Garfield: Escape from Monday
| Garfield: Escape from Monday | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Osome Studio |
| Publisher | Microids |
| Platforms | |
| Release | September 24, 2026 |
| Genre | 3D platform game |
| Mode | Single-player |
Garfield: Escape from Monday is a 2026 3D platform game developed by OSome Studio and published by Microids. The game is based on the Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis, and follows Garfield as he tries to wake up from a nightmare that happens because he ate spinach lasagna. It was released on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on September 24, 2026.
Gameplay
[edit]Escape from Monday is a single-player 3D platformer with over 40 levels, spread across three worlds.[1] The player picks levels from an overworld map laid out like a board game.[1] Although most of the game is in 3D, there are some levels with side-scrolling 2D sections, and the game includes optional challenge stages as well.[2] Garfield's movement set includes several standard 3D platform moves like jumping, swimming, and ground pounds. Enemies in the game are mostly hostile foods, such as corn cobs and chili peppers, and most can be defeated in one hit.[1] The game has frequent check points that ensures that the player doesn't lose much progress upon death.[1]
Each world in the game has a costume that gives Garfield temporary abilities.[1] These costumes include a turkey costume that lets him fly briefly, a surfer outfit that lets him ride over water and grind on rails, and a cowboy outfit that gives him a lasso to help him swing across gaps between platforms.[1][3] Each level also hides slices of lasagna, that upon collecting, helps the player unlock furniture for Jon Arbuckle's apartment.[1]
The game's plot involves Garfield eating a slice of what he thinks is lasagna, only to find out that it is actually full of vegetables.[1] Garfield passes out and wakes up in a dreamland, where Garfield's food fantasies have turned into obstacle courses and vegetable henchmen chase him. To wake up, Garfield must make his way through the Dreamland.[2]
Development
[edit]Microids announced the game on June 19, 2026, with a release date of September 24 in the same year.[4] In June, Microids released another trailer and announced that it was sticking to its release date plans.[5] Polygon's Giovanni Colantonio was surprised that the game was sticking to its previously announced release date because of the amount of games that were releasing on the same day, including Control Resonant and Silent Hill: Townfall.[5]
Reception
[edit]Garfield: Escape from Monday received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[6] OpenCritic determined that 56% of critics recommended the game.[7]
IGN's Sarah Thwaites criticized the game, comparing it negatively to Astro Bot and It Takes Two, and she noted that having Garfield jump between platforms in the game is "like wading through honey."[1] TheGamer's George Foster differed from Thwaites' note, arguing that the game was one of "the year's biggest surprises" and said that the platforming mechanics were well done.[3] Giovanni Colantonio of Polygon wrote his review as a conversation with his fourth-grade self, and called the game a derivative, "brainlessly easy" platformer, but also thought that he would probably have loved it as a child.[2]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Thwaites, Sarah (2026-09-22). "Garfield's Newest Game Is a Sarcastic Slog, an Overly Familiar 3D Platformer Dragged Down by Bad Jokes and Sluggish Action". IGN. Retrieved 2026-09-23.
- 1 2 3 Colantonio, Giovanni (2026-09-22). "Garfield's New Video Game Is GOTY…for 4th Graders". Polygon. Retrieved 2026-09-23.
- 1 2 Foster, George (2026-09-22). "Garfield: Escape From Monday Is One Of 2026's Biggest Surprises". TheGamer. Retrieved 2026-09-23.
- ↑ "Microids Unveils Garfield – Escape from Monday, a Thrilling New Adventure into Garfield's Wildest Nightmares". Microids. 2026-06-19. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
- 1 2 Colantonio, Giovanni (2026-06-19). "Garfield refuses to blink in September's video game release date standoff". Polygon.com. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
- ↑ "Garfield: Escape from Monday Reviews". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
- ↑ "Garfield - Escape from Monday Reviews". OpenCritic. Retrieved 2026-09-24.