Pure, unapologetic, British humor wrapped up in the cartoony art style of project Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is one of the silliest little games I have played, ever. Developed by Coal Supper and published by Panic Inc., this game comes at you with the sort of raw and satirical humor the British are known for, and it works.
When you start Thank Goodness You’re Here!, you are shown some hilarious commercials about what the setting, Barnsworth, of this game is going to be like. The ads have characters but are drab and boring in the same way. You can just tell that Barnsworth is your average English city with nothing really to write home about, and I think that is the best aspect of Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Now, I’m no British, but I think Barnsworth is the perfect representation of any old English town with tiny, wild kiddos with a knack for chaos. Slightly kooky older ladies who’ll adopt just about any critter. Grab your bingo cards because Barnsworth’s got the whole wacky bunch!
In Thank Goodness You’re Here!, you are an unnamed yellow little salesman who was shown those advertisements by who is presumably his boss as an introduction to his next destination, Barnsworth, which he says is a strange place, but they need what the company this unnamed man is working for is selling.
Your bossman throws a paper cup at you and tells you to not be late because he has arranged a meeting with the mayor lord of Barnsworth. After taking in what just happened, I waited for what was next, but nothing happened. Because of the excellent presentation of Thank Goodness You’re Here!, I did not realize the cutscene had ended and it was time for the gameplay.
You must really make things happen here for things to happen if that makes any sense. Your controls boil down to walking, jumping, and slapping. Coal Supper calls Thank Goodness You’re Here! a “slapformer” and they would be right, although I lean closer towards calling this game “a point and slap” sort of game. It’s kind of like Untitled Goose Game, except in that game, you honk at things and cause mayhem.
So, now that we know the controls and that we must make things happen for them to happen in this game, what is the next course of action? Why, obviously slap the water filter to your left, make the water jug fall over, drag it to the window, and then jump down, of course. It isn’t the most obvious thing to do, but I think almost all players will end up doing this without much thought.
When you jump out the window, you are met with the gasps of your coworkers and your boss yelling, “Good grief lad, the front door is right there! We’re ten stories up for crying out loud!” It really made me feel stupid for not even thinking about what I had done, but don’t worry, that’s meant to happen.
As instructed by your boss, you hurry and take the bus to Barnsworth, only to arrive 3 hours early. So, you go around and explore the city and just slap things around because that’s literally the gameplay in Thank Goodness You’re Here! You walk up to people and objects and slap them to see what happens.
Each place you enter seems to have some sort of ongoing problem. The people there are always like, “Thank goodness you’re here! Help me with this and that,” hence the name of the game. The goal here is, once again, very simple. Just slap things around until your problems are gone!
Now then Larry, how about a cobbler’s pint, eh? What’s a cobbler’s pint then? It’s like a normal pint, but I take both my shoes off. I’d love to, Ronnie, but the beer’s coming out all flat. Flat? Well, why don’t you go down into the cellar?
What might sound like a simple and straightforward task can very quickly dissolve into complete and utter nonsense tomfoolery and general shenanigans. Your size never seems to stay consistent while you are traversing Barnsworth. You are sometimes small enough to fit through a small pipe or be able to explore the inside of someone’s mouth like it’s a large room while still being large enough to slap things around and cause mayhem.
The puzzle platformer side of this game takes a backseat and gives way to the myriad of visual gags and jokes splattered throughout the game. There’s something to slap in every nook and cranny of Thank Goodness You’re Here! You will come back to certain locations where you will be directed very cleverly by these running gags like someone taking a driving, bumping slowly on their way.
The world in Thank Goodness You’re Here! is chock full of character and little jokes hidden behind a cheeky slap. You could slap someone to hear their awfully British remarks, slap three trash bags in a row to have rats serenade you, or even slap a chef’s bum until he closes his shop “due to smacky bum bum.”
There are a ton of satirical jokes, slapstick humor (literally), and innuendos in Thank Goodness You’re Here! It feels like you are watching some Adult Swim or Cartoon Network show, except that it’s all interactive and lively.
Humor like this can get old pretty quickly, but Thank Goodness You’re Here! doesn’t have to worry about that as it only takes about two hours to finish the game. This game doesn’t overstay its welcome for sure. I would go so far as to say it’s a little too short as I was left feeling empty and wanting for more when the credits rolled.
The presentation here is beautifully hand-drawn. The dark outlines, the way the characters move, and the way that they are drawn all give the vibe of a well-established cartoon or franchise—especially with the multitude of title drops that happen in Thank Goodness You’re Here!
The voice acting here is excellent too, featuring tons of talented comedians including Matt Barry from What We Do in the Shadows! You’ll be hearing pure gold from the little one-off conversations that you’ll absolutely want to stop and listen to, to the ridiculous and rapid-fire puns and double entendres in the perfect southern British accents.
As you play, the game has the constant sound of a kazoo giving a deflating womp womp vibe, on top of soft strings and piano score. The design of this game is simply fantastic.
There’s also another game by Coal Supper called The Good Time Garden that largely plays the same way, although it goes toward a more gnarly look with its fleshy presentation. The only thing it was lacking was voice acting, and it seems the developers have taken the same approach as that game and gave it some color, sarcasm, and voice acting to make Thank Goodness You’re Here! It’s perfect!
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is jam-packed with wacky humor, laugh-out-loud moments, and a world bursting with color. Sure, the gameplay might feel like a kiddie pool, and it’s a bummer it’s over so quickly, but the imaginary Yorkshire town of Barnsworth is a hilarious and delightful ride.
The game’s success hinges on whether the humor tickles your funny bone, so you’ll probably either be rolling on the floor laughing or scratching your head in confusion. It’s rare for a game to make me belly laugh, so I can safely say the humor struck a chord with me. I strongly recommend you check Thank Goodness You’re Here!, especially if you’re British!
