Garfield: Escape from Monday (XBOX Series X|S) Review

He’s back, and he’s on the run. The latest Garfield title to hail from Microids pits the fat cat against an evil chef in a world of dreams.

Garfield really, really (really) hates Monday

One of the longest running and best-loved comic strips of all time, Garfield has been around since 1978. That’s when creator Jim Davis first penciled the orange tabby, in a newspaper staple that would continue, well, through this very day.

Though he’s been a continuing force in multimedia, Garfield was an absolute rage back in the 80s. The feline was the subject of cartoons, made-for-TV animated movies, oodles of collectibles and stuffed animals, and of course a line of books. Those bound together his newspaper adventures, and were a favorite of a very young version of this writer.

Be all of that as it may though, I always found it odd that Garfield didn’t have more video games to his name. His was the era of the tie-in after all. Even so, all I can recall was a so-so Sega Genesis side-scroller. And it still seems weird to me today that more games weren’t created for the character in his heyday. Though, I’ll add that the dearth is changing in the modern age.

That’s mainly because of publisher Microids, who has produced a series of Garfield kart racers. And while those have included Garfield Kart and its sequel, there’s a brand new title as well, one that ditches its cousins’ wheels. Yes, it’s another stab at a platformer that’s arriving some 31 years after the last one. But this one is markedly better.

It’s like a dream, only with veggies

Garfield doesn’t exactly lend himself to the world of action gaming. Being frank, he’s… well, he’s a big, lazy cat. Although he frequently gets into adventures in his cartoon escapades, the original strips are much more sedate. His idea of an adventure being a trip to the fridge.

That’s probably why Garfield: Escape from Monday incorporates the theme that it does. That’d be a dreamworld, by the way, which is where the big guy finds himself after a brush with fate. Yes, it seems that his owner Jon bought a veggie lasagne, and Garfield made the big mistake of scarfing it down without looking.

That didn’t sit well at all, knocking him for a loop and making him pass out on the kitchen floor.

Stuck in a sleep-induced vegetable nightmare, he finds himself face to face with Chef Monday. That’s the very same Chef whose name appears on the packaging of said offending pasta dish. And that ghostly presence is set to toss the main cat up against a series of 3D platforming stages, all while trying to get him to break… and eat his vegetables. Naturally, Garfield is having none of that. And he stubbornly forges ahead to beat the Chef at his own game.

To that end, there’s a trio of lands in Garfield: Escape from Monday, and they’re all food themed. Those include a farm-to-table world of cheeses and more, a candied dessert land, and a BBQ-laden desert. All of those look pretty sharp too, incorporating some of the property’s supporting characters.

A word about the world too, as there’s quite a bit to do, with an ‘over world’ map to move the main character around on. The game’s stages are included there, but that’s not all. There are also bonus levels that serve up more goodies for him to munch, plus Jon’s house (or a reasonable facsimile). That last option allows players to deck the place out in furnishings unlocked by hitting stage goals.

A sharp dressed cat

Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat. Garfield: Escape from Monday looks pretty darn good. I was very pleasantly surprised by it, and I mean that as a compliment. Developer OSome Studio has created a sharp looking platformer.

As mentioned, the three biomes all have their own unique looks. Each one pops with color, and stocks a great deal of personality. I was particularly fond of the desert themed levels, though the full slate is nice looking. On the flip side though, are the enemies.

Likewise fashioned after goodies from the fridge, players will have to tackle the likes of tomatoes, eggplants, and even walking shish-kebabs. They’re fun, but I would’ve loved to have seen a rogues gallery that played more off of Garfield’s iconic world.

That might not have been the easiest of things to adapt, though it would have dug a little more deeply into the nostalgia factor. That’s never a bad thing for a game that stars a long-lived property like this one.

Thankfully, Garfield himself looks great. Fans will find their fave cat to look pretty much as he does in his most iconic form. And by that, I mean his more modern incarnation, skinny legs, pot belly and all. Along the same lines, Odie, Jon, Nermal, and all the rest of Garfield’s staple supporting cast look mostly terrific too.

There are some odd animation errors here and there, however. Just as an example, I caught Nermal looking like he’s supposed to be speaking, but with no actual words. That brings me to one other issue I had with the AV package. This one’s got some sound issues.

This might be a minor problem for some, so fair warning, but some of the voices are really, really quiet. That goes particularly for Garfield himself, whose voice (provided by David Coburn) can be pretty tough to hear at times. It’s not a constant, but I could barely make out what he was saying in some scenes.

I’ll add that I also found the music to be somewhat forgettable. Ideally, I’d have loved for it to have provided riffs on the classic Garfield and Friends cartoon show and TV specials. I’m sure that’s one of those things that’s easier said than done however.

Playable fat-cat

I don’t think it’s a big stretch to say that a platformer is made or broken by its gameplay above all else. So what does this particular romp have to offer in that category? Actually, quite a bit, even though its play is skewed towards the easy side.

Garfield has a host of moves at his disposal as he makes his way through dreamland. He can hop around and stomp on foes, plus crawl, do a ground-pound, leap from walls via his claws, deal some pain with a big kick, and more. All of that gives a nice variety to play, working in way more gameplay than I’d have thought. Once again, I was very nicely surprised by this game.

There are even a trio of costumes, each granting a special ability, to find. The three are stage-locked, so players will only find them in specific levels, losing them once that board is cleared. As with the base moves though, I found each one to be pretty cool. One grants the ability of limited flight, while another gives Garfield a surfboard to hit the waves with, and the final one deals out a lasso. All of them add some extra fun to levels, shaking up play.

As with the game’s looks though, I do have to report on a bit of a downer. That being that some of Garfield’s moves tend to cause bugs to rear their ugly heads. And I mean with the ropin’ cowboy suit in particular. I had to restart a handful of levels repeatedly, thanks to a bug that caused Garfield to freeze in place when I had him lasso a target. It wasn’t all that common, but it was enough to give a bit of frustration.

Overall

Garfield: Escape from Monday isn’t perfect by any means. I’ll refer back to the occasional bugginess that I mentioned as evidence of that. However, I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t have fun with it.

The game looks pretty slick, plays well (mostly), and serves up plenty to do. Especially for fans, it’s a fun time. And if you’re in that lot, Garfield: Escape from Monday could be a good option for you. If you’re not though, it’s a bit of a different story. At least, it is for seasoned players. As I also mentioned, it’s a pretty easy affair.

There’s another angle to this one though, and it’s one that I’d be remiss to skip. Namely, it’s that the younger set might get a fair shake more out of this game. There just aren’t a ton of family-friendly, kid-centered games around today, after all.

A copy of Garfield: Escape from Monday was provided by Microids for this review

Garfield: Escape from Monday
Release date: September 24th, 2026
Platforms: XBOX Series X|S (reviewed), PS5, Switch, PC
Publisher: Microids
Developer: OSome Studio
MSRP: $29.99 USD