Garfield Kart 2 Review: Chaos, Herzog, and the Limits of Licensed Racing

Garfield Kart 2: All You Can Drift has arrived, a sequel to 2019’s Garfield Kart: Furious Racing that once again places the lasagna-loving cat behind the wheel. The result is an experience both absurd and oddly mesmerizing, one that mirrors its inspirations without ever reaching their elegance. At its best, it’s chaotic fun that tempts players with eccentric mechanics and cartoon humor. At its worst, it is a hollow reflection of Mario Kart, a game unable to escape its shallow design and sparse content.

Giovanni Colantonio’s review on Polygon framed this entry as something closer to a Werner Herzog narrative than a traditional racing analysis, emphasizing the bleak comedy in Garfield’s descent into mandatory competition. That framing perfectly captures what Garfield Kart 2 tries to be: an entertaining yet ultimately disposable indulgence in arcade racing excess.

The game opens with an ominous sense of ritualistic competition, presenting racing not as lighthearted entertainment but as a brutal contest that strips Garfield of his core characteristic—laziness. He is compelled into circuits of four tracks, battling Odie, Liz, and a handful of others in a roster capped at eight. Missing characters like Doc and Pooky make the lineup feel especially thin, limiting the variety and nostalgic appeal that could have bolstered the game’s identity.

Garfield Kart 2 - All You Can Drift is available on Steam since September 10.

The limitations extend well beyond its character list. Options are starkly absent: there’s no ability to reconfigure buttons, no customizable lobbies for online play, and no audio adjustments to fine-tune the clash of bowls and blaring background music. Online multiplayer is confined to random matches on single courses, stripping players of the social agency that defines most modern kart racers. It’s a rigid system that places control firmly in the hands of Eden Games, who deny the quality-of-life standards expected in the genre.

When attention shifts to racing itself, Garfield Kart 2 treads familiar ground. Players accelerate, drift through corners for boosts, trail behind rivals for slipstreams, and perform aerial tricks for momentum. These mechanics echo the conventions of Mario Kart so closely that they feel like faint shadows of their inspiration. The handling is looser, the drifting less precise, and momentum often stutters when hazards hit. Cartoon spirals mocking stunned drivers highlight the lack of polish, while AI opponents sometimes lock themselves against walls indefinitely, breaking immersion.

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Yet the game does deliver moments of strange delight. Unlockable parts offer minor customization, adjusting acceleration or speed to give players a semblance of control over performance. Cosmetic options like Nermal’s sombrero provide self-expression in a game otherwise devoid of depth. These quirks, while shallow, bring brief sparks of personality.

The true strength of Garfield Kart 2 lies in its tracks. Crafted with surprising care, they borrow from classic design templates while adding new layers of personality. A Western town allows players to soar across saloon rooftops, while a pirate-themed stage echoes Ghost Valley’s sharp corners with shortcuts that reward exploration. Despite being limited to 12, these tracks represent the game’s most consistent source of engagement, demonstrating a creative eye for layout that the mechanics themselves rarely match.

Even so, the thrill is fleeting. The 150cc races bring moments of speed-fueled excitement, but they are undercut by a shallow online ecosystem and barren menus that restrict long-term investment. The game begins to feel like a sugary snack rather than a meal—momentarily satisfying but quickly forgotten.

Colantonio captured this contradiction with a sense of fatalistic humor:

“You know that God would disapprove, but what is the harm in a sweet bite of trash?” — Giovanni Colantonio

That sentiment defines Garfield Kart 2’s appeal. It is indulgence without substance, a guilty pleasure that leans on its absurdity more than its execution. Like Garfield himself, the game embodies sloth and gluttony, tempting players to enjoy its chaos despite knowing better alternatives exist.

Comparisons to Mario Kart are inevitable, and Garfield Kart 2 does little to escape them. It borrows structure, mechanics, and visual tone, but never develops an identity strong enough to stand on its own. The result is a mirror image reflected through smudged glass—recognizable yet distorted, familiar yet crude. For all its efforts, it lacks the precision and variety of the genre’s leaders, reducing it to a curiosity rather than a contender.

The lack of features becomes increasingly clear over time. With no meaningful online community, limited customization, and only a dozen tracks, the game cannot sustain prolonged interest. Even the AI shows cracks, stumbling into walls and breaking the flow of races. These flaws emphasize the amateur nature of the project, turning the chaos from deliberate absurdity into unintentional frustration.

And yet, it is difficult to dismiss Garfield Kart 2 outright. Its bizarre charm, fueled by the incongruity of Garfield in a high-stakes racing setting, ensures that it leaves some kind of impression. The tracks, though few, highlight flashes of inspired design. The hats and unlockable parts offer silly, shallow fun. The entire experience feels like an embrace of indulgence, a reminder that even low-budget licensed games can carve a place as guilty diversions.

In the end, Garfield Kart 2: All You Can Drift is not a game that redefines kart racing. It is a game that leans into absurdity, offering fleeting entertainment wrapped in limitations and flaws. For some, that indulgence will be enough—a sugary bite of trash worth savoring in moments of low-stakes fun. For others, the lack of polish, features, and variety will ensure it remains nothing more than a passing distraction.

Garfield Kart 2 exists at the intersection of parody and sincerity, a game that plays like a satire of the genre while earnestly trying to capture its spirit. It is indulgent, flawed, and shallow, but undeniably strange enough to tempt curious players into one more drift around its neon-lit tracks.