Garfield Kart: Furious Racing

Garfield Kart: Furious Racing is a licensed kart racing game featuring Garfield, Odie, and other characters from the iconic comic strip universe, set in a fantastical world of track-based races. Players compete in high-speed behind-the-view races with direct control automobiles, utilizing power-ups in go-kart style combat across various tracks, supporting both split-screen and online multiplayer for up to 8 players.

Garfield Kart: Furious Racing: Review

Introduction

Imagine a world where the lasagna-loving, Monday-hating tabby cat Garfield trades his armchair for a go-kart, hurtling through fantastical tracks littered with pies, pillows, and springs in a chaotic bid for supremacy. Garfield Kart: Furious Racing (2019), developed by the French studio Artefacts Studio and published by Microids, promises exactly that—a no-holds-barred racer starring Garfield and his anthropomorphic entourage. Yet, beneath the whimsical facade lies a title that’s less “furious racing” and more a sluggish slog through recycled assets and technical gremlins. As a sequel/remake to the infamous 2015 Garfield Kart, it arrived amid a crowded kart-racing landscape dominated by juggernauts like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled. This review posits a provocative thesis: Furious Racing is a quintessential budget licensed game of the late 2010s—a meme-fueled curiosity that endures not for its merits, but as a testament to irony, community reclamation, and the pitfalls of IP-driven shovelware in an era of Unity-powered quick ports.

Drawing from exhaustive archival sources like MobyGames, Steam data, critic aggregators, and Garfield fandom wikis, we’ll dissect this feline fiasco layer by layer. What emerges is a game that’s equal parts endearing nostalgia bait and infuriating artifact, forever etched in gaming history as the “beautiful game” of ironic appreciation.

Development History & Context

Artefacts Studio S.A.S., a modest French outfit known for licensed fare like Moto Racer 4 and later The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos, helmed development under the watchful eye of Microids SA—a publisher with a penchant for comic IP adaptations (e.g., Asterix titles). Credits reveal a lean team: CEO Stéphane Longeard, producers Robin Luxereau and Jonathan Assi, and a sprawling 116-person roster including QA from Globalstep LLC and thanks to PAWS (Garfield’s rights holders). Powered by Unity—evident in its cross-platform fluidity but also its janky physics—this was no AAA endeavor but a commercial play on Garfield’s enduring license.

Furious Racing dropped on November 6, 2019, for PC/Mac via Steam ($14.99, often discounted to $3.74), followed by console ports (PS4, Xbox One, Switch) days later. Contextually, it landed in a post-Mario Kart 8 Deluxe wilderness where budget kart racers proliferated: Team Sonic Racing, Nickelodeon Kart Racers, and shovelware like Race with Ryan. Technological constraints were minimal—Unity enabled quick asset reskins from the 2013/2015 original Garfield Kart (Android/iOS/3DS/PC)—but ambition was curtailed. Sources confirm it’s a “remake”: identical 16 tracks, characters, and cups, with minor visual upgrades and multiplayer tweaks. No microtransactions (unlike the original’s grindy coin system), but omissions like 200cc mode or battle arenas scream cost-cutting.

The 2010s gaming landscape favored licensed cash-ins amid mobile-to-console ports, but Garfield‘s spotty video game history (Garfield: Saving Arlene flops, Caught in the Act cult hits) set low expectations. Microids’ vision? Capitalize on Garfield’s meme resurgence (lasagna cat edits, Twitter irony) post-Garfield Kart‘s viral infamy. Released during a kart-racing glut, it targeted casual families and irony chasers, but QA oversights (e.g., collision bugs) betrayed rushed console optimizations, especially on Switch.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Plot? In true kart-racing tradition, Furious Racing eschews deep storytelling for implied chaos: Garfield and pals (Jon Arbuckle, Odie, Liz Wilson, Nermal, Arlene, Squeak, Harry) vie in cups themed around junk food—Lasagna, Pizza, Burger, Ice Cream—across 16 tracks evoking Garfield’s strip world. No cutscenes or voiced dialogue; Spider (from the comics) merely announces rounds. Collect three puzzle pieces per track to unlock The Garfield Show-style art, hinting at “rudimentary stories” like skyscraper-building mishaps or Odie chases.

Thematically, it’s pure Garfield: laziness vs. competition. Garfield’s “lazy” shortcuts (Spring item) embody his slothful ethos—”Are you lazy like Garfield? Take shortcuts!” per Steam blurb—while items like the Pillow (induces sleep) satirize naps, and Pie (stun) nods to food fights. Tracks like Pastacosi Factory or Mally Market cram comic references (e.g., market stalls echoing strips), fostering a meta-narrative of Garfield’s mundane life exploding into absurdity.

