This Game Will Make You Laugh Hard — Thank Goodness You're Here!
You might have missed this indie gem! An absurd comedy platform adventure set in a bizarre English town. Released in early August 2024 for Steam/PC, Switch, PlayStation and Mac.
I just finished ‘Thank Goodness You’re Here,’ and to be honest, I am not sure what I just played, except that it was incredibly entertaining.
Is this game for you?
If you like absurd characters, a funny story, silly British humor, and games where you can smack everyone, Thank Goodness You’re Here! is right up your alley. Expect a whirlwind of bizarre encounters and unpredictable events in the charmingly chaotic town of Barnsworth, reminiscent of classic British sketch comedies and Monty Python-style antics.
It’s not for you if…
… you're looking for complex gameplay, challenging puzzles, or action-packed sequences. The game leans more on humor and narrative than mechanics, with simple slap-based interactions and easy quests taking the place of conventional gameplay challenges.
However, even if you usually don’t play comedy games, I recommend checking out this one. Especially the story about the developers at the end of this article.
In this post, I quickly review the game, explain some fascinating details, and share my experience with it, as well as some intriguing insights about the developers and the development process.
NOT YOUR CUP OF TEA? If this type of game isn't your thing at all, don't worry—I’ve still got something for you today! At the end of this article, you'll find a YouTube deep-dive with the developers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. It features some awesome gameplay scenes and is 100% worth checking out!Good to know: It's important to note that the game, despite being animated, is not suitable for children due to its adult themes and language.
The Facts
📅 Release Date: August 1, 2024
🎞️ Genre: Comedy Platform Adventure
📏 Length: About 3 hours
🎮 Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4/PS5, Mac
🏷️ Price: $17.99 or $19.99
🗨️ Metacritic Score: ~90
🔗 Steam Users: Overwhelmingly Positive
📱 Steam Deck: Verified ✅
The Story
In Thank Goodness You're Here, you step into the shoes of a miniature salesman who finds himself in the whimsical and bizarre town of Barnsworth, a fictional Northern English village filled with weird characters and even stranger tasks.
The game combines slapstick comedy with adventure, as you're tasked with increasingly absurd odd jobs the quirky residents give you. Whether it's killing flowers who constantly tell each other ‘I love you’ or baking giant pies, each job brings you deeper into the town’s weird culture.
Barnsworth, known for its gigantic pies, feels like a character of its own, evolving as you complete tasks and explore its open world.
With its unique blend of hand-drawn animation (check out some fascinating facts from the illustrator further below), Yorkshire-inspired folklore, and an offbeat sense of humor, the game captures a weird but charming atmosphere.
The Gameplay
You explore Barnsworth while waiting for an important meeting with the mayor. To advance the story, you slap NPCs and listen to funny dialogue or just encounter hilarious situations.
Seriously, you slap every object and resident you see, and after they thank you for being here, they usually give you a task to complete.
So, what can you do in the game to fulfill these tasks? Basically, it’s
running
jumping
slapping
That’s it! There are no special abilities, no weapons, no inventory, no tools, or anything like that. However, when you are playing it via Steam, you get the typical achievements, which feels rewarding, somehow 😎
But still, the satisfying part isn’t lying in completing the challenges. It’s more about exploring that weird town and seeing and hearing the people interact with you and each other in a hilarious way.
The Verdict
Do I love this game? Yes, absolutely!
Is it a masterpiece? No, but I don’t care!
For me, ‘Thank Goodness You're Here’ shines through its vibrant and weird creative style, which obviously draws inspiration from shows like The Regular Show and the stuff from David Firth.
The hand-drawn illustrations feel whimsical and exaggerated, amplifying the game's absurd humor. Each character and environment pops with unique and outlandish designs, making the whole time you are playing a visual treat.
James Carbutt, the illustrator, did an amazing job! Read more about him below.
The humor in Thank Goodness You're Here is my other highlight, mixing subtle humor with slapstick silliness. The game is a love letter to British comedy. I am German, and I have a deep appreciation for that absurd, dark British humor. Being a huge Monty Python fan certainly helped me catch some of the more unique jokes and phrases sprinkled throughout the game.
