Garfield: Escape from Monday is a cheesy and entertaining platformer

Ah, Garfield. A 90s cartoon legend, the grumpy ginger cat has fallen into obscurity in recent years, with the exception of publisher Microids, who is keeping him alive via a wealth of video games. From Garfield Kart to Lasagna Party, there’s a Garfield game for (almost) everyone, and thanks to platforming adventure Garfield: Escape from Monday, that catalogue has just got a little bit bigger.

I’ve spent a bit of time with Garfield: Escape from Monday, and while it’s not going to set your world on fire, there’s a lot of fun to be had here. After eating a vegetable lasagne, Garfield falls into a very deep, disturbing sleep. His dreams, normally filled with cheese and other tasty treats, have suddenly been invaded by vegetables thanks to the nefarious Chef Monday, insistent on polluting Garfield’s diet with carrots, tomatoes and the like.

Well, this ginger cat is having none of that, and so throughout the course of the game, you’ll be collecting cheese wheels, stomping on tomatoes, pinging away seeds and generally fighting the good fight to keep food veggie-free.

It’s nicely presented, with colourful, bold levels that are fun to explore if not a little bare, and the ongoing challenge to collect as much cheese as possible is simple enough for anyone to tackle while managing to be strangely alluring.

Keeping things interesting is the odd boss fight – you’ll start out by fighting off a mouse-controlled tractor mech – and some side levels to add a bit more variety to the proceedings. Collecting as much cheese as possible and finding hidden lasagnes in each level also unlocks bonus items and furniture for Jon’s house, which you can return to at any point between levels. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of point to going there, but it’s nice to see a visual representation of your progress as the house begins to furnish itself.

Perhaps my favourite thing about Garfield – Escape from Monday is the fact that you can unlock new outfits for Garfield. Rather than being purely cosmetic, different outfits will give him new abilities: a turkey outfit allows him to flap through the air, while a surfer lets him slide over water like a pro.

So while it isn’t wholly original, there’s enough here to make Garfield – Escape from Monday an enjoyable little platformer, especially if you’ve got a soft spot for the silly orange cat. It’s the type of game that’s fun to play through a few levels at a time, and if you’ve got young children at home, it’s an inoffensive and entertaining game for the whole family.

Garfield – Escape from Monday is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch and PC