On Nov. 7, 2013, the video game publisher Microids released the original “Garfield Kart” for PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices to negative critical reviews for its unresponsive controls, lack of content and uninspired gameplay. Two years later, a port of the game was released on the Nintendo 3DS and met with even worse reviews due to a downgrade in graphics and still unintuitive controls.
Despite the damning reviews from game journalists and critics, “Garfield Kart” has managed to win over the hearts of its audience, sustaining a 4.5/5 on Steam with nearly 10,000 reviews. While many of them make sarcastic remarks about the game changing their lives, the meme of the game being so bad that it’s good could have very well been the reason that the game got a sequel.
“Garfield Kart 2: All You Can Drift” came out on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and PlayStation 5 from Microids just last week on Sept. 10 — not to be confused with “Garfield Kart: Furious Racing,” which many “Garfield Kart” fans thought was a continuation of the series but instead is a port of the original game with slightly better graphics and online multiplayer.
Like the previous installment, there isn’t much of a plot to this game. It’s a classic entry into the genre of licensed kart racer games popularized by the “Mario Kart” series: you choose from a list of recognizable characters and race on a series of tracks with power-ups that are all loosely connected to the source material.
While the game has updated graphics compared to the first game and a halftone comic book look to it, that’s the only real addition. In some ways, this game could be considered a downgrade as it has less content than the original. “Garfield Kart” has 16 tracks while the sequel has only 12. Though I won’t say the original’s tracks are all unique and fun to play, it has an entire four-track cup more than “Garfield Kart 2.”
I played both “Garfield Kart: Furious Racing” and “Garfield Kart 2: All You Can Drift” on the Nintendo Switch, and I can say that the controls are slightly easier to use in the latter, but not by much. Turns are still difficult to make on higher race speeds and the bonus items you collect around the track can be confusing — not to mention that the funniest item, a pillow that forces your character to fall asleep at the wheel for a few seconds, is not included. Another confusing choice lies within the settings menu on the main screen of the game, which only has one single setting to change the game’s language; not having any volume sliders is an issue, especially when the music is much louder than the sound effects and characters.
There is one glaring problem with this game that I have yet to mention: the game is quite clearly copying “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.” “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” does not own the concept of a kart racing game, but it does have its own unique user interface and power-up items. “Garfield Kart 2: All You Can Drift” takes the power-ups and UI elements of its predecessor and disposes of them in favor of “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” features with a different skin.
Several bonus items are direct copies of the ones from “Mario Kart.” There are three different types of dog food bowls that hit enemies (green, red and blue shells), lasagna that gives you a speed boost (mushrooms), soap that slips up enemies (bananas) and they even included the coin item that nobody likes. The kart selection has the same look and the racing screen has the same layout: instead of an awards ceremony at the end of a grand prix, there’s a trophy on the screen corresponding to how many points you got, just like in “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.”
The charm of what made people gravitate toward the “Garfield Kart” series is lost, and it has become a painfully average kart racing game with no unique gimmicks. After a week of it being released, Steam reviews for it are at a 3/5.
While I do find humor in drifting off cliffs as Nermal in a florescent purple car and losing to the AI players, I can’t find another reason to play “Garfield Kart 2.” I could play “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” and have a cleaner, visually impressive and more fun experience. While it is double the price, it was copied for a reason. If you really want to see characters from the Garfield universe drive a car, the original “Garfield Kart” is only $4.99 on Steam.
Rating: 2.5 lasagnas out of 5