Thank Goodness You're Here! (2024)

Developer: Coal Supper

I am slowly getting back into a more regular basis of writing reviews, and I’m proud to announce a new and improved version of the Sleepy Toadstool website (please check out the Game List page). I've been hearing great things about Thank Goodness You're Here for a while now, and yet, I was a little hesitant to pick it up and try it out for myself. I was worried its very British sense of humor wouldn't land for me. Thankfully, I was very wrong, as the game turned out be approachable and a fun time for just about anyone. Thank Goodness You're Here is a comedic adventure game in the wacky town of Barnsworth, where everyone needs your help. Its twisted humor, stellar voice acting, and perfectly cartoony style make for a charming and catchy game that you’ll want to keep playing again and again.

You play as a tiny little guy - no name given, he's just tinier than every other person and doesn't talk. Your job assigns you to travel to a small town called Barnsworth and meet with the mayor, who needs your help. When you show up in the Barnsworth Mayor's office, you're told the mayor is busy for the next couple of hours, so you instead head outside to the town. Meeting the town's inhabitants, you'll very soon be asked to help them with various things - fetching the locksmith to open their door, mowing the lawn, or perhaps buttering someone's arm to unstuck them from a street drain hole. Despite your helpful intent, oftentimes helping someone leads to chaotic ramifications. You'll learn much about the town and the relationships that these people have to one another.

Sometimes the size difference between the protagonist and other people is not so noticeable, sometimes it… really is.

The main appeal to me of Thank Goodness You’re Here when first seeing its trailer was definitely its cartoony style, reminiscent of shows like Gravity Falls. Playing through it, it makes you feel like you're part of a goofy little cartoon, since the game doesn't clutter the screen with any UI. The world is full of bright, fun colors and interesting little details, making it genuinely such a delight to wander around the town and explore every little corner to find weird little surprises. This is matched well by the music, which is lighthearted and comedic, especially the culminating song at the end. The star of the show turned out to be the voice acting, though. Yes, it’s true that the subtitles were essential for me to actually understand much of the dialogue, but the Yorkshire dialect and accent from the characters succeeds in placing you in this specific cultural location, without alienating players who may be unfamiliar to it. Matt Berry, among other talented voice actors, had me both laughing and listening carefully for every bit of dialogue.

I love how nobody if ever fazed when crazy stuff happens in this town. This man’s single focus is to complain about who took his tools.

I was surprised that this game actually reminded me a bit of Untitled Goose Game. Even though you're helping the people of this town (the opposite of what the goose does), you inadvertently cause a lot of chaos along the way, too. Also, since you're a tiny guy, you sneak through little gaps in fences, travel through pipes, and find yourself in unconventional places. One of the only actions you have is hit, so personally, I hit everything and anything to see what happens. Most people don't react too strongly to being kicked by a mouse-sized man, but you can wreck trash bins, mailboxes, and break various items this way. Trying random actions is quite rewarding, as usually something will come of it. Similarly, gaining achievements through roundabout wacky endeavors or searching for hidden things was really satisfying, and I found myself basically playing through most of the game a second time to get all the achievements. I only do this when the actions needed to get the achievements are themselves fun and rewarding. 

Knocking over this man’s beans when it’s literally all he has left – I would feel bad, but I was unable to stop laughing at his expression.

The characters of Barnsworth work on cartoon logic in many ways, and they probably offer some form of social commentary for people of the region. There’s just so many interesting, bizarre people in this town that you want to get to know them all. Unexpected interactions with characters as I was walking along often cracked me up and distracted me from my current quest. Among my favorite characters are the “bring back asbestos” man in the town square, the grumpy handyman who’s missing his tools, and the grocery store rats. Also, I don’t usually flag games by content unless it needs specific content warnings, but I just want to mention the humor can be quite raunchy - don’t be fooled by the cartoon style, this one is not for kids. It caught me off guard a bit in some scenes, but for the most part I still found it pretty funny. 

The idea of “rat propaganda” being the poster on the right is incredibly funny to me.

Thank Goodness You’re Here had me laughing a lot with its hijinks, and it had me hooked on exploring its little town as well. I was pleasantly surprised, and I’m willing to say that the humor would land with just about anyone, even if you’re not from Yorkshire or the UK. I would recommend this game if you like silly chaotic games like Untitled Goose Game or if you particularly enjoy this kind of British humor. Replaying this game feels like rewatching your comfort comedy show.  I love games that can transport you somewhere else in the world, and momentarily let you interact with a culture different from your own - this game does that in much more of a “parody” style, but nonetheless, I learned something from it. 

Thank Goodness You're Here! is available on PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, and Mac

Played on: PC (Steam Deck)

Last Played: 11/11/2024

Playtime: 5 hrs