Time Attack in Garfield - Escape from Monday is a hidden post-game mode that only shows up after you finish the main story on a specific difficulty tier, and most players miss it on their first playthrough because the unlock condition is buried in the credits sequence rather than flagged in any menu. The mode then runs a tight timer on every main level, so the controller layout or keyboard controls you bring into the attempt determine whether you can shave off enough seconds to beat your previous ghosts.
What Time Attack Actually Unlocks and Why It Matters
Time Attack is not a separate save slot, and it does not add new levels. According to the chapter structure used in the BeardBear 100% walkthrough and the Cyberman65 no-damage run, Time Attack reprocesses the main world chapters — Vegetable Nightmare, Sweet Kingdom, Barbecue Desert, and the Final Boss — under a per-stage countdown, which makes it the natural proving ground for the route work players normally use to chase 100% completion. That is why speedrun communities, side-level hunters, and players chasing the full Yum-O-Meter all funnel into the same mode.
Time Attack in Garfield - Escape from Monday is a special post-clear challenge that re-runs the four main worlds with a per-level clock.
The mode is also where the garfield escape from monday how to unlock time attack question actually has a clean answer: there is no cheat, no DLC purchase, and no separate download, just one configuration choice and one story-mode gate. Once the mode appears, it stays permanently attached to the main menu on the same save file, so players who clear the story on a friend's profile and then load their own save will still see Time Attack listed if their save qualifies.
Three Reasons Speedrunners Treat Time Attack as the Real Endgame
The standard 100% route and the Time Attack route share the same level order, but the objectives are different enough that the runs feel like two separate games.
| Run Type | Primary Objective | Timer? | Typical First-Stage Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Story Mode | Reach the credits and beat Monday | No | Finish the level |
| 100% Walkthrough | Collect every lasagna, hit every side level | No | Full pickup sweep |
| Time Attack | Beat the per-stage clock with optional goals | Yes, per stage | Sub-3:00 on World 1-1 |
Because the timer is per-stage rather than cumulative, the unlock is best understood as a "replay your main levels under pressure" mode rather than a classic from-the-start speedrun. Players who mainline the story on a higher difficulty tier tend to be more prepared for that pressure, which is exactly why the difficulty choice is the first unlock condition.
The Unlock Condition: Difficulty, Story Completion, and Menu Steps
The single most common reason players think the mode is broken is that they finished the game on the default difficulty and the Time Attack icon never showed up. Community testing across multiple runs of Garfield - Escape from Monday confirms that the unlock is gated behind the higher of the two selectable difficulty settings, not behind completion percentage.
Step-by-Step Unlock Procedure
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Launch Garfield - Escape from Monday from the main menu and select Continue or New Game.
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On the difficulty selection screen, choose the higher tier rather than the default option. According to community data, only this tier triggers the post-credits flag.
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Play through the full main story from World 1: Vegetable Nightmare to the Final Boss and roll the credits. Side levels and Yum-O-Meter ratings are optional.
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After the credits finish, return to the main menu. The Time Attack option now appears as a new entry, with Vegetable Nightmare listed as the first selectable stage.
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Select Time Attack, pick any world, and the stage clock starts as soon as the level loads. There is no countdown grace period.
Common Misconceptions About the Unlock
| Misconception | Reality |
|---|---|
| Collecting all lasagnas unlocks Time Attack | Lasagna count is irrelevant; only the difficulty tier matters |
| Time Attack unlocks after any difficulty clear | Default-difficulty clears do not register the flag |
| Time Attack is paid DLC | It is included in the base game and tied to your save file |
| You need a second playthrough to see it | The same save file gets the icon the moment you reload the menu after credits |
The walkthrough community has documented this across full-game runs such as the aWiibo no-commentary 100% and the packattack04082 full clear, where the player reloads the main menu right after the Final Boss and the Time Attack entry is already present. That pattern is the cleanest "smoking gun" for players who suspect the unlock is bugged on their machine.
Choosing the Right Difficulty Settings for the Unlock Run
Garfield - Escape from Monday exposes two difficulty options, and the label is less important than the actual mechanical differences. Enemies hit harder, more hazards spawn per room, and the roly-poly cooldown feels tighter, which is why a practice lap on the default tier is a smart move before committing to the unlock run.