Good to know: The game has two subtitle options, offering "English" and "Dialect. The former translates the regional dialect of the Northerners into more understandable English.
Even the voice acting of the town residents is packed with personality — especially when featuring the legendary Matt Berry.
Additionally, the sound design is just perfect! Almost everything is slightly exaggerated and perfectly matches the visuals, from the slapping to the distinct sounds of the characters or drinks being spilled, for example.
Thank Goodness You're Here is a rich, comedic audio-visual experience you will either love … or not! 😁
The Developers
As always, I try to get as much exciting background information about the games as possible. In this case it was quite difficult, as there was hardly anything interesting online except one podcast interview.
The developer studio is called …
Coal Supper and consists of two English Northerners:
Will Todd (coding/technical)
James Carbutt (illustrations/graphics).
I found their story quite intriguing, so I tried summarizing the most interesting bits and pieces:
How did the two meet and start working together?
Will Todd (Technical Lead) says that they have known each other since they were about 12 or 13, having met in secondary school and stayed friends throughout.
After high school, they went their separate ways, attending different universities and taking different jobs. Eventually, they reconnected and decided to take on a fun weekend project together.
What started as a simple weekend project turned into a six-year journey. First, they released their ‘experiment, ‘The Good Time Garden, in 2019, and now, five years later, Thank Goodness You’re Here.
💡 Tip: The Good Time Garden is available for free on Steam
James Carbutt (Lead Illustrator) grew up with Tood in Barnsley, which influenced their work (remember, Barnsworth is the name of the virtual town in the game). However, they pursued different paths after school and in university.
When they decided to collaborate on that weekend project, everything just clicked. The project evolved over time, leading to a fully developed game after several years.
Their personal and professional gaming background
Will Todd, the programmer, has been passionate about video games his entire life. He recalls being hooked from the moment he got his first console, a PS1, and says that he was always thinking about ideas for games.
He studied game technology, which set him on a clear path toward game development. As breaking into the industry is challenging, the opportunity to work on a project with James felt like a natural progression.
James Carbutt comes from a graphic design background. He studied graphic design and worked in motion and graphic design.
However, he always maintained an interest in weird illustrations. He says that he even scribbled those in the margins of lecture notes while studying.
Approaching everything without a traditional gaming design background allowed him to bring a fresh perspective, contributing to the creation of something unique.
This resulted in untypical compositions in Thank Goodness You’re Here, which aren’t regular video game compositions. Instead, they are coming from someone who just used to watch cartoons.
About the length of the game
Most players finish Thank Goodness You’re Here in about 3 hours. That’s really short. Originally, James and Will wanted to make it much longer. When they pitched the game to publishers, it was supposed to take 12 hours or so.
However, during the development process, they decided to make it much shorter. That also made it easier to add more content, more jokes, etc. They said that the more dense it felt, the better it felt.
Pitching to 80 potential publishers
James and Will pitched the game to 80 publishers before it was finally signed by Panic (known for ‘Firewatch’)
“After the Good Time Garden, we sent it to a bunch of publishers and went like: Hey, we've done this thing and we might want to pitch you a next thing …
I guess there was only maybe like 10 or 15 on there that would seriously have liked to sign a deal with us. And of those, only a couple of them went further with us. But then like, in the end, we felt like panic was the vibe.”
I hope you enjoyed all these insights about an unusual indie game!
Thank You
Thanks for reading my latest article!
Keep playing,
Michael
And Now for Something Completely Different
As promised, for all those who were not interested at all in ‘Thank Goodness You’re Here’, here is a recent video about Stalker 2, which will finally be released later this year.
You have to turn subtitles on but it’s worth it! They take a deep dive into this unique action survival game, featuring brand new gameplay scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with the development team!
This actually looks hilarious to play. Gonna wait for a sale and grab it.
Love a fun indie game.
Great review!