REVIEW – What if you like Mario Kart, but you don’t have a Nintendo Switch to play it on? Can Eden Games’ game fill the void left by the shape of Big N’s new hardware? Or did it fall short amid déjà vu? The answer is clear and justified.

Although this is the third Garfield Kart game, the second was an expanded edition of the first, Garfield Kart: Furious Racing. This is the real sequel. Sequel?

Nermal and the pirate circuit

Mario Kart was a genre-defining game on the SNES. After that, many franchises tried to do something similar, either better (Crash Team Racing or Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour on PS1), or worse (Sonic R on the SEGA Saturn). Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds looks promising with its transforming vehicles and OutRun-style route selection at the end of each lap. However, there is nothing particularly unique about GK2. Eden Games, which previously made a big splash with Test Drive Unlimited and the first three installments of the V-Rally franchise, as well as the PS1 port of NFS: Porsche Unleashed, has simply copied Nintendo’s previous game. No, it’s not a copy of Mario Kart World; this game is far from it. However, it is a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. We use the same button to jump, the same power-up, and the track design is reminiscent of the expanded Wii U game on the Nintendo Switch. Is that not enough? Okay, you still have to collect ten coins, the wind shadow is the same, and at the end of the race, you have to get three paws instead of stars. Instead of bananas, there’s soap.

Instead of mushrooms, there’s lasagna. Instead of green turtle shells, there’s green dog food. Red still tracks, and blue targets the leader. There’s no problem as long as the developer borrows a little bit here and there and does it well. That’s what happened here. But when they steal the entire concept, it’s ridiculous. And it doesn’t end there. The character animations and camera angles also resemble MK8D. One positive aspect is that you can change your gokart’s, wheels, and body parts, or your headgear, but the selection is limited. However, what is great is how similar the interface is to the Nintendo game. And no, we’re not done with the comparisons yet! The names and speeds of the championships are similar, too. There is no 50cc category; instead, there are 100cc and 150cc categories. This may be due to the lack of tracks, as the third category uses the same ones, just mirrored. If this is a unique feature of the game, then well done, Eden. However, we wouldn’t be surprised if Microids, the game’s publisher, requested that they copy the successful Nintendo Switch game as much as possible without risking a lawsuit.

Garfield and the sci-fi circuit

The rating might have been a little higher if the visuals, gameplay, and soundtrack were at least on par with what we saw in MK8D, but that’s not the case. In fact, they’re rather lacking for a game set in 2025. The collisions and hitboxes seem unrefined, the handling is average at best, and the graphics are poor, even with the neon track markings. There are only 12 tracks, which is few, and even fewer characters—only eight. So, we have to ask: What’s the point of playing this game? Beyond the answer being “nothing,” maybe it’s so you can listen to the soundtrack. A few songs are quite good, but you can surely find those on YouTube eventually (if they’re not already there).

The artificial intelligence misses most of the difficult turns. However, there is one positive: it costs €30 on console and €25 on PC (only €22.50 until the 24th). Not €60. Not €70. There is cross-play with a maximum of eight players, and up to four players can play locally. There is little content, but it can still be a fun experience with friends, especially if you’re on a budget. This saves it from a ridiculously low score, as the entire game can be played through in well under one and a half hours. An hour and a half. For a racing game. This is also extremely ridiculous. No, online rankings and competitions won’t help. The audience will quickly forget about this game. By early 2026, it will be difficult to find anyone to challenge online. The saddest part is that this game lacks what the first one had: the meme factor.

Jon and the cliché circuits

Sci-fi and pirates were just two of the random examples. Garfield Kart 2 – All You Can Drift only gets a 6/10 because it’s fun with friends. It just lacks the meme factor of the original. Eden Games and Microids sacrificed originality to imitate something successful. This makes it forgettable. So, the déjà vu is no coincidence. This game is forgettable. Jon Arbuckle must be stopped.

-V-

Developer: Eden Games
Publisher: Microids
Genre: Mario Kart clone, Jon Arbuckle torture simulator
Release Date: September 10, 2025