Chewsday innit.
It was hard to know what to expect going into adventure platformer Thank Goodness You're Here. Branded as a 'comedy slapformer,' I don't think anyone would know what they're about to be presented with. However, having spent five hours trying to figure it out, I've come to the conclusion that Thank Goodness You're Here is one of the best games I've ever played, even though it's quite hard to explain why.
At the start, you're introduced to the character you play as—a silent travelling salesman—in the middle of a heated conversation with his boss. In a desperate bid for more sales, you're shipped off to a town called Barnsworth (a play on South Yorkshire town Barnsely) and instructed to meet with the mayor. But in true British fashion, he's running late, so you have to find another way to occupy your time while you wait.
You could just sit in the waiting room, but what's more fun than hitting the town and seeing if you can make some friends? Fortunately, Barnsworth is more than prepared to welcome you with open arms, and fill your time with a set of odd jobs. To say the very least, Barnsworth is brimming with absolute characters. If you think of every single stereotype you possibly could about the British, I guarantee they have been crammed into the inhabitants of Barnsworth. Even if you've never been to the UK, you know these guys.
You've got everything from the town gossip to the local drunk, or the miserable teenagers quick to complain about local business being closed. Walking around and hearing what each and every one of them has to say is half the fun. You don't have a huge list of jobs to complete, but the humour packed into the dialogue kept me entertained for far longer than the story. Comedy that is so quintessentially British, while also being a complete mockery of the culture, is what makes Thank Goodness You're Here so unforgettably hilarious. To make it even better, everyone is fully voice acted which helps bring the characters to life
Because of this, the entire experience feels more like a sketch show than it does a video game. Animated cutscenes that play while you're completing fetch quests and favours feel like they could be stitched together to create their own TV show. Lines of dialogue, such as the repeated joke of how a characters wife could "learn a thing or two," had me cackling in my chair while trying to solve puzzles or fetch items for NPCs. Every outcome for completing jobs is so ridiculous that you never feel like you're headed in the right direction. But somehow everyone is always satisfied with your efforts.
With that said, Thank Goodness You're Here is a lot of back and forth. Even though the game is in no way challenging, since you're forced to travel in the right direction, you can't easily access areas you've already been to. This leads to a lot of repetition: You're re-visiting the same route several times to complete a single job, like getting some chips from the chippy or visiting the shop. Usually I would find that incredibly boring.
Having to retrace my steps for each job instead of being able to get everything done at once would usually put me off a game. But each time you have to revisit an area there's something new to see. New character interactions await, which was enough encouragement for me to never complain about how much I had to walk around. If that isn't a prime example of good game design, then I don't know what is.
But despite all my efforts, I'm still finding it hard to put into words exactly what about it that has charmed me. It's a spirit, an aura, a vibe. I feel like I can't quite explain what makes it so good outside of recommending every single person to play it. It won't be for everyone, I know that, but I guarantee it's a game you'll still think about long after you've rolled the credits.
