Nylige anmeldelser av Hownd

Let me start off by saying that I unironically love Garfield. Not in a meme-y way, and not in a 'I love eldritch horror Garfield im so sorry jon' way either. When I was a kid I was Garfield's biggest fan, and I still look back on my memories of reading his unfunny strips fondly. I bought this game because I like Garfield, and thought the premise was dumb enough to work, and it was on sale. I figured if there was anyone else out there that genuinely likes Garfield and is as annoyed with the cringe-y faux reviews as I was, then this review will have done some good.

I have to say this game, believe it or not, surpassed my expectations. I was expecting a poorly made, ugly Mario Kart rip-off (not to say it isn't entirely that) but what I got was something that clearly had a surprising amount of work (love?) put into it.

Pros:
-Excellent stylized graphics and art direction. The game looks better than the 3D cartoon they've recently made. Assets are reused frequently but none of it is immediately apparent, with the exception of the many desert/Egyptian themed tracks.
-SHOCKINGLY banging soundtrack. There isn't a whole lot of music in this game, with most songs being reused on different tracks, but what is there is bizarrely awesome. Thick funky jazz that never really grew old, even though I was forced to play the same tracks over and over to get all the achievements. Probably the best part of the game.
-Unique character/kart customization. There are seven playable characters in this game, with each character getting their own kart, special unlockable spoiler, and unique hats. There are also non-character specific hats. Any character, kart and spoiler can get mixed and matched for optimal racing. Not that I did any of this, but I thought it was cute and different.

Cons:
-Buggy gameplay. This should come as a surprise to no-one, but the game is buggy. Especially at 100 and 150cc, where the game seems to struggle with how fast your character is going. Running into walls too fast or using the spring item at the wrong time can cause your character to react in a way the game doesn't expect, which usually results in your kart getting reset, much like what happens when you fall off the map. This also prohibits the player from finding any unique shortcuts. If you try to jump certain obstacles, the game will think you fell. Nothing game ruining but certainly frustrating.
-Lack of voice lines. This one is kind of nit-picky, but each character only gets one 'voice' line, and by voice I mean some sort of noise, like a laugh. Hearing it over and over is boring.
-Lack of unique items. Most of the items in this game are complete Mario Kart copies. Pies are red and green shells, perfume is a Bullet Bill or Star, UFOs are Blue Shells, etc. The only unique item is the spring. I don't necessarily care too much about this but figured I'd point it out anyway.
-Brutal collision mechanics. If you run into ANYTHING in this game, such as a wall or obstacle, at ANY angle, the game forces you to collide head-on, which typically stops your character dead in their tracks and forces the player to reverse and go around. VERY annoying, and if you slip up with this even one time, you could lose the race entirely.

So overall I think this game succeeds at what it's trying to do, which is be a Garfield themed Mario Kart styled racing game. It's made on a low budget, as one would expect, but that doesn't make it a bad game. Like I said, a lot of work and love went into making this game visually, audibly and technically enjoyable, and it succeeds! There are some issues with the gameplay but none of it is going to ruin your overall experience. If you like Garfield, racing games, or lasagna, then you'll probably get a few fun hours in playing this cute game.

3.5/5