Escape from Monday is my Grand Theft Auto 6

I've always had a fascination with Garfield. Now imagine telling someone on a first date and seeing every bit of excitement drain from their face. As a giant loser, I can't be the only one who grew up with this overweight orange cat, whether from his OG cartoon strip days, several animated adventures, a couple of live-action movies, or a bunch of terrible video games. When it comes to the latter, he has more than you think.

Unfortunately, most of them are mediocre at best or positively awful at worst, and I spent a lot of my upbringing immersed in the random Garfield games my parents put in front of me after a visit to the local Tesco. Truly terrible platformers like Lasagna World Tour that seemed determined to make every single terrible game design decision in existence. This particular game was released back in 2007 for the PS2 and PC, but since his creation, the charming cat has been featured in countless video games in numerous genres.

After Garfield: Escape From Monday this year, and deep down I know it won't be as good, I can't stop myself from getting excited about it. And trying to avoid the wrath of GTA 6, how to start the busy September period dominated by countless games.

Why Garfield: Escape from Monday can be an unexpected surprise

You're probably wondering why I chose to start this piece with a headline boldly comparing a random Garfield game to a behemoth like Grand Theft Auto 6. Well, obviously, I did it for the clicks. But beyond that, I think it's somewhat endearing to get excited about such a small game when such a small number of blockbusters dominate the conversation.

These types of tie-ins are often doomed to release, receive mixed reviews, and sell enough to young kids to recoup their modest budgets, only for the cycle to rinse and repeat. But for once, I'm up and taking notice because I've got a weird old connection, so let's dive briefly into what this game is set to deliver.

Garfield stands in front of a mech in Garfield: Escape from Monday.

Developed by OSome Studio and published by Microids, Garfield: Escape From Monday follows in the footsteps of similarly licensed games including The Smurfs and Asterix – one of which was surprisingly well-received because it played like Super Mario 3D World. Not original, but when a game like this is actually fun and not just a cash-grab, it's often worth paying attention to. This is something I hope Escape from Monday can accomplish instead of being just another generic kart racer, because Fat Cat has a lot to offer.

I'm just basing my impressions on the reveal trailer, but Escape from Monday looks like a level-based experience where Garfield will progress through a selection of food-based stages, battling living, breathing versions of his favorite dishes. There appears to be some precision platforming, wall jumping, riding segments, and lots of power-ups. Still, it seems to be riffing on popular genre giants like Mario but with significantly less polish. It's not immune to providing some creative ideas to the Garfield universe though, and it would be great to see supporting characters like Odie or Nurmel make an appearance as well.

I guess I'm glad that, in a landscape constantly dominated by a shrinking number of Triple-A juggernauts and a never-ending pile of indies, a game like this can still exist. Yes, it uses familiar assets for easy profit and doesn't particularly innovate in any way, but I know it's a comforting experience that I just jump into, beat it in a few hours, and feel satisfied. Compared to something like GTA 6, which Rockstar hopes will be the only game we play from its release until the dawn of time, Garfield seems strangely refreshing.

So, if the mountain of things coming out in September doesn't tickle your fancy, why not give it a try? But if it's worthless, don't complain to me about it.