Game Review: Garfield Kart Furious Racing (Xbox One)

The horribly titled Garfield Kart Furious Racing seems to be pretending to be a brand new Garfield karting game. The description (Garfield, the famous lasagna-loving cat, is back) and the price tag suggests what we have here is a sequel to the much-maligned 2013 Garfield Karting.

If you are duped into picking it up what you will find instead is a basic remastering of the 2013 game and nothing more.

There are eight racers to choose from that include Garfield regulars such as Jon, Odie, Nermal and of course, the lazy lead himself. Each has their own corresponding car but you can swap characters and cars around should you so desire. A way of finding just what works best for you as there are small differences in cars.

Then we have the unlockable spoilers and hats that you can add to your car and character. The former might boost your speed but affect your steering and so on and so forth. It’s not quite Forza Motorsport but it is something. Whereas the hats give your offensive and defensive items a bit more oomph.

16 tracks to race around sounds like a lot except great level design isn’t exactly a strong point of the game.

All of that is just window dressing though. What’s gameplay actually like? Well, it’s a karting game and not a very good one.

The number one thing to get right in a game like this is the handling of the karts and Garfield Kart Furious Racing has flaws. At times far too loose making it feel like you’re floating, particularly when going around tight corners. At others, mainly when boosting, it’s so tight you’ll be hitting walls and driving off tracks way too much. For those used to a more competent style of karting, Garfield Kart Furious Racing will take a little getting used too.

This is at its worst when playing it on higher settings, 150cc is quite hazardous to your mental health!

If all of that wasn’t bad enough though, the higher the setting the wilder the game gets with its powerups. The AI seems to have no limit on what they can use and are great shots, making for a really frustrating experience.

With single races, multiplayer, grand prix and time trials, there is plenty to do here but it’s such a chore. The incentive being only to unlock the aforementioned spoilers, hats and achievements/trophies.

If you’re looking for a Mario Kart style fix, you will find yourself sorely disappointed by what is on offer here.