Difficulty Comparison Table
| Aspect | Lower Tier (Default) | Higher Tier (Unlocks Time Attack) |
|---|---|---|
| Enemy contact damage | Standard | Roughly 1.5x higher per hit |
| Hazard density per room | Baseline | Additional spike/projectile spawns |
| Roly-poly i-frames | Generous | Noticeably shorter, punishing sloppy chains |
| Checkpoint frequency | Every few rooms | Same logical checkpoints, less forgiving routes |
| Recommended for first playthrough | Yes, for learning the roly-poly and wall jump | Only after a practice run on the lower tier |
Players who have already finished a 100% walkthrough on the default tier and want to focus on the Time Attack mode specifically can switch straight to the higher tier for the unlock run, since the level geometry and boss patterns are identical. The big difference is muscle memory: i-frames on the higher tier are tighter, so any roly-poly chain that felt safe on default can cost a full heart on the unlock run.
Controller Layout: The Fastest Setup for Per-Stage Clocks
Time Attack punishes any inputs that require a finger to lift off the movement stick, so the controller layout you bring into the mode is the single biggest equipment-side lever you control. The two community-standard pad builds both assume a modern Xbox-style or DualSense pad, and they differ mainly in whether roly-poly is on a face button or a trigger.
Layout A: Face-Button Roly-Poly (Most Popular)
| Input | Action | Why It Matters in Time Attack |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick | Move | Always under the thumb for air drift |
| Right stick | Camera | Independent of the left stick for safe back-cancel |
| A / Cross | Jump | Standard platformer muscle memory |
| X / Square | Roly-poly | Keeps the right thumb on the camera during a chain |
| B / Circle | Interact | Doors, NPCs, level exits |
| Right trigger | (unused) | Reserved for future patch hooks |
Layout B: Trigger Roly-Poly (For Players Coming From Shooters)
| Input | Action | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick | Move | — |
| Right stick | Camera | — |
| A / Cross | Jump | — |
| Right trigger | Roly-poly | Easier to chain on a controller grip, slightly slower to cancel |
| Left bumper | Dodge | Sub for roly-poly on specific rooms |
| Y / Triangle | Interact | Some players prefer this for door cancels |
The community consensus, based on Time Attack ghost comparisons on the Vegetable Nightmare stages, is that Layout A produces tighter sub-3:00 runs because the right thumb never has to leave the camera stick. Layout B is friendlier to players who learned roly-poly timing on third-person action games, and it pairs well with the movement tips section in the beginner hub.
Steam Deck-Specific Tweaks
Players running Garfield - Escape from Monday on a Steam Deck should treat the garfield escape from monday steam deck settings question as a two-part problem: in-game button remapping and the Steam Input layer. Both are usually needed because the default Deck profile maps the right trackpad to mouse input, which interferes with the camera stick.
| Setting | Recommended Value | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Steam Input profile | Gamepad with gyro off | Avoids mouse-emulation drift on the right stick |
| In-game layout | Layout A (face-button roly-poly) | Trackpad click feels slower than a real face button |
| Gyro aiming | Off | Time Attack does not need fine aim, gyro adds latency |
| Trackpad click | Disabled during gameplay | Prevents accidental pause taps in clutch moments |
| Back-button assignment | Roly-poly on left back paddle | Lets you keep both thumbs on the sticks during chains |
According to community data, the most common Steam Deck pitfall is leaving the trackpad mapped to "Mouse" while also using a face button for roly-poly, which causes the game to register a phantom mouse click every time the trackpad is brushed. Forcing the profile to "Gamepad" and disabling the trackpad click inside the in-game settings removes that input noise and makes the per-stage timer feel consistent run to run.
Keyboard Controls: The Cleanest Mappings for Mouse-and-Keyboard Players
A surprisingly high number of top Time Attack ghosts on the early stages come from keyboard-and-mouse players, because the layout lets the left hand fully own movement while the right hand owns roly-poly and camera. The garfield escape from monday keyboard controls setup that the community has converged on is intentionally minimal: no modifier keys, no double-binds, every action on a single key.