Yet, depth falters: no character arcs, bios, or progression ties narrative to gameplay. Critics like Nintendo Life lambasted it as “pretending it’s a sequel,” while Fandom notes identical structure to 2015’s game. Analytically, it thematizes licensed mediocrity—a cat too indolent for innovation, mirroring devs’ apparent disinterest. Ironic player reads (e.g., Steam memes calling it “postmodern art”) elevate it: walls as “Egyptian hardships,” flips as “life’s unfairness” (IMDb satire). Ultimately, themes are skin-deep, serving as fodder for meme lore rather than substantive lore.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Core loop: Select from 8 characters (stats vary: Garfield acceleration-focused, Harry top-speed) and 8 karts (swappable, customizable with hats/spoilers post-race unlocks). Race 3 laps in Grand Prix (4 tracks/cup, 50cc-150cc), Single Race, or Time Trial (medals: bronze-silver-gold-platinum for hats). Behind-view direct control supports gamepad/keyboard/mouse; PC controls: arrows accelerate/turn/brake, Space jump/skid, X/C throw items forward/back, Ctrl rearview.

Combat & Items: 9 bonuses from boxes—offensive (Pie auto-aim stun, Magic Wand shrink) vs. defensive (Shield)—deployable bi-directionally. Hats innovate mildly: chef’s boosts Pie speed, Viking enables lasagna chains. Multiplayer shines: split-screen 1-4 (Switch up to 7?), online 2-8.

Flaws Exposed:
– Physics/Handling: Janky Unity engine yields bugs—150cc flips from bumps, 180° snaps, scenery clipping (Nintendo Life: “borked”). Drifting feels “too tight,” steering loose.
– AI: “Übergeschnappt” (Gamer’s Palace)—overly aggressive, rubber-bands harshly, frustrating shortcuts.
– UI/Progression: Clean menus, but sparse unlocks (hats via wins/medals). No battle mode, mirror tracks.
– Innovations: Hats as passive buffs > shields; puzzle pieces add collectathon lite.

Mechanic	Strengths	Weaknesses
Controls	Responsive jumps/skids	Loose steering, no auto-accelerate
Items	Varied (9 types), bi-directional	Overpowered (Pillow hits all), luck-dependent
Tracks	Shortcuts galore	Repetitive (4 deserts), empty
Multiplayer	Online/split-screen solid	AI dominates locals
Progression	Quick hats (10 hrs full clear, per Gamerhub)	Grind-free = low replayability

Exhaustive play data (Steam: 14k+ reviews, 88% positive ironically) reveals addictive loops for speedrunners, but core single-player loops collapse under bugs.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Settings blend Garfield’s suburban chaos with fantasy: Palerock Lake (misty docks), Crazy Dunes (oasis jumps), Pastacosi Factory (pasta rivers). 16 tracks across cups feel “inspired by Garfield,” packed with nods (Mally Market stalls). Atmosphere? Cartoonish Unity visuals—colorful but “grayish/empty” (CD-Action), low-poly models shine in detail (karts surprisingly intricate, per Gamerhub).

Art direction: The Garfield Show cel-shaded vibes, but critics decry “little care in details” (Nintenderos). Customizations (dozens of accessories) add charm.

Sound: Generic 2000s Disney-esque OST—”forgettable” (Gamerhub), no Spotify rips. SFX (crashes, item whooshes) and grunts suffice; no voice acting. Contributes negligibly—music thematically fits (cheerful chaos) but demands player playlists.

Overall: Cozy Garfield world-building elevates budget constraints, fostering meme “beauty” (Rock Paper Shotgun satire).

Reception & Legacy

Launch reception: Dismal critically (Moby: 41%, 5.6/10; OpenCritic bottom percentile). Nintendo Life (2/10): “More broken [remake]”; TheGamer (2/5): “Cheap rip-off”; WellPlayed (4/10): “Fails at copying.” Positives? Nintenderos (5.8/10): Kid-friendly.

Players diverged: Steam 88% “Very Positive” (14k reviews)—meme irony (“best software ever,” speedruns); Metacritic user 7.0 (mixed, hyperbolic 10s). Sales ~363k units (GameRebellion); cheap pricing fueled irony.

Legacy: Meme immortality—thousands of hours logged, Steam reviews as satire. Influenced Garfield Kart 2 (2025); cemented kart shovelware trope. In history, exemplifies 2010s irony gaming (cf. Big Rigs), boosting Garfield’s cultural cachet amid flops. No industry revolution, but a cult artifact.

Conclusion

Garfield Kart: Furious Racing is a lukewarm lasagna: recycled tracks, buggy physics, and sparse content mar solid multiplayer bones and Garfield charm. As historian, it occupies a dubious pantheon—budget licensed racer turned meme legend, outshining kin like Race with Ryan via irony. Verdict: 5/10. Skip unless ironic; buy on sale ($3.74) for couch co-op laughs or speedrun memes. In gaming history, it’s no Mario Kart, but a purr-fect cautionary tale of untapped IP potential. I hate Mondays less knowing it exists.