Garfield Kart: Furious Racing has been put up for pre-order on various consoles on Amazon, and you may be forgiven for forgetting that this was a sequel to the 2013 title Garfield Kart.
You could also be forgiven for thinking that the new game looks an awful lot like the old one.
Kart racing games have been making a serious comeback in the past few months, what with the releases of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled as well as Team Sonic Racing, and of course the continued and uninterrupted success of Mario Kart. If kart racers are indeed making a comeback, then licensed properties getting their own again should not come as a surprise. There was a time not all that long ago around the N64 and PS1 era where any half-decent TV show or licensed property ended up with a kart racer, from Star Wars to The Muppets Show, to even the movie Antz. They never really went away, but they dwindled down to a much smaller handful compared to the buckets that we used to get. Garfield Kart: Furious Racing is just a bit of a surprising sequel, though not completely unearned.
The original Garfield Kart has actually become somewhat fondly appreciated, even if just ironically. Originally released for the 3DS in 2013, the first game was later ported to PC where it eventually gained a meme-fueled audience of many and an honest-to-goodness dedicated speedrun community. Obviously, it was a game more aimed at children and viewers of the then airing Garfield Show, but this sequel would likely not be possible without the support of the joking fans of the original. The game’s official description on Amazon reads:
- 3 Game modes – Grand Prix, single race, time trial
- Multiplayer – Up to 4 players in split-screen mode and up to 8 players in online mode or portable on Nintendo Switch
- 16 circuits – Crazy races in stunning environments inspired by the world of Garfield, such as Palerock Lake and Pastacosi Factory
- 8 Characters – Garfield, Odie, Jon, Nermal, Arlene, Liz, Harry, and squeak
- 9 Attack and Defense bonuses to turn the race in your favor
Garfield Kart: Furious Racing will be released for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4 on November 5th.
