If you think Garfield is all about eating lasagna and napping, you’d be right — but you’d also be missing out on some wild trivia, like the fact that he is technically a Nickelodeon character, and therefore able to appear in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and kick the shit out of Patrick Star.
[The writer pulls down a chart from the ceiling.]
History nerds like myself will note that this wasn’t always the case: Garfield only recently became Nick-adjacent when the network’s parent company Viacom purchased Paws Inc., Garfield creator Jim Davis’ company for managing all things Garfield. This doesn’t mean they have sole control of the character; Garfield’s copyright history is layered, like a fascinating lasagna of contract language, and I recommend you look it up. But first, check out this trailer where the famed orange cat throws April O’Neil off a cliff.
From what we can see, so far, Garfield’s attacks are quite lanky with lots of flailing. But there are some signature Garf moves involving lasagna, powerful belching, and Pooky, his beloved stuffed animal. The trailer also shows him taking on enemies on some pretty choice maps, including one with a giant toaster and another with platforms that are pizzas. We’d have to wait a while to test this out, but it’d be disappointing to learn if you could play him on Mondays. Maybe the reward for winning is a long nap?
Like the rest of the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl roster, Garfield does not have any voice acting — not even yelps, grunts, or shouts. It’s the sort of thing that is impossible not to notice once someone points it out to you. (Apologies if this describes you, but it’s true: Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a world of silent horror.)
They should add Jon Arbuckle next, but he’d never win a fight.
Garfield is available free to players of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC on Dec. 9, and on Switch Dec. 21.
