The feline slacker, Garfield, alongside together with his everlasting love of lasagna and existential hatred of the beginning of the work week, is not any stranger to video video games. Whether or not that is video games specializing in exploring his dwelling for trinkets, taking over trivia and celebration challenges, and even having a go at kart-racing motion, it looks like Garfield and buddies have accomplished all of it. However the place the upcoming Garfield: Escape from Monday tries one thing totally different is placing the slacker cat in a new action-platformer the place he’ll need to navigate a dream world loaded to the brim together with his favourite meals, together with some unsavory ones to cope with.
We not too long ago obtained some prolonged hands-on time with developer OSome Studio’s upcoming Garfield platformer, which takes the titular home cat by some weird nightmares and foodscapes. Together with maneuvering by some hair-raising encounters and taking over some unusual powers to fight rogue greens trying to put him down, we obtained to see simply how Escape from Monday will stick out within the rotund housepet’s bizarre and huge catalog of online game adventures.
Veggies Trigger Nightmares?
On a seemingly unusual Monday, Garfield decides to drown his weekly malaise in lasagna that his proprietor, Jon, has ready. Sadly, he realizes too late it’s a wholesome vegetable-filled lasagna made from a recipe by TV host Chef Monday. After sinking into a meals coma, Garfield awakens in a unusual dream world rooted in his infinite love of meals and tv, however infested by meals monsters and visions of an evil Chef Monday taunting the feline grouch – and escaping this nightmare hellscape is Garfield’s essential goal on this sport.
It is a very wacky premise by Garfield requirements, however the idea nonetheless performs properly to the witty, deadpan humor that the comics and animated TV collection did so properly. All through his journey in dreamland, Garfield could have some backup from his buddies, corresponding to Jon and Arlene, however will even deal with nightmare variations of recent and different acquainted faces. As Garfield has to cope with extra escalating encounters, he’ll ship his signature deadpan commentary, which actually leans into a self-aware tackle a online game platformer. Garfield will even poke enjoyable at acquainted sport cliches and even his spotty makes an attempt at being a kart racer. One stage even sees Garfield attempt his hand at recreating the notorious Flappy Chicken sport, which additionally turned out to be a little bit of a problem to clear.
Whereas Garfield has dabbled in platformers earlier than, Escape from Monday is definitely essentially the most oddball and over-the-top of all of them. Set throughout a number of worlds that mash up meals types and tv genres, Garfield: Escape from Monday goes for a pretty acquainted 3D platformer setup. Although Garfield is a gradual and lazy sofa potato in the actual world, inside this dream world, he is way more of a spry online game character that may gracefully leap and sprint throughout platforms and a few set-piece encounters. It does lean into the collectathon type of a 3D platformer, which implies you may must seize as a lot meals and hidden parts of lasagna in every stage to earn additional credit score to make progress.
Cat Costumes FTW
Our hands-on time with Escape From Monday targeted on phases the place Garfield’s particular dream power-ups are unlocked and able to use. Very similar to basic Tremendous Mario Bros, Garfield can seize particular costumes that grant him talents which might be specifically tuned for every world. Within the farm world, garfield donned the Turkey go well with, which gave some added airtime to succeed in additional distances. Within the mash-up candyland/seaside world, Garfield positive factors a particular surfer costume that lets him streak throughout water, trip up waterfalls, and grind the rails. And within the Wild West world overrun by vegetable monsters, Garfield can flip into a cowboy to make use of his lasso to tame wild foes and even grapple to larger surfaces.
The exploration of every stage is fast and snappy, which faucets into the identical power as early 3D platformers like Tremendous Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. Whereas fight is mostly fairly mild, specializing in Garfield’s kicking and bounce assaults to get previous foes, the actual enjoyable comes with how one can maneuver the prototypical grumpy cat throughout these phases. Taking part in as Garfield on this context presents some oddly endearing moments all through his online game journey. It is enjoyable to see Garfield and his lazy oafish demeanor attempting to persevere by all of it – and the sport even lets you could have Garfield play the slouch by slowly crawling by phases.
The phases the place Garfield can minimize unfastened with these powers are the place Escape from Monday stands out, and so they play into the dreamlike ambiance as these bizarre ranges progressively turn out to be extra outlandish. One spotlight was a stage set within the seaside world, the place Garfield needed to sprint by areas equal components waterworld and candyland, grinding on rails whereas drifting by pirate dens and underground caverns. Each 3D platformer price its salt has some type of water stage, and Escape from Monday is already trying to observe that custom fairly properly.
The Western phases had been additionally a delight, permitting Garfield to tame some indignant dwelling eggplants and tear by obstacles on a managed rampage. These phases additionally showcase the extra cinematic moments in Escape from Monday, and the mine-cart platforming sequences play properly with element and sense of scale whereas additionally paying homage to Donkey Kong Nation.
Simply One other Manic Monday
The kind of humor and vibes that include a conventional Garfield story match properly with an action-platformer, and Escape from Monday actually brings that particular attraction to a three-dimensional house. That stated, it’s not precisely groundbreaking. There are acquainted tropes and beats you’ve got probably seen in lots of different video games a number of instances over. Furthermore, Garfield’s deadpan tone can get a bit grating after lengthy stretches of high-energy platforming sections. Nonetheless, developer OSome Studio makes a valiant effort so as to add selection to those encounters.
One explicit facet exercise that was a good shock had been journeys to the dream model of Garfield’s dwelling. As you gather lasagna and different objects scattered throughout phases, you may earn some additional rewards that unlock misplaced furnishings which you could place again the place it belongs. As you rating excessive on every stage, extra objects will unlock within the arbuckle residence, and you’ll flip it into extra of a hangout spot in between missions that may be embellished at your leisure.
Successfully capturing the vibes of Garfield will be a actual problem to tug off properly, however Garfield: Escape from Monday is shaping as much as be a worthy addition to the lovable slacker’s library of interactive adventures. Very similar to the current Bubsy 4D, Escape from Monday is fairly acquainted in the case of the construction and components, however that’s seemingly by design, as recapturing the enjoyable of 3D platformers from a less complicated time may be very a lot in type as of late. Fortunately, his new Garfield journey backs up stable fundamentals with snappy platforming motion and a cool hook that showcases the endearing sourpuss in a enjoyable and thrilling method. It won’t reinvent the style, however that’s okay, and as Garfield will let you know any day of the week, there’s nothing improper with a little consolation meals. So long as it’s not wholesome vegetable lasagna on a Monday morning.