Thank Goodness You’re Here REVIEW

Even though Coal Supper, the small indie studio behind Thank Goodness You’re Here refer to the game as an action comedy experience, it’s truly hard to put a label on it. Thank Goodness You’re Here is part platformer, part exploration, part adventure and part unknown. The closest comparable would be Untitled Goose Game, which is referred to as an Indie Puzzle Stealth game, which doesn’t fit.

What is known is that Thank Goodness You’re Here is exactly the type of game that the world needs right now!

A Game About Nothing 

Thank Goodness You’re Here doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s not about getting good, it’s just about having a laugh. In an almost Seinfeldian way, the game is about nothing, but it’s the moment to moment interactions in this game that make it special. Whether that includes trying to help someone get their arm unstuck from the manhole with locally made butter or helping the landscaper cut the grass. While the jobs are the variables, the constant is always laughter.

You’re a traveling salesman who is sent to the fictional town of Barnsworth in the real area of Yorkshire, Northern England and when you arrive, you begin helping out the townsfolk with increasingly odd jobs. One task seemingly blends into another and at time, you can be very unsure about how to achieve your next objective, but you always stumble upon exactly where you need to be wrapping up your job and moving onto the next one.

The world has an almost Metroidvania like quality that evolves as you process. Certain areas begin or can become blocked off, but as you check jobs off your list, these paths open up, which reveals as almost interconnected loop. One of the highlights that kept the game feeling fresh was the amount of dialogue each NPC has because, as you retrace your steps constantly, new dialogue kept each passing through similar areas feel unique every time instead of monotonous.

Thank Goodness You’re Here is a perfect fit on the Steam Deck and can be finished in about 2-3 hours. While this might sound like a knock, but the short play time ensured that the game never lost its spark.

Cons

Thank Goodness You’re Here will explore your comfort level and boundaries with comedy at times, as it walks a tight rope between pushing the limit and going too far. The game is filled with innuendos and double entendres, which make might some uncomfortable. Thank Goodness You’re Here make some subtle hints to Simpsons being an inspiration and at one point Simpsons were considered to push the envelope of what was acceptable too. The short play time is something that will also make people uncomfortable and only you will know if the price to time ratio makes sense for you in a similar situation to a something like Untitled Goose Game.

Verdict

I haven’t really experienced anything like Thank Goodness You’re Here and I don’t know that I would want to again. The game might be too short for some and almost over stayed its welcome. While I never laughed out loud, I did have a grin on my face from start to finish. At the end of the day, there isn’t a better way to spend a few hours of your life.

8