I had never played a game where a man offered me some sausage through a hole in a fence, at least that was until I played Thank Goodness You’re Here. After that particular incident, I came to the conclusion that Ted Lasso had not quite in fact educated me on English customs or humor as much as I thought it had. As you might can tell this game has me twisted up a bit. Anyways Thank Goodness You’re Here is a game that I had no idea existed before I heard people raving about it. Since I suffer from FOMO and love to play Indies I knew that I had to check it out and possibly do this Thank Goodness You’re Here Review to see if it is indeed worth the hype. With that said what is this game, who is it for and is it a good Single Player Experience?
Let’s dive into it.
The Narrative:
In Thank Goodness You’re Here, you play as a traveling salesman, (who happens to be a little man compared to the rest of the world) that travels to the nearby town of Barnsworth, and is waiting for your turn to talk to the town’s Mayor. The man is extremely busy with something so you go out into town where you are immediately hit with the theme and appropriate title for this game, “Thank Goodness You’re Here.” I say that because it seems like everyone in this wild town has a request for you that starts off with that very sentence. What follows might be the wildest, weirdest, most absurd, perhaps deep and meta, adventure that I can remember going on in games maybe ever.
As soon as you play this game you can tell that it has personality. The town and everyone in it shows some personality. Everyone in the background is doing something, sometimes it may be something weird and absurd, and that in itself has a certain charm to it. I love that the area consists of just the town and as you explore it you discover that the game is extremely curated. The areas and characters evolve and react as you interact with them. Due to this feature, it feels like a real town with goofy people and you are just messing around aka helping these people in a day of their lives.
Overall the story is a mixed bag, but I will say that it made me emote in so many different ways. Sometimes I laughed, sometimes I cringed, and often I wondered if the game was trying to convey a message with a deeper meaning. The story is thought-provoking in a way that I often wondered is this deep or is this pure nonsense. In the end, even after rolling credits I still don’t know, but perhaps its is just having fun on this small journey. This is a story that I don’t know if I can recommend because its comedy is so distinctive that it is going to be offputting to some gamers, but be the best thing ever for others.
The Gameplay:
The gameplay consists of simple controls. You have the directional controls, a Action/hit Button, and a jump button. That is it, but on some games that is all you need. This is one of those games. The gameplay mostly involved helping quirky townsfolk with their bizarre requests, and it was a pretty straightforward experience overall.
The gameplay mostly involved helping quirky townsfolk with their bizarre requests, and it was a pretty straightforward experience overall. You get a fetch quest or a action that one of the townspeople wants you to do and you traverse the town to do those quests that then change something in the town that allows you to do something for another member of the town.
I did find myself lost and wondering what to do next, but it usually turned out to be something small I overlooked, like something small that I needed to hit, push over, or move around. The game doesn’t really throw any major challenges your way in terms of difficulty or controls—it’s designed to be fun for everyone. I do think that the fun factor is tied to how much you connect with the story.
Additional Pros:
As a 90s kid, I grew up in the golden age of cartoons so I have a soft spot for most art styles that feel like their cartoons. Thank Goodness You’re Here feels like something that was pulled out of the Fox animated universe and reminds me of Bob’s Burgers. The visuals are well done and the artsyle really accents the goofy nature and lets the townspeople tell this bite-sized stories. Some are hit-and-miss, but the artstyle is top-notch.
I enjoy the music of Thank Goodness You’re Here. While the soundtrack isn’t something that I would listen to outside of the game, it does its job of adding to the goofy ambiance of this experience.
Cons/Flaws:
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is a pretty brief ride, clocking in at around 2 hours, and honestly, that’s all it really needs to be. The short-run time might be offputting to some that wants a beefy game. I don’t think the short time is the worst thing in the world, but I could see how some gamers might see that as not a good bang for your buck.
The number one aspect of this game is the British style of humor. The humor being the main focal point of this means that if the comedy hits for you then the game does. If the comedy is a miss for you then there is nothing gameplay-wise that will make you enjoy this game.
Overall/Should you Play Thank Goodness You’re Here! Review:
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is a pretty brief ride, clocking in at around 2 hours, and honestly, that’s all it really needs to be. For some the game is going to be funny, memorable, and a fun time. For others, this game is going to be a miss due to the comedy not hitting. For me, this game was a bit of a miss, but enjoyable enough that I didn’t regret going on this insane and short journey. Your mileage will vary, but if you can find this for a sale then you should check this out.
Contact Us/Join the Community:
If you’d like to talk to us about this Thank Goodness You’re Here! Review you can do so here:
P.s. if you want to talk to us about any game join us at our Discord:
Reviewed on PC and Steam Deck
Link to the Game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2366980/Thank_Goodness_Youre_Here/
Apple Podcasts
RSS
Amazon Music
Spotify