Recommended Keyboard Mapping
| Key | Action | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| W / A / S / D | Move | Standard WASD for left-hand reach |
| Space | Jump | Largest, easiest-to-spam key |
| Left Shift | Roly-poly | Pinky-friendly, no overlap with movement |
| E | Interact | Doors, level exits, NPC dialogue |
| Mouse 1 (left click) | Roly-poly alt | Backup if left shift feels slow |
| Mouse 2 (right click) | Cancel / air brake | Useful for tight wall-jump chains |
| Mouse 4 / 5 | Optional dodge binds | Some players bind these for off-hand chains |
| Esc | Pause | Default in most PC builds |
The reason this layout works for Time Attack specifically is that roly-poly and movement are never on the same hand, which means a player can keep a constant left-side WASD pressure while spamming left shift with the pinky. The beginner hub has more detail on how the wall jump and roly-poly chain interacts with this layout, especially for World 2: Sweet Kingdom where vertical chains are dense.
Mouse Sensitivity and DPI Recommendations
| Player Style | Suggested DPI | In-Game Camera Speed | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-sens, high-precision | 800–1200 | 50% of slider | Long camera holds during roly-poly chains |
| Mid-sens, balanced | 1600–2400 | 70% of slider | Default recommendation for most PC players |
| High-sens, flick-heavy | 3200+ | 85% of slider | Suited to small arena rooms, risky on boss rooms |
Most community runs settle around the mid-sens range because the camera has to track long lateral sections in World 3: Barbecue Desert, where flick-heavy players tend to overshoot and lose time on camera corrections. For a 100% sweep alongside the every lasagna location route, the same sensitivity range works because the camera distance is fixed and most rooms fit comfortably inside a single stick deflection.
Putting It All Together: A Practical First Time Attack Run
Once Time Attack is unlocked and the inputs feel right, the first serious attempt should focus on World 1: Vegetable Nightmare, because it is the shortest stage, the roly-poly chains are the most forgiving, and any time loss is recoverable. A clean first-stage target is around 3:00, with a personal-best push of around 2:30 after a few attempts.
First-Run Checklist
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Confirm the unlock by reloading the main menu and seeing the Time Attack entry.
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Open Options → Controls and pick Layout A (face-button roly-poly) for controller, or the WASD + left-shift layout for keyboard.
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On Steam Deck, force the Steam Input profile to Gamepad and disable trackpad clicks.
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Start World 1 and run a clean lap without using the roly-poly chain; treat it as a sight-read.
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Reset and run the same level, this time committing to roly-poly chains on every safe roly-poly ramp.
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Compare ghost times, and only move to World 2 once the personal best is stable across three runs.
Players who want to push for a full clear alongside the speedrun route should treat the Time Attack mode as a parallel objective rather than a replacement, because the side levels and Yum-O-Meter goals still demand exploration that the timer punishes. The two objectives feed each other: 100% completion teaches the level geometry, Time Attack teaches the optimization.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to finish the game on hard to unlock Time Attack?
Yes. According to community testing, Time Attack in Garfield - Escape from Monday only unlocks after clearing the full main story on the higher of the two selectable difficulty tiers. Finishing on the default difficulty rolls the credits normally but does not register the post-credits flag, so the Time Attack entry never appears on the main menu.
Can I use a controller on Steam Deck, or is the touchpad required?
You can use a controller profile on Steam Deck, and most players prefer it for Time Attack. The recommended setup is to force the Steam Input layer to Gamepad rather than Mouse, disable trackpad clicks during gameplay, and run the face-button roly-poly layout so the right thumb never leaves the camera stick.
Is there any difference between Time Attack ghosts on controller vs keyboard?
The community consensus is that the difference is small and player-specific, because both layouts let a skilled run push sub-2:30 on World 1. Keyboard-and-mouse players tend to set faster personal bests on roly-poly-heavy rooms thanks to the pinky on left shift, while controller players tend to hold steadier camera angles in long lateral sections. Either setup is viable for a full Time Attack clear.
Do I lose my Time Attack unlocks if I start a new save file?
Yes. Time Attack is tied to the save file that finished the higher-difficulty story, not to the player account. A new save file starts from scratch and will not show the Time Attack entry until the new save also clears the story on the higher difficulty. Existing unlocks on a previous save are unaffected and can still be loaded via the Continue option.