled Garfield: Escape from Monday. Developed by OSome Studio, the game sees the titular character navigate a bizarre dream world filled with both his favorite foods and nightmare-inducing challenges. This title aims to distinguish itself within Garfield's extensive video game history by offering a fresh action-platformer experience.
The game's premise stems from Garfield's attempt to escape his Monday blues by indulging in a lasagna prepared by his owner, Jon. However, he soon discovers the dish is made with an unexpected ingredient: vegetables, courtesy of TV host Chef Monday. This leads Garfield into a food-centric dreamscape populated by monstrous vegetables and a taunting Chef Monday. Escaping this nightmarish realm becomes Garfield's primary objective.
This wacky scenario aligns with the witty and deadpan humor characteristic of the Garfield comics and animated series. Throughout his journey, Garfield will be accompanied by friends like Jon and Arlene, while also facing nightmare iterations of familiar and new characters. The game's self-aware humor is a key feature, with Garfield delivering his signature commentary and even poking fun at video game tropes and his past kart-racing endeavors. One stage humorously recreates the challenging gameplay of Flappy Bird.
Garfield: Escape from Monday adopts a familiar 3D platformer structure, set across diverse worlds that blend different food aesthetics and television genres. While Garfield is known for his sedentary nature in the real world, in this dream realm, he exhibits surprising agility, capable of leaping and dashing across platforms. The game embraces the collectathon style, requiring players to gather food items and hidden portions of lasagna to progress.
A notable gameplay mechanic involves Garfield acquiring special power-ups through costumes, similar to classic Super Mario Bros. In a farm-themed world, a Turkey suit grants extra airtime, while a surfer costume in a candyland/beach mashup allows Garfield to glide on water and grind on rails. In a Western-themed world overrun by rogue vegetables, a cowboy costume enables Garfield to use a lasso for taming foes and grappling to higher areas.
Exploration in each stage is designed to be swift and engaging, reminiscent of early 3D platformers like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. While combat is generally light, focusing on Garfield's jump and kick attacks, the core appeal lies in the character's unique movement capabilities. The game offers endearing moments as Garfield, with his characteristic lazy demeanor, navigates these challenges. The developers have even included an option for Garfield to crawl slowly through stages, leaning into his slouching persona.
The stages where Garfield utilizes these powers are highlighted as standout moments, contributing to the dreamlike and increasingly outlandish atmosphere. A beach world stage, blending water and candy themes, features rail grinding through pirate dens and caverns, paying homage to the tradition of water levels in 3D platformers. Western stages also provide a delightful experience, allowing Garfield to tame living eggplants and engage in rampages, featuring cinematic moments and mine-cart platforming sequences that evoke Donkey Kong Country.
While the humor and overall vibe of Garfield: Escape from Monday fit well with the action-platformer genre, the game does not introduce groundbreaking mechanics, relying on familiar tropes. Garfield's deadpan commentary might also become repetitive during extended high-energy platforming sections, though OSome Studio has made an effort to incorporate variety.
An interesting side activity involves returning to a dream version of Garfield's home. Collecting items scattered throughout the stages rewards players with furniture to redecorate the Arbuckle residence, transforming it into a personalized hangout space between missions.
Garfield: Escape from Monday aims to capture the essence of the beloved character within a 3D gaming space. While the structure and formula may feel familiar, similar to games like Bubsy 4D, this approach seems intentional, tapping into the current trend of revisiting the fun of simpler 3D platformers. The game supports its solid fundamentals with snappy platforming and a unique hook that showcases Garfield in an engaging way. It may not redefine the genre, but as Garfield himself might say, there's comfort in familiarity, especially when it doesn't involve healthy vegetable lasagna on a Monday.